Dr. Mark Edlund, Senior Scientist

Ph.D., University of Michigan (Natural Resources and Environment), 1998
M.S., University of Michigan (Natural Resources), 1992
B.S., University of Minnesota (Biochemistry/Botany), 1987

Phone: 651-433-5953 ext. 26
email:

Academic Appointments

Adjunct Faculty Appointments
Biology Faculty, National University of Mongolia
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota
Water Resources Science, University of Minnesota
Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Assistant Professor (Visiting)
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ecology and Systematics of Diatoms

Research Interests

My research interests have developed around algae, especially the diatoms. Diatoms are microscopic algae characterized by their ornate cell walls made of biologically produced glass. I use diatoms to pursue these research areas:

• Historical environmental change-paleolimnology
  Because diatoms are made of glass, they accumulate in the bottom of lakes, providing researchers clues to conditions in a lake system in earlier times. Our current research is directed at lakes and National Parks across the Upper Midwest. We use diatoms to determine historical lake response, productivity, and nutrient levels to landuse changes, damming, and management practices. My earlier paleolimnological research was used to develop nutrient criteria for Minnesota lakes, to drive policy that reduces loadings to the St. Croix River, and to investigate historical climate change on Devils Lake, ND, and Russia's ancient Lake Baikal.
• Biodiversity and ecological change in ancient landscapes and large lakes
  We are currently surveying the diatom flora of western Mongolia's Valley of the Great Lakes. This landscape is dominated by two large saline lakes (Uvs and Khyargus Nuur) and many smaller lakes that range from fresh to hypersaline. I continue to study diatom biodiversity in an ancient lake system in north-central Mongolia. Lake Hövsgöl is estimated at approximately 1.5 million years old (in comparison to Minnesota's young lakes, which are rarely over 10,000 years old). These projects are in conjunction with researchers at the National University of Mongolia, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the University of Minnesota, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
• Life history strategies
  Conservative estimates set the number of living diatom species at about 25,000, but knowledge of sexuality and life histories is known for only approximately 200 species. This shortfall provides a modern challenge to further a rich scientific history on algal sexuality. My work in this field has centered on description and cytology of sexuality and dormancy strategies.

Representative Publications

Edlund, M.B., Levkov, Z., Soninkhishig, N., Krstic, S. and Nakov, T. (2006) Diatom species flocks in large ancient lakes: the Navicula reinhardtii complex from Lakes Hövsgöl (Mongolia) and Prespa (Macedonia). In: Witkowski, A. (Ed.) Proceedings of the 18th International Diatom Symposium. Biopress Ltd., pp 61-74.

Wolfe, A.P., Edlund, M.B., Sweet, A.R. and Creighton, S.D. (2006) A first account of organelle preservation in Eocene nonmarine diatoms: Observations and paleobiological implications. Palaios 21: 298-304.

Edlund, M.B., Soninkhishig, N. and Stoermer, E.F. (2006) The diatom (Bacillariophyta) flora of Lake Hövsgöl National Park, Mongolia. In Goulden, C., Sitnikova, T., Gelhaus, J., and Boldgiv, B. (eds) The Geology, Biodiversity and Ecology of Lake Hövsgöl (Mongolia). Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, pp 145-177.

Edlund, M.B. and Spaulding, S.A. (2006) Initial observations on uniparental auxosporulation in Muelleria (Frenguelli) Frenguelli and Scoliopleura Grunow (Bacillariophyceae). In: Ognjanova-Rumenova, N. and Manoylov, K. (eds.) Fossil and Recent Phycological Studies. Festschrift in honour of Dr. Dobrina Temniskova-Topalova. PENSOFT Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, PP 211-223.

Bixby, R.J., Edlund, M.B. 2005. and Stoermer, E.F. (2005) Hannaea superiorensis sp. nov., an endemic diatom from the Laurentian Great Lakes. Diatom Research 20: 227-240.

Wolfe, A.P. and Edlund, M.B. 2005. Taxonomy, phylogeny, and paleoecology of Eoseira wilsonii gen. et sp. nov., a middle Eocene diatom (Bacillariophyceae: Aulacoseiraceae) from lake sediments at Horsefly, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42: 243-257.

Morales, E.A. and Edlund, M.B. 2003. Studies in selected fragilarioid diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) from Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia. Phycological Research 51(4): 225-239.

Edlund, M.B., Soninkhishig, N., Williams, R.M. and Stoermer, E.F. 2001. Biodiversity of Mongolia: Checklist of diatoms, including new distributional reports of 31 taxa. Nova Hedwigia 72:59-90.

Edlund, M.B. and Stoermer, E.F. 2000. A 200,000-year, high-resolution record of diatom productivity and community makeup from Lake Baikal shows high correspondence to the marine oxygen-isotope record of climate change. Limnology and Oceanography 45: 948-962.

Edlund, M.B., Taylor, C.M., Schelske, C.L. and Stoermer, E. F. 2000. Thalassiosira baltica (Bacillariophyta), a new exotic species in the Great Lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57:610-615.

Brandriss, M.E., O'Neil, J.R., Edlund, M.B. and Stoermer, E. F. 1998. Oxygen isotope fractionation between diatomaceous silica and water. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 62:1119-1125.

Edlund, M.B. and Stoermer, E.F. 1997. Review: Ecological, evolutionary, and systematic significance of diatom life histories. Journal of Phycology 33:897-918.

Edlund, M.B. 1994. Additions and confirmations to the algal flora of Itasca State Park. II. Diatoms of Chambers Creek. J. Minn. Acad. Sci. 59(1):10-21.

Edlund, M.B. and E.F. Stoermer. 1991. Sexual reproduction in Stephanodiscus niagarae (Bacillariophyta). Journal of Phycology 27:780-793.