I am broadly interested in the ecology of aquatic ecosystems, and their interaction with surrounding natural and human altered landscapes. I pursue research questions at many scales and levels of organization, using experimental, comparative and stable isotope approaches. I am particularly excited by interdisciplinary, collaborative research that integrates across multiple spatial and temporal scales.

My current research areas include investigation of energy flow regulation in river food webs, impacts of introduced species on aquatic ecosystems, surface and groundwater interactions in stream carbon and nutrient cycles, and carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry of boreal and arctic watersheds. A pervasive theme in much of this research is that both food webs and ecosystems interact across traditional boundaries of ecological investigation through fluxes of elements, organic matter, and organisms. I am interested in understanding the nature and controls of such interactions, and their role in regulating the productivity and structure of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Walter Anthony, K.M, S.A. Zimov, G. Grosse_, M.C. Jones, P. Anthony, F. S. Chapin III, J.C. Finlay, M.C. Mack, S. Davydov, P. Frenzel, S. Frolking. 2014. A shift of thermokarst lakes from carbon sources to sinks during the Holocene epoch. Nature 511: 452-456  10.1038/nature13560

Tsui, M.T.K., J.D. Blum, J.C. Finlay, S.J. Balogh, Y.H. Nollet, W.J. Palen, and M.E. Power. 2014. Variation in terrestrial and aquatic sources of methylmercury in stream predators as revealed by stable mercury isotopes. Environmental Science & Technology. 48: 10128-10135 10.1021/es500517

Crawford, J.T., N.R. Lottig, E.H. Stanley, J,F. Walker, P.C. Hanson, J.C. Finlay, and R.G. Striegl. 2014. CO₂ and CH₄ emissions from streams in a lake-rich landscape: Patterns, controls and regional significance. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 28(3): 197-210   10.1002/2013GB004661.

Janke, B., J. C. Finlay, S. E. Hobbie, L. A. Baker, D. Nidzgorski, R.W. Sterner, and B. N. Wilson. 2014. Contrasting Influences of Stormflow and Baseflow Pathways on Nitrogen and Phosphorus Export from an Urban Watershed. Biogeochemistry 121(1): 209-228 10.1007/s10533-013-9926-1

Finlay, J.C., G.E. Small, and R.W. Sterner. 2013. Human influences on nitrogen removal in lakes. Science.342 (6155),247-250. DOI:10.1126/science.1242575.

Tsui M.T.K., J.D. Blum, J.C. Finlay, S.J. Balogh, S.Y. Kwon, and Y.H. Nollet. 2013. Photodegradation of Methylmercury in Stream Ecosystems. Limnology and Oceanography 58(1), 2013, 13–22 doi:10.4319/lo.2013.58.1.0013

Keeler, B.L., S. Polasky, K.A. Brauman, K.A. Johnson, J.C. Finlay, A. O’Neill, K. Kovacs, and B. Dalzell. 2012. Linking water quality and well-being for improved assessment and valuation of ecosystem services. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(45): 18619-18624.

Baron, J.S., E.K. Hall, B.T. Nolan, J.C. Finlay, E. Bernhardt, J.A. Harrison, F. Chan, E.W. Boyer, 2012. The Interactive Effects of Human-Derived Nitrogen Loading and Climate Change on Aquatic Ecosystems of the United States. Biogeochemistry doi 10.1007/s10533-012-9788-y

Ishikawa, N.F., H. Doi, and J.C. Finlay. 2012. Global meta-analysis for controlling factors on carbon stable isotope ratio of lotic periphyton. Oecologia. DOI 10.1007/s00442-012-2308-x

Finlay, J.C. 2011. Stream size and human influences on ecosystem production in river networks. Ecosphere. 2(8): doi:10.1890/ES11-00071.1

Education
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2000

Related links

• IonE - Institute on the Environment
• National Center for Earth-Surface Dynamics
• St. Anthony Fall Laboratory