Margaret A. Palmer

Margaret A. Palmer (/ˈpɑːlmər/; born 1955) is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland and director of the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). With a background in hydrology and ecology, Palmer has contributed to testing and extending fundamental theory in marine and stream ecosystems on the interactions between organisms, boundary layer flows, and geomorphic processes. She is an international expert on the restoration of streams and rivers and co-author of the book Foundations of Restoration Ecology. She has worked extensively on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem processes, the biogeochemistry of streams and wetlands, and organism dispersal in aquatic ecosystems. Palmer is widely published and has been an invited speaker in numerous and diverse settings including regional and international forums, science-diplomacy venues (e.g., in North Korea), and popular outlets such as The Colbert Report. Dr. Palmer has received many honors including election as a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program, the Lilly Fellows Program, and the Award of Research Excellence from the Society for Freshwater Science.

Education and early career

Palmer was born in 1955 in Florida, grew up in foothills of the South Carolina mountains and attended Emory University (1972-1977) as a first generation college student. She completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in coastal oceanography at the University of South Carolina with a focus on hydrodynamics and dispersal of benthic organisms. In 1987 Palmer went to the University of Maryland and began research to test in streams hypotheses derived from fundamental ecological theory that was developed in marine systems related to the role of hydrodynamics and boundary layer flows in the community dynamics of invertebrates. Since then she has been actively engaged in research and teaching at the University of Maryland aside from a 1.5 year stint as a program officer in Ecology at the National Science Foundation.

Major professional work experience

• 2011-present Director, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center
• 2005-2011 Director, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
• 1999-2001 Director, Ecology Program, National Science Foundation
• 1997-1999 Director, Biological Sciences Program, University of Maryland
• 1997-present Professor, University of Maryland
• 1986- 1987 Visiting Scientist, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution
• 1983- 1987 Assistant Professor of Biology, Wabash College

Current activities

By the late 1990s she began working closely with natural resource managers to better understand how basic research could contribute to the conservation and restoration of running-water systems. This ultimately led her to propose creation of a National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center which now serves the broad community of social, natural, and computational scholars, policy makers, business leaders, and other stakeholders in co-developing solutions to difficult problems at the interface of humans and nature. Aside from current work with SESYNC, her active research group focuses on watershed and social approaches to restore streams and on the role of intermittent streams in the flux of materials to perennial waters. She also works extensively with nonprofits on freshwater issues and on the impact of coal mining on running-water systems in the Appalachians and in Alaska.

As the principal investigator of the Palmer Lab (University of Maryland), Palmer has led efforts to restore aquatic and wetland ecosystems. Most recently, she is investigating how hydrology impacts flux and fate of carbon in wetlands as well as how areas of Appalachia, affected by mountaintop mining activities, can be redesigned to support the local ecological community. Using her expertise in stream restoration, she works with interdisciplinary teams of scientists to develop ecosystems that will be resilient to environmental stressors, both natural and man-made.

Restoration Ecology

Palmer conducted multiple research projects in the field of restoration ecology and co-authored the book Foundations of Restoration Ecology. She outlines the methods and goals associated with restoring ecosystems and works to bridge the gap between ecological theory and restorative ecology in practice. The book provides a history of ecological theory and restoration, requirements for a functional ecosystem, and planning for environmental stressors like climate change. In her research, she challenges the traditional methods of stream restoration that focus solely on improving the physical aspects of stream habitats such as adding meanders. Instead, she encourages restorationists to consider the stressors degrading stream habitat such as contaminants from agriculture and urbanization. She suggests a more holistic approach that observes the inputs and outputs of the ecosystem and how biodiversity can be increased.

Mountaintop Mining

Mountaintop mining is a method of extracting coal by removing the summits of mountains to access coal seams close to the surface. The rock and soil from the mountaintop are typically discarded in the nearby valleys surrounding the mountain. Palmer led a study on the impacts of mountaintop mining (MTM) on stream ecosystems. The study concluded that the controversial method of resource extraction has irreversible effects on the ecosystem, specifically headwater systems. Palmer documents the change in stream health showing a decrease in species biodiversity, poor water quality, higher stormwater runoff, and high concentrations of contaminants. Specifically, mine runoff containing selenium and sulfates can enter streams and bioaccumulate in aquatic species, harming the overall health of local populations. With no known examples of a successful stream creation project in an area after mountaintop mining and valley fill has occurred, she proposes for the US to take leadership in banning the practice. She and her colleagues also requested for the Environmental Protection Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers to cease approval of all future mining permits. She has been called as an expert witness to testify before congress on the issue of MTM and joined other scientists in calling for an end to the practice.

Contributions to Ecotoxicology

Palmer's research has been instrumental in the field of ecotoxicology. Her extensive knowledge of ecological restoration and running-water systems can easily be applied to ecosystems exposed to toxic chemicals and contaminants. She identifies the removal of contaminants as a key factor in the success of restoration. The addition of physical structures or improvements to habitat complexity are not sufficient for increasing biodiversity when contaminants are still entering the ecosystem. This becomes more challenging when it is a nonpoint source pollution. An example of this concept is a study she conducted in Chesapeake Bay regarding constructed stream-wetland complexes. These complexes were designed to increase hydraulic conductivity and filter out pollutants to reduce the total suspended solids (TSS). However, Palmer's research concludes that stressors such as intense storms and the volume of TSS upstream are more likely to affect stream health than increasing stream-wetland complexes. This research will help shape how scientists approach running-water systems that have been exposed to contaminants.

Awards

• 2015 Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland
• 2015 Award of Research Excellence, Society for Freshwater Science
• 2012 Fellow, Ecological Society of America
• 2012 41st Henry J. Oosting Memorial Lecturer, Duke University
• 2011 University System of Maryland, Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence
• 2010 University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, President's Award for Excellence in Research Application
• 2006 Distinguished Ecologist citation, Colorado State University
• 2006 Ecological Society of America, Distinguished Service Award
• 2002 AAAS Fellow
• 2001 Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow
• 1993 Distinguished Scholar Teacher, University of Maryland
• 1990 Lilly Fellow
• 1986 McLain-McTurnan Research Scholar, Wabash College
• 1983 Byron K. Trippet Research Scholar, Wabash College
• 1979 Slocum Lunz Doctoral Fellowship and Belle W. Baruch Predoctoral Fellowship
• 1976 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Student Fellowship
• 1973 Academic Scholarships from Emory University and the Sirrine Foundation
• 1977 Phi Beta Kappa

Significant publications

Palmer’s research focuses on restoration ecology, offering a new approach of incorporating human needs for ecosystem services into restoration plans to create sustainable environments for all species..Her research suggests it is unlikely for a disrupted ecosystem to be restored to original conditions so it is necessary to engineer a productive ecosystem that will serve the needs of the current biological community as well as the growing human population. Palmer also documents the relationship between stream recovery and water quality, finding that recovery is often dependent on removing the source of contamination rather than improving any physical stream structures.

Significant publications by Palmer include:

• Palmer, M.A. et al. 2004. Ecology for a crowded planet. Science 304: 1251-1252.
• Bernhardt, E.S., M. A. Palmer et al. 2005. Restoration of U.S. Rivers: a national synthesis. Science 308:636-637.
• Palmer, M.A. et al. 2010. Mountaintop Mining Consequences. Science 327 (5962): 148-149.
• Palmer, M.A., C. Reidy, C. Nilsson et al. 2008. Climate change and the world’s river basins: anticipating response options. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6: 81-89.
• Palmer, M.A., B. Koch, and K. Hondula. 2014. Ecological restoration of streams and rivers: shifting strategies and shifting goals. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 45: 247-269