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Dr Tara Higgins   

Zoology Department, 
National University of Ireland, Galway,
University Road, Galway,  IRELAND.
Tel: 353 91 492939 
Fax: 353 91 494526  
Email: tara.higginsnuigalway.ie

  

Research Interests

 - Impacts of non-indigenous species on lake ecology 
 - Lake and wetland restoration
 - Freshwater eutrophication and nutrient cycling
 - Photosynthesis, algal cell physiology and phytoplankton nutrient limitation
 - Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin production
 - Hyporheic zone and subterranean fauna

Previous positions

2006: Fulbright postdoctoral fellow, Center for Limnology, University of Colorado at Boulder
2005: Endeavour postdoctoral fellow, Algal Physiology Lab, Monash University, Australia
2005: PhD in Limnology, Department of Microbiology, NUI Galway 
2000: MSc in Environmental Sustainability (with distinction), University of Edinburgh
1999: BSc in Environmental Science, NUI Galway

Current work 

As part of the EPA BioChange project, my current research examines the impact of zebra mussels ( Dreissena polymorpha) on phytoplankton populations and nutrient concentrations in a selections of small Western Irish lakes, and assesses the  wider implications of these Dreissena-induced changes for biodiversity in Ireland’s inland waterbodies (for details, see BioChange Zebra Mussel Project)

Related websites:

• AQUATIC-ALIENS online discussion forum open to anyone interested in aquatic invasive species
• BioChange official website

Reviewer for the following journals:

• Wetlands Ecology and Management
• Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy

Peer-reviewed publications          

Higgins T., McCutchan J. and Lewis W. 2009. Quantifying riverine sediment denitrification rates in situ with a novel portable hyporheic chamber. Verhein International Verein Limnologie 30: 809-812.

Higgins T., McCutchan J. and Lewis W. 2008 Nitrogen ebullition in a Colorado plains river. Biogeochemistry 89: 367-377 [pdf]

Higgins T., Grennan J. and McCarthy T.K. 2008. Effects of recent zebra mussel invasion on water chemistry and phytoplankton production in a small Irish lake. Aquatic Invasions 3: 14-20  [pdf]

Lally H., Higgins T., Colleran E. and Gormally M. 2008. A new Irish wilderness: Trophic status and conservation potential of cutaway peatland lakes in Ireland. Verhein International Verein Limnologie 30, In press

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2007 Nutrient limitation and phosphate regeneration in artificial cutaway peatland lakes in Ireland. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 107B: 147-156  [pdf]

Shelley K., Higgins T., Beardall J., Wood B., McNaughton D. and Heraud P. 2007 Characterising nutrient-induced fluorescence transients (NIFTs) in nitrogen-stressed Chlorella emersonii (Chlorophyta). Phycologia 46: 503-512  [pdf]

Higgins T., Kenny H. and Colleran E. 2007. Plankton communities of artificial lakes created on Irish cutaway peatlands. Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 107B: 77-85  [pdf]

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2006. The trophic status of experimental lakes created by flooding industrial cutaway peatland in Ireland and implications for future lake creation. Journal of Environmental Science and Health 41: 849-863  [pdf]

Higgins T., Colleran E. and Raine R. 2006. Transition from P- to N-limited phytoplankton growth in an artificial lake on flooded cutaway peatland in Ireland. Journal of Applied Vegetation Science 9: 223-230   [pdf]

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2006. Trophic status and phosphorus dynamics in experimental cutaway peatland lakes. In: Moles R. (ed) Proceedings of the 15 ^th Irish Environmental Researchers Colloquium, pp. 79-80. Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland  [pdf]

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2004. A comparative assessment of water quality in four artificial lakes created on Irish cutaway peatland. In: J. Paivanen (ed), Wise Use of Peatlands, pp. 372-378. International Peat Society, Jyvaskyla, Finland  [pdf]

Other publications

Higgins T. and Lally H. 2006. Returning to the wild: Lake creation on cutaway peatlands in Ireland. In: Peatlands International 2/2006 pp. 35-37.

Study to rehabilitate exhausted old bogs: Spent bogs could provide important new conservation areas for all kinds of wildlife. In: The Irish Times (C. O Connel Ed.) 14 Sept. 2006 p12.

Creating lakes on industrial cutaway peatlands in Ireland. In: SIL News (Newsletter of the International Society of Limnology) Vol. 48 2006 pp. 1-4. [pdf] 

Higgins T. 2005. Lake Creation on Cutaway Peatlands in Ireland. Environmental Microbiology Research Unit National University of Ireland Galway. ISBN 0953754413.  [pdf]

Oral & Poster Presentations

Higgins, T., Grennan, J. and McCarthy, T.K. (2008) Zebra mussel-induced changes in phytoplankton community structure in a Co. Clare lake.  18 ^th Environ Colloquium, Dundalk Institute of Technology, 1-3 Feb. 2008. (Oral)

Grennan, J., Higgins, T. and McCarthy, T.K. (2008) Characterising the zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha, Pallas) population in Lough Doon, Co. Clare. Environ 2008, Dundalk Institute of Technology, 1-3 Feb. 2008. (Poster) [pdf]

Higgins T., McCutchan J. and Lewis W. 2007. A novel portable hyporheic chamber for quantifying denitrification rates in situ in  riverine sediments. The 30 ^th Congress of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology, Montreal, Canada, August 12-18 ^th 2007 (Oral). 

Higgins T., Grennan J. and McCarthy T.K. in press. Impacts of zebra mussel infestation on water quality and algal populations in small Western Irish lakes. The 30 ^th Congress of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology, Montreal, Canada August 12-18 ^th 2007 (Oral).

Higgins T., Grennan J. and McCarthy T.K. 2007. Effects of zebra mussels ( Dreissena polymorpha) on ecological processes in small Western Irish lakes. Invasive Molluscs Conference, St. Catherine's College, University of Cambridge, 2 ^nd April 2007. The London Malacological Society. (Oral).

Ihnken S., Higgins T. and Beardall J. 2006. Duration of light exposure and increased DIC affects fluorescence based photosynthesis parameters in Chlorella emersonii. 20 ^th Annual ASPAB Conference, Sydney, 13-15 ^th February 2006. Australasian Society for Phycology and Aquatic Botany. (Poster).

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2004. Assessing the shift from P-limitation to N-limitation in an artificial wetland created on Irish cutaway peatland using nutrient enrichment bioassays. INTECOL 7 ^th International Wetlands Conference, Utrecht, The Netherlands 25-30 ^th July 2004. International Association of Ecology. (Oral).

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2004. A comparative assessment of water quality in four artificial lakes created on Irish cutaway peatland. 12th International Peat Congress, Tampere, Finland 6-12 ^th June 2004. International Peat Society. (Oral).

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2004. Nutrient-phytoplankton relations in an acidic highly productive lake created on cutaway peatland. 14 ^th Irish Environmental Researchers Colloquium University of Limerick Ireland 30 January-1 February 2004. Environmental Science Association of Ireland (Oral).

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2003. Nutrient-phytoplankton relationships in two contrasting cutaway wetlands. Royal Irish Academy Hydrobiology Commission Annual Research Meeting, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, 3-4 October 2003 (Oral).

Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2003. Phytoplankton assemblages in cutaway wetlands. 13 ^th Irish Environmental Researchers Colloquium, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland, 8-10 January 2003. Environmental Science Association of Ireland (Oral).
  
Higgins T. and Colleran E. 2002. An assessment of the water quality of four cutaway wetlands using physico-chemical and biological parameters. Royal Irish Academy Hydrobiology Commission Annual Research Meeting, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, 3 October 2002. (Poster)

    

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