Catherine Riseng

Riseng is involved in leading the statewide research program efforts on critical Great Lakes issues, such as sustainable coastal development, climate change adaptation, and other issues. As an Assistant Research Scientist in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, Riseng conducts research into broad range of ecological and environmental issues from how changes in land use hierarchically influence stream ecosystems to the effect of invasive species on the Great Lakes ecosystem. Her current research projects include multi-disciplinary, collaborative projects that link watershed landscape conditions to Great Lakes tributaries and coastal ecosystems Riseng is currently managing a collaborative research project called the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Framework (GLAHF). The main objective of this project is to develop an accessible spatial geodatabase for aquatic habitat in the Great Lakes basin. One component of the spatial database is the explicit linkage of Great Lakes tributaries, estuaries, and watershed land use stressors with Great lakes coastal and nearshore habitat. This spatial database will be used to develop a Great Lakes aquatic habitat classification. Future uses include food web, hydrological, and physicochemical modeling, and integrated modeling systems used for long-term forecasting.