My lab does research on freshwater ecosystems at multiple scales and levels of organization. Current research focuses on urban and agricultural landscapes and understanding the ecology and role of small water bodies, such as ponds and wetlands, in watershed restoration and management. I am a co PI in a NSF funded long term ecological research site in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, leading research focused on the intersection between urbanization, climate and management determining water quality and ecology of urban freshwater systems. My work emphasizes integration of diverse datasets, models and interdisciplinary teams toward understanding and managing human driven change in ecosystems. A central focus of this work is identification of environmental thresholds in ecosystems, and understanding of broad, and often unanticipated consequences of land use, climate and management changes on ecosystem processes and water quality.

Winikoff, S. and J.C. Finlay. 2023. Temporal patterns in restored wetland water quality depend on hydroperiod rather than restoration strategy. Freshwater Science 42: 70-87 doi.org/10.1086/724014

Vossler, C. et al. 2023. Valuing Improvements in the Ecological Integrity of Local and Regional Waters using the biological condition gradient. PNAS 120: e2120251119 doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2120251119

Holgerson, M.A., D. Richardson, J. Roith, L.E. Bortolotti, K. Finlay, D. Hornbach, K. Gurung, A. Ness, M.R. Andersen, S. Bansal, J.C. Finlay, J.A. Cianci-Gaskill, S. Hahn, B.D. Janke, C. McDonald, J.P. Mesman, R.L. North, C.O. Roberts, J.N. Sweetman, and J.R. Webb. 2022. Classifying mixing regimes in ponds and shallow lakes. Water Resources Research.

Wu, Z., J. Li, Y. Sun, J. Peñuelas, J. Huang, J. Sardans, Q. Jiang, J.C. Finlay, G. L. Britten, M. J. Follows, W. Gao, B. Qin, J. Ni, S. Huo, and Y. Liu. 2022. Imbalance of global nutrient cycles exacerbated by the greater retention of phosphorus over nitrogen in lakes. Nature Geoscience 15:464-468. Editorial in Nature Geoscience.

Janke, B. D., J. C. Finlay, V. J. Taguchi, and J. S. Gulliver. 2022. Hydrologic processes regulate nutrient retention in stormwater detention ponds. Science of The Total Environment 823:153722.

Wollheim, W. M., T. K. Harms, A. L. Robison, L. E. Koenig, A. M. Helton, C. Song, W. B. Bowden, and J. C. Finlay. 2022. Superlinear scaling of riverine biogeochemical function with watershed size. Nature Communications 13:1230

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