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Cornell University Department of Entomology

Barbara Peckarsky


Barbara L. Peckarsky

Professor Emeritus

Wisconsin, 1979.
Aquatic entomology, behavior and community ecology of stream insects.

3130 Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-2601
Phone: 608.320.0456
Fax: 608.273.1505
Email: blp1@cornell.edu

Table of Contents

Professional Overview and Objectives

My broad objective is to strike a balance between basic and applied research, teaching and outreach.  My basic research is conducted at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.  The specific objectives of my ongoing projects are to determine 1) the consequences of larval interactions to mayfly survival, fecundity and population growth, 2) the effects of mayfly anti-predator behavior on their spatial heterogeneity and that of their resources, and 3) the effects of recruitment and post-recruitment processes on abundance of stream insects.   The graduate students in my laboratory have worked primarily on these and other basic research projects related to stream ecology.  In streams of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and around Ithaca, New York, I conduct applied research with the broad objective of involving undergraduates, graduate students, area public school children, teachers and interested citizens in efforts to use invertebrates to biologically monitor water quality of streams.  Specific objectives are: 1) to educate target groups about the theory and practice of rigorous methodology for biomonitoring streams, 2) to assess the impacts of disturbances on local streams, 3) to protect local streams from unnecessary degradation that might occur without vigilance, 4) to develop a long-term database that might help us understand the relative importance of natural and human-induced disturbances in explaining population and community fluctuations, and 5) to use these data as a basis for comparative studies on other streams in other regions. I connect this applied research directly to my undergraduate teaching goals. The laboratory components of both my Stream Ecology and Freshwater Invertebrate Biology and Biomonitoring courses have focused on teaching students to apply their basic knowledge and to use rigorous techniques to solve real environmental problems and provide reliable information to decision-makers.  These activities tie in to my objectives for community outreach in both New York and Colorado.  My overall objective is to integrate research, teaching and outreach functions.  Research will provide data on impacts of disturbances to local streams, and recovery times of streams to their undisturbed state. The public outreach function will serve to train interested citizens about sustainable use of natural resources.

Education

Year  Degree  Institution 
1979  Ph.D.  University of Wisconsin, Madison 
1971  M.S.  University of Wisconsin, Madison 
1969  B.A./B.S.  University of Wisconsin, Madison 

Academic Ranks

Joint Appointment to Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: 2003
Professor: 1991
Associate Professor: 1985
Assistant Professor: 1979

Areas of Expertise

Behavior, life history, population and community ecology of stream-dwelling invertebrates; mechanisms, consequences and evolution of predator-prey and competitive interactions; invertebrates as indicators of stream water quality

Publications

Journal Publications and Book Chapters

Peckarsky B.L., J. M. Hughes, M. Hillyer, and A. C. Encalada. 2004.  Are populations of mayflies living in adjacent fish and fishless streams genetically distinct? Freshwater Biology 50: 42-51.

McIntosh, A. R. and B. L. Peckarsky. 2004. Are mayfly anti-predator responses to fish odor proportional to risk?  Archiv fur Hydrobiologie 160:145-151.

McIntosh, A. R, B. L. Peckarsky, and B. W. Taylor.  2004. Predator-induced resource heterogeneity in a stream food web.  Ecology 85:2279-2290.

Macneale, K. H., B. L. Peckarsky, and G. E. Likens.  2004. Contradictory results from different methods for measuring direction of insect flight.  Freshwater Biology 49:1260-1268.

Dahl, J. and B. L. Peckarsky.  2003.  Does living in streams with fish involve a cost of induced morphological defences?  Canadian Journal of Zoology 81:1825-1828.

Hughes, J. M., P. B. Mather, M. Hillyer, C. Cleary and B. L. Peckarsky. 2003. Genetic structure in a montane mayfly Baetis bicaudatus (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae), from the Rocky Mountains, Colorado.  Freshwater Biology 12:2149-2162.

Dahl, J and B. L. Peckarsky. 2003.  Developmental responses to predation risk in morphologically defended mayflies.  Oecologia 137:188-194.

