The Weisener Lab
Strategic Watershed Interdisciplinary Microbiology
Welcome to our website
Dr. Chris Weisener’s laboratory at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) focuses on central theme integrating disciplines within environmental science (geochemistry, molecular biology and microbiology) to better understand contaminant behavior in stressed ecosystems. Specifically, his research group investigates how bacterial mechanisms influence metal, nutrient and pathogen cycling in sediments and aquatic ecosystems.
PHOSPHORUS EQUILIBRIUM AS INFUENCED BY MICROBIAL COMMUNITITES WITHIN SEDIMENTS
Terrestrial environments provide important nutrients, such as phosphorus, to the freshwater tributaries that surround them. Despite current reduction efforts set out by agencies, there is still sufficient phosphorus loading discharged to freshwater systems inducing anthropogenically accelerated eutrophication. One method of phosphorus loading generates from…
Aquatic Nutrient Dynamics in Freshwater Systems
**Stay tuned for details about some of our latest work in the Windsor-Essex Region, researching how nutrients pass through our ecosystems, their source/sink characteristics, and how they interact with particulate matter**
Remediation of AMD with mussel shell bioreactors
Acid mine drainage (AMD) occurs when uneconomical waste rock containing iron sulphides are exposed to the atmosphere, water, and microorganisms. This acidic water, if left untreated can damage ecosystems as it is acidic and contains high concentrations of dissolved metals and sulphate. A novel…
