Chase Rakowski

PhD candidate studying aquatic ecology

I research how changes in biodiversity and species interactions can directly and indirectly affect the stability of key ecosystem functions.

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Chase Rakowski

PhD Candidate,

University of Texas at Austin

I am a PhD candidate in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at UT Austin, co-advised by Mathew Leibold (University of Florida) and Caroline Farrior (UT Austin). I study basic and applied community and ecosystem ecology, mostly using freshwater food webs as study systems. My approaches include field and laboratory experiments, modeling, and data analysis.

My dissertation bridges food web ecology and biodiversity-ecosystem functioning to investigate how changes in the structure of the top part of food webs (where the predators are) can have cascading effects that alter the functioning and stability of key properties of the base of the food web, such as primary production.

Research projects

Trophic cascades

I am studying indirect effects of predators on the base of the food web using “miniature pond” experiments and theoretical models. Besides classic trophic cascades, I am investigating the effects of predator diversity and intraguild predation strength (essentially, how much predators eat each other) on both the central tendency and the stability of basal ecosystem properties like phytoplankton biomass.

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

I use experiments and theory to study the ecosystem-level consequences of biodiversity change. Within this realm I am especially interested in ecosystem stability and incorporating food web interactions.

Applications to algae cultivation

I am testing methods for biological zooplankton control using multiple predators in algae cultivation ponds. The goal is to improve the reliability of phytoplankton cultivation for environmental technologies by reducing the impacts of zooplankton in a budget- and environmentally-friendly manner.

Publications

Amelia A. Wolf, Sarah K. Ortiz, Chase J. Rakowski (2022). Ecosystems: an overview. Chapter 4 in M. Loreau, F. Isbell, and A. Hector, editors. The ecological and societal consequences of biodiversity loss. ISTE, London, UK.

Chase J. Rakowski, Caroline E. Farrior, Schonna R. Manning, Mathew A. Leibold (2021). Predator complementarity dampens variability of phytoplankton biomass in a diversity-stability trophic cascade. Ecology, 102(12):e03534.

DOI

Chase J. Rakowski, Mathew A. Leibold (2021). Beyond the fish-Daphnia paradigm: testing the potential for Neoplea striola (Hemiptera: Pleidae) to cause a trophic cascade in subtropical ponds. bioRxiv.

DOI

Chase Rakowski, Bradley J. Cardinale (2016). Herbivores control effects of algal species richness on community biomass and stability in a laboratory microcosm experiment. Oikos, 125(11):1627-1635.

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Rana W. El-Sabaawi, Ronald D. Bassar, Chase Rakowski, Michael C. Marshall, Brynne L. Bryan, Steven N. Thomas, Catherine Pringle, David N. Reznick, Alexander S. Flecker (2015). Intraspecific phenotypic differences in fish affect ecosystem processes as much as bottom–up factors. Oikos, 124(9):1181-1191.

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Datasets

Published data papers

Chase J. Rakowski, Caroline E. Farrior, Schonna R. Manning, Mathew A. Leibold (2021). Diversity-stability cascade in pond plankton experiments. Dryad.

DOI

Chase Rakowski, Bradley J. Cardinale (2016). Data from: Herbivores control effects of algal species richness on community biomass and stability in a laboratory microcosm experiment. Dryad.

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