Research interests

I am a freshwater ecologist with broad interests in stream ecology and vertebrate biology. My main objective in ecological research is establishing linkages among populations, communities and ecosystem-level parameters in streams and rivers. I am particularly interested in relationships and interactions between organisms and nutrients. These relationships include the consequences of nutrient status for organismal growth, interactions within food webs and energy flow, as well as the role of species in recycling and transporting nutrients within ecosystems. Much of my planned future research revolves around these themes. For example, I will continue testing ecological stoichiometry theory by conducting field research on the mechanisms and consequences of nutrient constraints for individual growth, populations and food web interactions in freshwater ecosystems. Vertebrates, especially fishes, will be an integral part of this research, both because of their importance in trophic interactions (particularly as predators) and because their elemental composition (high phosphorus content and, consequently, demand) makes them very interesting from a stoichiometric perspective.

Selected publications

Frost, P.C., J.P. Benstead, W.F. Cross, H. Hillebrand, J.H. Larson, M.A. Xenopoulos, and T. Yoshida. 2006. Threshold elemental ratios of carbon and phosphorus in aquatic consumers. Ecology Letters 9:774-779.

Benstead, J.P., J.G. March, B. Fry, K.C. Ewel, and C.M. Pringle. 2006. Testing IsoSource: stable isotope analysis of a tropical fishery with diverse organic matter sources. Ecology 87:326-333.

Cross, W.F., J.P. Benstead, P.C. Frost, and S.A. Thomas. 2005. Ecological stoichiometry in freshwater benthic systems: recent progress and perspectives. Freshwater Biology 50:1895-1912..

Wilcox, H.S., J.B. Wallace, J.L. Meyer, and J.P. Benstead. 2005. Effects of labile carbon addition on a headwater stream food web. Limnology and Oceanography 50:1300-1312.

Benstead, J.P., L.A. Deegan, B.J. Peterson, A.D. Huryn, W.B. Bowden, K. Suberkropp, K.M. Buzby, A.C. Green, and J. Vacca. 2005. Responses of a beaded Arctic stream to short-term N and P fertilisation. Freshwater Biology 50:277-290.

Benstead, J.P., P. de Rham, J.-L. Gattolliat, F.-M. Gibon, P.V. Loiselle, M. Sartori, J.S. Sparks, and M.L.J. Stiassny. 2003. Conserving Madagascar's freshwater biodiversity. BioScience 53:1101-1111.

March, J.G., J.P. Benstead, C.M. Pringle, and F.N. Scatena. 2003. Damming tropical island streams: problems, solutions, and alternatives. BioScience 53:1069-1078.

Benstead, J.P., M.M. Douglas, and C.M. Pringle. 2003. Relationships of stream invertebrate communities to deforestation in eastern Madagascar. Ecological Applications 13:1473-1490.

Cross, W.F, J.P. Benstead, A.D. Rosemond, and J.B. Wallace. 2003. Consumer-resource stoichiometry in detritus-based streams. Ecology Letters 6:721-732.

Benstead, J.P., J.G. March, C.M. Pringle, and F.N. Scatena. 1999. Effects of a low-head dam and water abstraction on migratory tropical stream biota. Ecological Applications 9:656-668.