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Carolina C. Barbosa

Publications and source records attributed to Carolina C. Barbosa.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2025

Clarifying the trophic state concept to advance macroscale freshwater science and management

For over a century, ecologists have used the concept of trophic state (TS) to characterize an aquatic ecosystem's biological productivity. However, multiple TS classification schemes, each relying on a variety of measurable parameters as proxies for productivity, have emerged to meet use-specific needs. Frequently, chlorophyll a, phosphorus, and Secchi depth are used to classify TS based on autotrophic production, whereas phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, and true color are used to classify TS based on both autotrophic and heterotrophic production. Both classification approaches aim to characterize an ecosystem's function broadly, but with varying degrees of autotrophic and heterotrophic processes considered in those characterizations. Moreover, differing classification schemes can create inconsistent interpretations of ecosystem integrity. For example, the US Clean Water Act focuses exclusively on algal threats to water quality, framed in terms of eutrophication in response to nutrient loading. This usage lacks information about non-algal threats to water quality, such as dystrophication in response to dissolved organic carbon loading. Consequently, the TS classification schemes used to identify eutrophication and dystrophication may refer to ecosystems similarly (e.g., oligotrophic and eutrophic), yet these categories are derived from different proxies. These inconsistencies in TS classification schemes may be compounded when interdisciplinary projects employ varied TS frameworks. Even with these shortcomings, TS can still be used to distill information on complex aquatic ecosystem function into a set of generalizable expectations. The usefulness of distilling complex information into a TS index is substantial such that usage inconsistencies should be explicitly addressed and resolved. To emphasize the consequences of diverging TS classification schemes, we present three case studies for which an improved understanding of the TS concept advances freshwater research, management efforts, and interdisciplinary collaboration. To increase clarity in TS, the aquatic sciences could benefit from including information about the proxy variables, ecosystem type, as well as the spatiotemporal domains used to classify TS. As the field of aquatic sciences expands and climatic irregularity increases, we highlight the importance of re-evaluating fundamental concepts, such as TS, to ensure their compatibility with evolving science.

Ecosphere↗
USGS2025

Too much and not enough data: Challenges and solutions for generating information in freshwater research and monitoring

Evaluating progress toward achieving freshwater conservation and sustainability goals requires transforming diverse types of data into useful information for scientists, managers, and other interest groups. Despite substantial increases in the volume of freshwater data collected worldwide, many regions and ecosystems still lack sufficient data collection and/or data access. We illustrate how these data challenges result from a diverse set of underlying mechanisms and propose solutions that can be applied by individuals or organizations. We discuss creative approaches to address data scarcity, including the use of community science, remote-sensing, environmental sensors, and legacy datasets. We highlight the importance of coordinated data collection efforts among groups and training programs to improve data access. At the institutional level, we emphasize the power of prioritizing data curation, incentivizing data publication, and promoting research that enhances data coverage and representativeness. Some of these strategies involve technological and analytical approaches, but many necessitate shifting the priorities and incentives of organizations such as academic and government research institutions, monitoring groups, journals, and funding agencies. Our overarching goal is to stimulate discussion to narrow the data disparities hindering the understanding of freshwater processes and their change across spatial scales.

Nahuel Huapi Lake, Lake Tahoe↗
USGS2021

The AEMON-J “Hacking Limnology” workshop series & virtual summit: Incorporating data science and open science in aquatic research

Following the 2020 “Virtual Summit: Incorporating Data Science and Open Science in Aquatic Research” (DSOS; Meyer and Zwart 2020 ), a grassroots group of scientists convened the 2nd Virtual DSOS Summit on 22–23 July 2021. DSOS combined forces with the Aquatic Ecosystem MOdeling Network - Junior (AEMON-J; https://github.com/aemon-j) to host a 4-d “Hacking Limnology” Workshop Series prior to the summit (13–16 July 2021). The aim was to focus more deeply on skill development and networking among early career researchers (ECRs), both of which are key to growing a workforce of data-intensive aquatic scientists (López Moreira M et al. in press; Meyer et al. 2021 a ). To support ECRs further, we hosted a virtual job board, where participants could note if they were either looking for employment or hiring for a position. Like the 2020 summit, there was high enthusiasm for both the summit and the workshops. In total, 686 people from over 50 countries registered for the AEMON-J Workshop Series and the DSOS Summit. Countries with the highest number of registrants included the United States (41%), Nigeria (20%), Canada (6%), Brazil (6%), and Germany (5%) (Fig. 1). To increase accessibility, there were no registration costs for the workshops and summit, and we centralized introductory training materials, coding scripts, and presentation recordings in one community website (https://aquaticdatasciopensci.github.io/; Fig. 2), which we hope will continue to support the AEMON-J and DSOS communities over time.

Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin↗