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Karen Alofs

Karen Alofs

Karen Alofs
Assistant Professor of Natural Resources, Assistant Professor of Program in the Environment, School for Environment and Sustainability and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biological Station, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Environment and Sustainability

Dr. Alofs studies how ecological concepts can be used to address conservation concerns in freshwater environments. Her recent work, as a postdoctoral fellow with the National Science Foundation International Research Fellowship Program, focused on the impacts of climate-facilitated range expansions on lake fish communities. In addition to climate change, she is interested in understanding the effects of environmental stressors including invasive species, habitat fragmentation and habitat degradation on biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability. Alofs research is framed by three ecological questions: How are ecological communities changing across spatial scales and over time? What are the impacts of species interactions versus environmental factors on community structure, population persistence and invasion? And can we make general ecological predictions (e.g. predictions relevant in terrestrial and aquatic or temperate and tropical communities)? Moreover, she is interested in how ecological studies can contribute to the conservation of aquatic ecosystems and the sustainable management of fisheries.

Affiliations

The affiliations listed below show engagement with the Graham Sustainability Institute.

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

My work contributes directly toward solving the United Nations SDGs listed below. Learn more.

2. Zero Hunger
14. Life Below Water