Research Interests: My research interests straddle the interface of inland aquatic communities and ecosystems.  Research funding is driven by the importance of understanding factors which may compromise surface water quality and thus aquatic communities and ecosystems. Within this focus is an emphasis on how human impacts such as hydrological manipulation, nutrient loading, and fish management affect the structure and function of food webs, and the consequences for ecosystem processes.  Research methodology includes field sampling of water, habitats, and biota, analysis of large datasets, a broad range of statistical techniques, and stable isotope analysis. 

Current Research Projects:
Fresno River Watershed Assessment
(DWR-funded grant to Madera County)

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Bangkapong River Water Quality and Plankton Associated with Landuse (Aquatic Resources Research Institue and Faculty of Marine Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand)
Publication:  Blumenshine, S., A. Piumsomboon, V. Gundua, and N. Paphavasit.  Factors Affecting Spatial and Temporal Variation in Water Quality and Plankton: Case Study in the Bangpakong River.  In Press for the Thailand Journal of Science.

Variation in Waterbird Food Production Among Flooded Agricultural Fields (w/ USGS & MS Student Skip Moss)
Publication:  Moss, R., S. Blumenshine, and J. Fleskes.  Emergent Insect Production in Post-Harvest Agricultural Fields Flooded for Waterbird Habitat Mitigation.  In review for Wetlands.