Dr aaron potito

B.A., M.A. (University of Colorado) Ph.D. (UCLA)
Office:		118, Arts/Science Building,
Office hours:
Phone:		353 (0)91 49 3936 Ext 3936
Fax:		353 (0)91 49 5505
Email:		aaron.potitonuigalway.ie

Research Interests

My research focuses on the use of lake sedimentary records and tree-rings to reconstruct late Pleistocene and Holocene climates and to assess human impacts on lake and forest environments. My research has increasingly concentrated on chironomid (non-biting midge fly) subfossils in lake sediments as a palaeoenvironmental indicator, but I remain active in dendroecological and dendroclimatologic studies. Current chironomid-based research projects include palaeotemperature reconstruction for Holocene climates in Ireland, assessment of historic and pre-historic human impacts on lake systems in Ireland, impacts of recent climate change on lake ecosystems in China, and a palaeolimnological assessment of mid-Holocene aridity in the Midwestern United States. Dendrological research interests include the use of tree ring techniques to assess the health and growth patterns of natural forest stands in western Ireland. My work has been based in the United States, Ireland, and China.

Areas of Research

*       Palaeoclimatology and palaeolimnology
*       Biogeography
*       Chironomids
*       Dendroecology and dendroclimatology
*       Climate change

Teaching

TI360 - Research Seminar in Biogeography & Physical Geography

TI308 - Quaternary Environments

TI235 - Biogeography

TI251 Theory and Practice in Geography

TI151 - Principles of Physical Geography 

Current and Recent Graduate Students

Eva Eagleton (MLitt) - Long-term viability of oak stands in Connemara, western Ireland

Stephen Galvin (PhD; co-supervised with Dr. Kieran Hickey) - The impact of volcanic eruptions on the climate and ecology of Ireland since 1800 A.D.

Michelle McKeown (PhD candidate) - Recent climate variability and impacts on lake ecosystems in NW Ireland

Claire McLoughlin (PhD candidate) - A paleo-glacialogical reconstruction of the last Irish Ice Sheet in NW Donegal

Karen Taylor (MLitt candidate) - Ecological impacts of early farming in western Ireland: a palaeolimnological approach

Sample Publications

Potito, A.P., C.A. Woodward, and D.W. Beilman (under review) Modern influences on chironomid distribution in western Ireland: potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Journal of Paleolimnology.

Woodward, C.A., A.P. Potito, and D.W. Beilman (under review) Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of lake surface sediments from western Irish lakes: implications for the inference of past lake productivity, nitrogen sources and loading. Journal of Paleolimnology.

X. Guo, A.P. Potito, L. Luo, and D.W. Beilman (under review) Impacts of climate warming on a large mountain lake in southwest China. Hydrobiologia.

X. Guo, A.P. Potito, L. Luo, and K. Li (under review) A GIS-based approach for simulating the impacts of a large reservoir on regional temperatures: Ertan reservoir, China. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering.

MacDonald, G.M., K.A. Moser, A.M. Bloom, D.F. Porinchu, A.P. Potito, A. Petel, B. Wolfe, T.W.D. Edwards, A.R. Orme, and A.J. Orme. 2008. Evidence of temperature depression and hydrological variations in the eastern Sierra Nevada during the Younger Dryas. Quaternary Research 70: 131-140.

Potito, A.P. and G.M. MacDonald. 2008. The effects of aridity on conifer radial growth, recruitment, and mortality patterns in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 40: 129-139.

Porinchu, D.F., A.P. Potito, G.M. MacDonald, and A.M. Bloom. 2007. Subfossil chironomids as indicators of recent climate change in Sierra Nevada, California, lakes. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 39: 286-296.

Potito, A.P., D.F. Porinchu, G.M. MacDonald, and K.A. Moser. 2006. A late Quaternary chironomid-inferred temperature record from the Sierra Nevada, California, with connections to northeast Pacific sea surface temperatures. Quaternary Research 66: 356-363.

Potito, A.P. and S.W. Beatty. 2005. Impacts of recreation trails on exotic and ruderal species distribution in grassland areas along the Colorado Front Range. Environmental Management 36: 230-236.

Link to CV