Research Interests

I am interested in a range of problems concerning the cycling of elements through aquatic ecosystems. Science is best served by adapting the approach to the question at hand. Because of my broad interests, I have utilized many approaches in my research, including cross-ecosystem comparisons, analyses of time series, lab and field experimentation, site-specific process studies and empirical and theoretical modeling. My interest in comparisons among different types of ecosystems has lead me to work in environments ranging from lakes to rivers to estuaries and finally the ocean.

My early research (at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies with Dr. Mike Pace) concerned the fate of carbon fixed by phytoplankton as it varies among ecosystems. In particular, I developed empirical models that predicted the fraction of carbon that is 1) lost from the pelagic zone via the sinking of organic particles, or 2) excreted by phytoplankton as dissolved organic carbon and subsequently used by bacteria. These models have been used as normative descriptions of natural pattern, predictive tools and aids in interpretation of other natural patterns. As part of this work, I developed a continuing interest in comparing how key carbon transformations (such as photosynthesis, respiration, and sinking flux) respond to environmental gradients in lakes and oceans. Water chemistry, physical transport processes and biotic community structure are just a few of the many variables that range widely among lakes and ocean regions. This variability is fertile ground for comparisons that can illuminate the processes controlling ecosystem variables such as photosynthesis, respiration, sinking flux, population stability and community resilience.

Whereas the above work concerns variability in average ecosystem properties, my work on synchrony of physical and chemical characteristics of lakes deals with temporal variability within ecosystems. Neighboring lakes experience very similar climatic conditions. How they respond to this uniform climate varies with the variable in question, basin morphology, watershed characteristics, the lake’s position within the hydrological system and unique local (and largely biological) internal dynamics. Similar lakes also tend to exhibit synchronous dynamics of physical, chemical and biological variables. High quality long-term data sets are required for such analyses. With such data it is possible to determine which variables tend to be most synchronous among lakes, which characteristics of a lake mediate a particular variable’s response to climate, and the relative importance of regional climate in determining a particular variable. From a practical viewpoint, this research could make regional water quality and biological monitoring programs more efficient by suggesting which lakes are the best sentinels of environmental change. My work on synchrony was done in association with the Northern Temperate Lakes Long Term Ecological Research program through the University of Wisconsin Madison. I hope to apply similar techniques to local marine embayments on Long Island.

At SoMAS, I have been mostly concerned with the cycling of trace elements, including toxic contaminants and trace nutrients, through aquatic ecosystems. Most of this work has been in collaboration with Dr. Nicholas Fisher and his students. As part of a large interdisciplinary project in collaboration with USGS at Menlo Park, I am involved in a large multidisciplinary study of selenium transformations and transport through the San Joaquin/Sacramento River Delta and San Francisco Bay. I am also studying differences in the accumulation of various trace elements, including toxic heavy metals such as Cd and Ag, by arctic and temperate organisms. A third project concerns the use of synchrotron emission induced x-ray fluorescence microscopy to map trace element concentrations in individual cells of phytoplankton and other protists. Finally, I am studying dissolved organic carbon uptake by the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, and the implications for metabolism and heavy metal uptake by this invasive bivalve.

Selected Publications

Baines, S.B., N.S. Fisher and R. Stewart. 2002. Assimilation and retention of selenium and other trace elements from crustacean food by juvenile striped bass (Morone saxatilis). Limnology and Oceanography 46:646-655.

Twining, B.S., S.B. Baines, and N.S. Fisher. 2001. Measurement of metal concentrations in marine nanoplankton cells using an X-ray fluorescence microprobe. Rapp. Comm. Int. Mer. Medit. 36: 169.

Baines, S.B., N.S. Fisher, M.A. Doblin, and G.A. Cutter. 2001. Uptake of dissolved organic selenide by marine phytoplankton. Limnology and Oceanography 46: 1936-1944.

Baines, S.B. and N.S. Fisher. 2001. Interspecific differences in the bioconcentration of selenite by phytoplankton and their ecological implications. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 213:1-12.

Baines, S.B., K.E. Webster, T.K. Kratz, S.R. Carpenter and J.J. Magnuson. 2000. Synchronous behavior of temperature, calcium and chlorophyll in lakes of Northern Wisconsin. Ecology 81:815-825.

Webster, K.E., P.A. Soranno, S.B. Baines, T.K. Kratz, C.J. Bowser, P.J. Dillon, P. Campbell, E.J. Fee, and R.E. Hecky. 1999. Structuring features of lake districts: geomorphic and landscape controls on lake chemical responses to drought. Freshwater Biol 43:499-515.

Baines, S.B., M.L. Pace and D.M. Karl. 1994. Why does the relationship between sinking flux and primary production differ between lakes and oceans? Limnology and Oceanography 39(2): 213-226.

Baines, S.B. and M.L. Pace. 1994. Relationships between suspended particulate matter and sinking flux along a trophic gradient and implications for the fate of primary production. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 51(1): 25-36.

M.L. Pace, S.B. Baines, H. Cyr, and J.A. Downing. 1993. Relationships among early life history stages of Morone americana and Morone saxatilis from long-term monitoring of the Hudson River estuary. J. Can. Fish Aquat Sci. 50:1976-1985.

Baines, S.B., and M.L. Pace. 1991. The production of dissolved organic carbon by phytoplankton and its importance to bacteria -- patterns across marine and fresh-water systems. Limnology and Oceanography 36(6):1078-1090.