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Researchers Embark on Groundbreaking Environmental Study in Iceland and the UK

A team of researchers from the University of Birmingham recently returned from a successful expedition to Iceland.

18 October 2024
Drone photo of a rugged landscape in Iceland

Hengill, Iceland

A team of researchers from the University of Birmingham, led by Dr Mark Ledger, Dr Kieran Khamis, and Mia Berwick, recently returned from a successful expedition to Iceland. This collaborative effort, conducted in partnership with researchers from the USA, Iceland and Sweden, marks a significant step forward in understanding the impacts of climate change on stream ecosystems.

In July 2024, the team travelled to the Hengill geothermal area, approximately 40 kilometres from Reykjavik, to select sites and collect preliminary biological samples from rivers of contrasting water temperature. This work is part of an NSF-NERC funded project led by Prof Wyatt Cross (Montana State University), which aims to explore how long-term warming influences the stability of stream ecosystems in the face of drought events. 

Through its EcoLaboratory facility, The University of Birmingham is leading stream mesocosm manipulations of temperature and drought. While whole-reach drought manipulations will be carried out in the Hengill geothermal catchment in Iceland by the wider team, including colleagues from the University of Alabama, the University of Iceland and Umeå University.

We are excited about the potential findings from this collaborative research, By combining fieldwork with controlled laboratory experiments, we hope to gain a comprehensive understanding of how warming affects stream ecosystems’ resistance and resilience to drought.

Dr Mark Ledger

The research team is optimistic that their findings will contribute to the development of strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on freshwater ecosystems worldwide.

EcoLaboratory

Find out more about the EcoLaboratory facility on campus 

Featured staff

  • Dr Mark Ledger

    Senior Lecturer in Ecology

    Dr Mark Ledger, Senior Lecturer, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Mark is a freshwater ecologist with research interests in disturbance ecology, food webs, species interactions, and stressor effects

    Phone: +44 (0)121 41 45540
    Email: m.e.ledger@bham.ac.uk

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