Adam J. Heathcote, Director, Department of Water and Climate Change

Ph.D., Iowa State University, (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), 2013
B.Sc., Iowa State University, (Animal Ecology), 2005 

Phone: (612) 470-0867
Email: aheathcote@smm.org
Website: aheathco.wordpress.com

Academic Appointments and Recognition

Board of Directors, Treasurer, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (2025-Present)
Fellow (2023-Present), Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Fellow (2022-Present), University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment
Visiting Fellow (2023-2024), Loughborough University Institute of Advanced Studies
Postdoctoral Fellow (2013-2015), Université du Québec à Montréal, Group de Recherche Interuniversitaire en Limnologie (GRIL)

Research Interests 

Paleolimnology and Anthropogenic Eutrophication

My research in this area focuses on reconstructing the historical impact of human activities, particularly nutrient pollution (anthropogenic eutrophication), on lake ecosystems. I utilize paleolimnological techniques, including the analysis of lake sediments for biological indicators and geochemical markers, to understand past environmental conditions and long-term ecological changes. A key aspect of this work is establishing reference conditions prior to significant human disturbance and correlating environmental degradation with historical land-use changes. I also investigate the contemporary effects of eutrophication on plankton ecology, with a particular emphasis on harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused by Cyanobacteria.

Carbon Biogeochemistry and Sequestration in Aquatic Ecosystems

My work explores the critical role of freshwater lakes in the global carbon cycle, with a specific focus on carbon sequestration (burial) in lake sediments. I quantify carbon stocks and investigate changes in sequestration rates over time, including examining the impact of global environmental changes like increased climatic variability and atmospheric deposition on these processes. This area of research highlights the significant, and often underappreciated, contribution of lakes to long-term carbon storage.

Radiometric Dating of Lake Sediments

As the head of the Radiometric Dating Laboratory at SCWRS, I specialize in dating lake sediment cores using radioisotopes, primarily Pb-210 and Cs-137 via our laboratory's array of alpha and gamma spectrometers. This work is fundamental to establishing precise chronologies for environmental records preserved in lake sediments. These dating techniques allow for accurate determination of accumulation rates and the timing of environmental changes, providing essential temporal context for paleolimnological reconstructions and enabling the quantification of long-term environmental trends and human impacts on aquatic ecosystems. For more information on sediment core dating in our laboratory, visit our Laboratories & Equipment page.

Publications

See a full list of Dr. Adam J. Heathcote's publications here.

Representative Publications

Diamond SE, Harvey R, Heathcote AJ, Lini A, Morales-Williams A. 2022. Decoupling of chemical and biological recovery from acidification in a montane lake, Vermont, USA. Journal of Paleolimnology (in press). 

Ramstack Hobbs JM, Heathcote AJ, VanderMeulen DD, Edlund MB. 2022. Integrating water quality monitoring and diatom community trends to determine landscape-level change in protected lakes. Ecosphere 13 (8): e4199. 

Delaney C, Li X, Holmberg K, Wilson B, Heathcote AJ, Nieber J. 2022. Estimating lake water volume with regression and machine learning methods. Frontiers in Water 4: 886964.

Edlund MB, Ramstack Hobbs JM, Heathcote AJ, Engstrom DR, Saros JE, Strock KE, Hobbs WO, Andresen NA, VaderMeulen D. 2022. Physical characteristics of northern forested lakes predict sensitivity to climate change. Hydrobiologia 849: 2705-2729.   

Sauer HM, Hamilton TL, Anderson RE, Umbanhowar Jr. CE, Heathcote AJ. 2022. Diversity and distribution of sediment bacteria across an ecological and trophic gradient. PLOS ONE 17 (3): e0258079.

Wang M, Bao K, Heathcote AJ, Zhu Q, Cheng G, Li S, Zhang C. 2021. Spatio-temporal pattern of metal contamination in Chinese lakes since 1850. Catena 196: 104918.

Anderson NJ, Engstrom DR, Leavitt PR, Flood S, Heathcote AJ. 2020. Changes in coupled carbon-nitrogen dynamics in a tundra ecosystem predate recent regional warming. Nature Communications Earth & Environment 1: 38.

Anderson NJ, Heathcote AJ, Engstrom DR, GLOBOCARB Data Contributors. 2020. Anthropogenic alteration of nutrient supply increases the global freshwater carbon sink. Science Advances 6 (16): eaaw2145.

Lapierre J, Heathcote AJ, Maisonneuve P, Filstrup CT. 2019. Is limnology becoming increasingly abiotic, riverine, and global?. Limnology and Oceanography Letters 5 (2): 204-211.

Saros JE, Anderson NJ, Juggins S, McGowan S, Yde JC, Telling J, Bullard JE, Yallop ML, Heathcote AJ, Burpee BT, Fowler RA, Barry CD, Northington RM, Osburn CL, Pla-Rabes S, Mernild SH, Whiteford EJ, Andrews MG, Kerby JT, Post E. 2019. Arctic climate shifts drive rapid ecosystem responses across the West Greenland landscape. Environmental Research Letters 14 (7): 074027.

Edlund MB, Schottler SP, Reavie ED, Engstrom DR, Baratono NG, Leavitt PR, Heathcote AJ, Wilson B, Paterson AM. 2017. Historical phosphorus dynamics in Lake of the Woods (USA-Canada) – does legacy phosphorus still affect the southern basin?. Lake and Reservoir Management 33 (4): 386-402.

Cael BB, Heathcote AJ, Seekell DA. 2017. The volume and mean depth of Earth’s lakes. Geophysical Research Letters 44 (1): 209-218.

Heathcote AJ, Filstrup CT, Kendall D, and Downing JA. 2016. Biomass pyramids in lake plankton: influence of Cyanobacteria size and abundance. Inland Waters 6 (2): 250-257.

Filstrup CT, Heathcote AJ, Kendall DL, and Downing JA. 2016. Phytoplankton taxonomic compositional shifts across nutrient and light gradients in temperate lakes. Inland Waters 6 (2): 234-249.

Heathcote AJ, Anderson NJ, Prairie YT, del Giorgio PA. 2015. Large increases in carbon burial in northern lakes during the Anthropocene. Nature Communications 6: 10016.

Heathcote AJ, del Giorgio PA, Prairie YT. 2015. Predicting bathymetric features of lakes from the topography of their surrounding landscape. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 72 (5): 643-650.

Heathcote AJ, Ramstack Hobbs JM, Anderson NJ, Frings P, Engstrom DR, Downing JA. 2014. Diatom floristic change and lake paleoproduction as evidence of recent eutrophication in shallow lakes of the midwestern USA. Journal of Paleolimnology 53: 17-34.

Reavie ED, Heathcote AJ, Chraïbi VLS. 2014. Laurentian Great Lakes phytoplankton and their water quality characteristics, including a diatom-based model for paleoreconstruction of phosphorus. PLOS ONE 9: e104705.

Filstrup CT, Heathcote AJ, Downing JA. 2014. Sediment accumulation rates still increasing in Iowa's natural lakes. In McDonough D.C. (ed.) "Getting Into Soil and Water: 2014". Iowa Water Center, Ames, IA. p. 14-16.

Filstrup CT, Hillebrand H, Heathcote AJ, Harpole WS, Downing JA. 2014. Cyanobacteria dominance influences resource use efficiency and community turnover in phytoplankton and zooplankton communities. Ecology Letters 17: 464-474.

Juggins S, Anderson NJ, Ramstack Hobbs JM, Heathcote AJ. 2013. Reconstructing epilimnetic total phosphorus using diatoms: statistical and ecological constraints. Journal of Paleolimnology 49: 373-390.

Heathcote AJ, Filstrup CT, Downing JA. 2013. Watershed sediment losses to lakes accelerating despite agricultural soil conservation efforts. 2013. PLOS ONE 8: e53554.

Filstrup CT, Harpole WS, Heathcote AJ, Shurin J, Kondoh M. 2012. Emerging Issues Workshop Report: Causes and consequences of biodiversity loss across ecosystems. Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin 21: 98-99.

Heathcote AJ, Downing JA. 2012. Impacts of eutrophication on carbon burial in freshwater lakes in an intensively agricultural landscape. Ecosystems 15: 60-70.