Caudill, C. C. and B. L. Peckarsky.  2003.  Lack of appropriate behavioral or developmental responses by mayfly larvae to trout predators. Ecology 84:2133-2144. (pdf)

McIntosh, A. R., B. L. Peckarsky, and B. W. Taylor.  2002. The influence of predatory fish on mayfly drift: extrapolating from experiments to nature.  Freshwater Biology 47 (8):1497-1513. (pdf)

Taylor, B. W., A. R. McIntosh, and B. L. Peckarsky.  2002. Large-scale invertebrate manipulations in stream ecosystems: invertebrate removal, algal response, and opportunities for innovation. Limnology and Oceanography 47:893-899. (pdf)

Peckarsky, B. L., A. R. McIntosh, C. C. Caudill and J. Dahl. 2002 Stabilizing selection on male body size of high altitude populations of Baetis bicaudatus  (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae).  Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 51:530-537.  (pdf)

Dahl, J and B. L. Peckarsky.  2002.  Induced morphological defenses in the wild: predator effects on a mayfly, Drunella coloradensis.  Ecology 83:1620-1634. (pdf)

Macneale, KH, GE Likens and BL Peckarsky. 2002.  Feeding strategies of an adult stonefly (Plecoptera): implications for egg production and dispersal. Verhandlungun Internationale Verein Limnologie 28(2):1140-1146.

Peckarsky, B. L., A. R. McIntosh, B. R. Taylor and J. Dahl.  2002.  Predator chemicals induce changes in mayfly life history traits:  a whole-stream manipulation.  Ecology 83:612-618. (pdf)

Taylor, B. W, A. R. McIntosh and B. L. Peckarsky.  2001.  Sampling stream invertebrates using electroshocking techniques: implications for basic and applied research. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 58:1-9. (pdf)

Peckarsky, B. L., B. W. Taylor, A. R. McIntosh, M. A. McPeek and D. A. Lytle.  2001. Variation in mayfly size at metamorphosis as a developmental response to risk of predation.  Ecology 82:740-757. (pdf)

Lytle, D. A. and B. L. Peckarsky.  2001.  Spatial and temporal impacts of a diesel fuel spill on stream invertebrates.  Freshwater Biology 46:1 - 12. (pdf)

Peckarsky, B. L, B. W. Taylor, and C. C. Caudill.  2000. Hydrologic and behavioral constraints on oviposition of stream insects: implications for adult dispersal.  Oecologia 125:186-200. (pdf)

Taylor, B. W, C. R. Anderson, and B.L. Peckarsky.  1999.  Egg diapause and semivoltinism in the Nearctic stonefly Megarcys signata (Plecoptera: Perlodidae).  Aquatic Insects 21:179-185.

Anderson, C. R, B. L. Peckarsky, and S. A. Wissinger.  1999.  Tinajas of southeastern Utah. Invertebrate reproductive strategies and the habitat templet.  pp. 791-810 in: Batzer, D. P, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.).  Invertebrates in freshwater wetlands of North America.  John Wiley & Sons, Inc, NY.

McIntosh, A. R., B. L. Peckarsky and Brad W. Taylor.  1999.  Rapid size-specific changes in mayfly  drift caused by alterations in fish odour .  Oecologia 118:256-264.

McIntosh, A. R. and B. L. Peckarsky.  1999.  Criteria determining behavioural responses to multiple predators by a stream mayfly.  Oikos 85:554-564.

Taylor, B. W, C. R. Anderson, and B.L. Peckarsky.   1998 Effect of size at metamorphosis on stonefly fecundity, longevity, and reproductive success.  Oecologia. 114:494-502.

McPeek, M. A. and B. L. Peckarsky.  1998.  Life histories and the strengths of species interactions: combining mortality, growth and fecundity effects.  Ecology 79:235-247.

Peckarsky, B. L. and A. R. McIntosh.  1998.  Fitness and community consequences of avoiding multiple predators.  Oecologia 113:565- 576. (pdf)

Peckarsky, B. L. 1998.The dual role of experiments in complex and dynamic natural systems.  pp. 311-423 in: Resetarits, W. J. Jr. and J. Bernardo (eds). Experimental Ecology.  Issues and Perspectives. Oxford Univ. Press.