Lindsay Reynolds

Occupation: Research Scientist 

Affiliation: USGS Fort Collins Science Center and Colorado State University

Lindsay’s Research: I am interested in the mechanisms that shape ecological communities with an emphasis in riparian ecology, plant ecology, and invasions. I explore processes such as dispersal, establishment, competition, resource acquisition, ecohydrology, and other biotic and abiotic interactions. Recently I have focused on how river hydrology and geomorphology influence adjacent plant communities. I also study exotic species invasions and the key factors that make species successful invaders.

Education:

B.A., Dartmouth College, Environmental and Evolutionary Biology

Ph.D., Colorado State University, Ecology

Favorite Plant Species: Populus fremontii : Fremont cottonwood, the majestic native tree of southwestern rivers. If I ever get a tattoo, it’ll be a leaf of this beautiful tree…

Best Sampling Road Trip: The last summer of my dissertation research I spent driving around the Colorado Plateau sampling vegetation on small streams. I lived out of my car with my field assistant and we camped in a different spot each night. We visited more than a dozen streams in a month, endured scorching June heat, saw rattle snakes and found bird nests, and tromped through many-a-beautiful riparian forest. It was spectacular!

Places I’ve Lived: Seattle (WA), Hanover (NH), Campton (NH), Toulouse (France), Jackson (WY), Quincy (CA), Chinle (AZ), Fort Collins (CO)

In my Field Backpack: Compass, GPS unit, local flora, maps, clipboard, field notebook, pencils and sharpies, orange flagging, duct tape, lara bars, sunscreen, camera, binoculars

First time I saw a river in flood stage: The late-summer monsoons during my first summer of dissertation field work brought huge rains. The dry wash we had been working on for several months was transformed from a bone-dry, sandy creek bed to a roaring, 3,000 cfs beast of water. We sat at the edge of the canyon rim, a thousand feet about the stream, and watched the muddy flood waters race by while the sun set over the desert.

Most recent time I saw a river in flood stage: The winter of 2011 left a huge snowpack in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and a long, cool spring meant that the snow didn’t melt until the end of May. When it did finally melt, it turned into huge river run-offs all along the eastern front of the Rockies! I watched my local river, the Cache-la-Poudre, over-top its banks for the first time in many years.

Places I’ve Done Research:

1. Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH
2. The Gros Ventre Wilderness, WY
3. Northern Sierra Nevada, CA
4. Canyon de Chelly National Monument, AZ
5. Bill Williams River, AZ
6. Elwha River, WA
7. Upper Colorado River Basin, CO, UT, WY, AZ, and NM
8. South Platte River Basin, CO

Lindsay’s Contact Info:

▪ Email Lindsay at: reynoldsl@usgs.gov

▪ Follow Lindsay on Twitter at: @lindsvreynolds

▪ Learn more about Lindsay’s research at: http://www.fort.usgs.gov/staff/staffprofile.asp?StaffID=1133 and https://sites.google.com/site/lindsayvreynolds/

** Lindsay’s current research is funded by the the US Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART program, the US Geological Survey’s invasive species program, and the USGS’s climate change program