PELLSTON — The University of Michigan Biological Station appointed an advisory board this year to inform the future of the more than 10,000-acre research and teaching campus along Douglas Lake just south of the Mackinac Bridge in Pellston.
The board, comprised of all women from U-M, will visit the historic, remote field station in northern Michigan next week for its first board meeting.
“We selected individuals from across campus who are part of the UMBS teaching and research mission and who will bring new perspectives and ideas to our research, teaching and community engagement over the next five years,” said Dr. Aimée Classen, director of the U-M Biological Station and a professor in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutional Biology.
The board also will help recruit researchers who would add to the community and research diversity of one of the nation’s largest and longest continuously operating field research stations.
The board members are Dr. Karen Alofs, assistant professor of ecosystem science and management in the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS); Dr. Alison Harrington, collection manager in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department’s Division of Fungi, Lichens and Bryophytes; Dr. Claire Pettersen, assistant professor of climate and space science and engineering (CLaSP); and Dr. Marjorie Weber, assistant professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department.
Science News recently named Dr. Marjorie Weber to its list of Top 10 Scientists to Watch in 2023. Weber studies plant-protecting ants and other wonders of evolution. She is starting her teaching and research program at UMBS this summer.
“Her research in evolutionary ecology will help us build a new strength in that area and her work leading Project Biodiversify will help us continue to become a more inclusive and just field station community,” Classen said.
Dr. Claire Pettersen’s research focuses on winter and works extensively in northern Michigan. She builds large-scale infrastructure to explore questions that are important to the region and world.
“Her ability to work collaboratively and her cross-disciplinary work — both aquatic and terrestrial — will help us continue our tradition of large-scale, atmospheric and collaborative research,” Classen said.
At the U-M Museum of Natural HIstory in Ann Arbor, Dr. Alison Harrington focuses on fungi and micro-fungi, which is a historic strength at UMBS.
“Alison will help us build stronger ties with the museum, keep a focus on taxonomic research and our important UMBS collections, and help us explore community engagement opportunities between the U-M campus, UMBS and northern Michigan,” Classen said.
Dr. Karen Alofs is a familiar face at the Biological Station. She has been teaching extension as well as full courses on fishes at UMBS. Alofs studies how ecological concepts can be used to address conservation concerns in freshwater environments associated with stressors including climate change, invasive species and habitat degradation.
“Karen’s research focus on applied aquatics and her experience as a new faculty and researcher at UMBS will help guide our goals of increasing work in aquatics, onboarding new community member, and connecting our students and courses with the northern Michigan community,” Classen said.
Students, faculty and researchers from around the globe have studied and monitored the impact of environmental changes on northern Michigan ecosystems for 114 years at UMBS.
Since the historic field station began in 1909, an estimated 10,500 students have passed through to engage in scientific discovery needed to understand and sustain ecosystems from local to global scales.
