Research Scientist
Wasatch Front Water Quality Council
Bio:
Dr. Miller received a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Science and an equivalent BS degree in Fisheries Management from Utah State University. His MS degree was in Zoology with a focus on aquatic toxicology from the University of Alberta and a PhD in Environmental Biology and Ecology also from the University of Alberta. Career studies have ranged from largemouth bass reproduction in Lake Mead to the effect of various flow velocities on the endangered razorback sucker and their macroinvertebrate food resources in the Colorado River below Hoover Dam, to ecological and toxicological verification of EPA’s proposed water quality criteria for aquatic life, to the development of multi-metric indicators of impounded and sheetflow wetland health and beneficial use support status. This work began in 2004 using EPA grants and for the last 15 years with support from the Wasatch Front Water Quality Council. Proof that even old scientists can evolve, for the last eight years we have been perfecting the Farmington Bay nutrient budget and improving our understanding of the role these nutrients play in the latest versions of complex foodweb and ecosystem models.
Title: The Latest Nutrient Budget and Ecological Implications for Farmington Bay
Abstract: The current mega-drought, resulting in unprecedented low lake levels, has exposed several unexpected characteristics of Great Salt Lake and particularly Farmington Bay. Some of these include: a crash in the brine fly and midge populations, vastly reduced counts of most waterbird species and even greater pressure to divert more water for thirsty crops and municipalities. But of key concern for our group is the dwindling size and quality of shorebird habitat and potential degradation of ecosystem function within Farmington Bay. Since its inception, The WFWQC has focused on nutrient loading and its effect on the fragile ecological balance of this shallow and critically valuable shorebird habitat. The drought has not only shrunk prime sheetflow shorebird habitat but has drastically changed the ecology and functioning of the open water zones as well. For example, an unexpected and potential benefit of low water levels is that the misunderstood and much maligned bloom of the toxin-producing cyanobacterium, Nodularia has been non-existent for the last six years – even before wastewater treatment upgrades began. Our numerous studies have addressed the gamut of nutrient sources and dynamics, including wastewater discharges, nonpoint source/tributary loadings, discharges from impounded wetlands, sediment nutrient recycling, atmospheric nutrient deposition and even phosphorus and nitrogen leaching from fresh cowpies. Our overarching goal from a decade of research is based on testing the hypothesis that there is an optimum nutrient level (range) in Farmington Bay that maximizes waterbird population viability while optimizing ecosystem function and subsequently determining how best to achieve this goal.