Ariana Chiapella
Lecturer
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
BIO
Ari conducts research at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory. She explores basic to applied questions about the impacts of stressors on aquatic ecosystems and implications for people and management. Specific interests include alpine ecology, using stable isotopes to understand food web structure and response to species invasions, and understanding the ecological and social implications of toxic chemical production, use, and accumulation in the environment.
Current research includes an investigation of the potential impacts of quagga mussels on Lake Champlain’s food web and carbon storage, and a community participatory project to assess the relative risk of contaminant exposure among groups of recreational and subsistence anglers in the Champlain basin.
Ari completed her PhD at Portland State University in Oregon as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and ESUR IGERT Fellow, with a Certificate of Innovation in College Teaching. For her doctorate research, Ariana collaborated with the National Parks Service, US Geological Survey, and scientists at the WasserCluster Lunz Research Center in Austria to understand how mercury bioaccumulates in mountain lake food webs and the resulting implications for lake management.
Area(s) of expertise
Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Aquatic ecology, Food web dynamics, Ecotoxicology, Environmental health and justice
Bio
Ari conducts research at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory. She explores basic to applied questions about the impacts of stressors on aquatic ecosystems and implications for people and management. Specific interests include alpine ecology, using stable isotopes to understand food web structure and response to species invasions, and understanding the ecological and social implications of toxic chemical production, use, and accumulation in the environment.
Current research includes an investigation of the potential impacts of quagga mussels on Lake Champlain’s food web and carbon storage, and a community participatory project to assess the relative risk of contaminant exposure among groups of recreational and subsistence anglers in the Champlain basin.
Ari completed her PhD at Portland State University in Oregon as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and ESUR IGERT Fellow, with a Certificate of Innovation in College Teaching. For her doctorate research, Ariana collaborated with the National Parks Service, US Geological Survey, and scientists at the WasserCluster Lunz Research Center in Austria to understand how mercury bioaccumulates in mountain lake food webs and the resulting implications for lake management.
Areas of Expertise
Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Aquatic ecology, Food web dynamics, Ecotoxicology, Environmental health and justice