B.A. University
of California, Davis
Ph.D. University of Tennessee
Dr. Lembi
is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
co-founder of the Midwest Aquatic Plant Management Society, past president
of the Phycological Society of America and past editor of the Journal
of Phycology. In addition to research and teaching, she is active in
extending information on aquatic plant management to the general public,
and more specifically to lake associations and other groups that manage
water.
Dr. Lembi's
research emphasizes the development of new and environmentally safe
strategies for aquatic plant management, and it includes the study of
the biology, ecology, and management of weedy filamentous algae.
Research in the development of new aquatic plant management strategies
has focused on biological (grass carp, fungi), habitat manipulation
(dyes), and chemical (plant growth regulators) techniques. One of her
most current interests is the study of the “bale of hay” method
of algae control. Farmers have known for a long time that if they throw
a "bale of hay" into a body of water, the algae problems will
clear up. What is the scientific basis for this control? How much hay
has to be thrown in? What types of hay are most efficacious? What kinds
of algae are controlled? These are all questions currently under investigation.
Her studies of weedy, mat-forming, filamentous algae combine field measurements
of growth and environmental parameters with laboratory testing of the
alga’s responses to light, temperature and nutrient variables.
One of the major results has been the development of a computer model
for Pithophora, which can be used to predict growth of this alga
under different nutrient regimes in a lake. She is now expanding her
studies to other weedy species (including mat-forming cyanobacteria)
in lakes and ponds in the Midwest. These species provide interesting
contrasts to Pithophora in terms of the their seasonality, productivity,
growth requirements, and floating mat bioarchitecture. This type of
study provides considerable insight into the physiological and structural
adaptations, and ultimately the management, of this unique and little
known community of algae.
Spencer,
D. F., C. A. Lembi, and R. R. Blank. 2006. Spatial
and temporal variation in the composition and biomass of algae present
in selected California rice fields. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 21:
649-656.
Flaherty, K. W., H. L. Walker, C. H. Britton, and C. A. Lembi. In press.
Response of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Pseudanabaena limnetica to
a potential biological control agent, bacterium SG-3 (Lysobacter cf. brunescens). J.
Lake and Reservoir Management.
Glomski,
L.A., K.V. Wood, R.L. Nicholson, and C.A. Lembi.
2002. The search for exudates from Eurasian watermilfoil and hydrilla.
J. Aquatic Plant Management 40:17-22.
Berry,
H. A. and C. A. Lembi. 2000. The effect of temperature and
irradiance on the seasonal variation of a Spirogyra population
in a midwestern lake. J. Phycol. 36:841-851.
Lembi,
C. A. 2000. Relative tolerance of mat-forming algae to copper.
J. Aquatic Plant Management 38:68-70.
Liu,
X. and C. A. Lembi. 1999. Laboratory evaluation of mefluidide
effects on elongation of hydrilla and watermilfoil. J. Aquatic Plant
Management. 37:55-60.
Hondzo,
M. M., A. Kapur, and C. A. Lembi. 1998. The effect of small-scale
fluid motion on the green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda. Hydrobiologia
364:225-235.
Faculty