Matthew Wooller Associate Professor

Affiliations

• Water and Environmental Research Center, UAF
• Cooperating Faculty Department of Geology and Geophysics UAF

Specialty

• Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry

Courses

Spring 2009

• Stable Isotopic Techniques in Environmental Research (MSL F661)

Fall 2009

• Emerging Trends in Biogeo... (MSL F692F3)
• Emerging Trends in Biogeo... (MSL F692F3)

Spring 2010

• Stable Isotopic Techniques in Environmental Research (MSL F661)
• Stable Isotopic Techniques in Environmental Research (MSL F661)

Research Overview

ISOTOPES IN ECOLOGY CONFERENCE FAIRBANKS ALASKA 9-13th Aug 2010:
http://www.uaf.edu/water/ISOECOL7/Welcome.html

Dr. Woollers research has focused on understanding the influence of changing environmental conditions on past ecosystems. By including a better understanding how modern environments function he hopes to appreciate how the past operated. A better understanding of biotic responses to global change will encourage rigorous testing of environmental models, allowing future environmental scenarios to be assessed.
Dr. Wooller is jointly appointed with the Water and Environmental Research Center at UAF and is the Director of the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility.

Stable isotope techniques feature as the primary analytical tools that Dr. Wooller uses to study a wide range of environmental and ecological questions. For example these include:

i) Investigating the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of chironomids (aquatic invertebrates) to reconstruct past environmental conditions at high latitudes (funded by NSF-ESH, Center for Global Change and DOE).
ii) Investigating carbon and nitrogen cycling (past and present) in the mangrove ecosystems of Belize (funded by NSF-Ecosystems).
iii) Studying changes in the migration patterns and diets of animals (including sealions, bowhead whales, eiders) in the Arctic (funded by American Fisheries and the Center for Global Change).

Publications:

J. Finch, M.J Wooller, R. Marchant (in review) A 40,000-yr record of ecosystem dynamics from the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. Quaternary Research.

N. Misarti, B. Finney, H. Maschnerb, M. J. Wooller, (2009). Changes in Northeast Pacific marine ecosystems over 4,500 years: Evidence from stable isotope analysis of bone collagen from archaeological middens. Holocene.

O, Heiri, M. J. Wooller, M. van Hardenbroek, and Y. Wang (2009) Stable isotopes in chitinous fossils of aquatic invertebrates. PAGES.

N. Monacci, M.J. Wooller et al. (2009) Mangrove ecosystem changes during the Holocene at Spanish Lookout Cay, Belize. Paleo3.

M.J Wooller et al., (in press). Late Holocene Hydrologic and Ecosystem Changes at Turneffe Atoll, Belize, with comparison to mainland records. PALAIOS.

P.Deines, J. Grey and M.J. Wooller (2009). Isotope markers of benthic food web ecology. Freshwater Biology.

M. Fogel, S. Gudeman, M.J. Wooller (re-submitted) Tracking nitrogen remobilization in decomposing mangrove leaves enriched in 15. Hydrobiologia.

Y. Wang, D. O’Brien, D. Francis Jim Benson and M.J. Wooller (2009) The influence of diet and water on the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of aquatic organisms (Chironomidae: Diptera) with paleoecological implications. Oecologia. on-line first


S. Hazlett N. Misarti G. McFarlane M.J. Wooller (2009) Determining long-term feeding habits of the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) using stable isotope analysis. Transactions of the AFS or the AFS North American Fisheries Management Journal.

M. Fogel, M.J. Wooller et al., (2008). Unusually negative nitrogen isotopic compositions (d15N) of mangroves and lichens in an oligotrophic, microbially-influenced ecosystem. Biogeosciences, 5, 1693–1704.

G. Zazula and M.J. Wooller (2008) Comment on "Environmental setting (micro) morphologies and stable C-O isotope composition of cold climate carbonate - a review and evaluation of their potential as paleoclimatic proxies" by Denis Lacelle. Quaternary Science Reviews 26: 1670-1689. QSR 27: 1655-1660.

S.M. Budge, M.J. Wooller et al. (2008) Tracing carbon flow in an arctic marine food web using fatty acid-stable isotope analysis. Oecologia, 157: 117-129.

F.A. Street-Perrott, P. Barker, Leng, M., Sloane, H., M.J. Wooller, Ficken K., Swain, D.L. (2008) Towards an understanding of late Quaternary variations in the continental biogeochemical cycle of silicon: multi-isotope and sediment-flux data for Lake Rutundu, Mt Kenya, East Africa, since 38 ka BP. Journal of Quaternary Science: 23(4): 375-387.

T.W. Bentzen, E. Follmann, S.C. Amstrup, G.S. York, M.J. Wooller, D.C.G. Muir, and T.M. O’Hara (2008). Dietry biomagnification of organochlorine contaminants in Alaskan polar bears. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 86: 177-191.

L. Bremond, A. Alexandre, M.J. Wooller et al. (2008). Phytolith indices as proxies of grass subfamilies on East African tropical mountains. Global and Planetary Change. doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2007.08.016.

Y. Wang, D. O’Brien, D. Francis and M.J. Wooller (2008). A protocol for preparing subfossil Chironomid head capsules (Diptera: Chironomidae) for stable isotope analysis in paleoclimate reconstruction and considerations of contamination sources. Journal of Paleolimnology. on-line.

C.T. Mumbi, R. Marchant, H. Hooghiemstra, M.J. Wooller (2007). Late quaternary reconstruction from the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania. Quaternary Research. doi: 10.10161/j-yqres.2007.10.012

M.J. Wooller Y. Axford and Y. Wang (2007) A multiple stable isotope record of Late Quaternary limnological changes and chironomid paleoecology from northeastern Iceland. Journal of Paleolimnology.

M.J. Wooller R. Morgan S. Fowell H. Behling and M. Fogel (2007) A multi-proxy peat record of Holocene mangrove paleoecology from Twin Cays, Belize. The Holocene.

D. O'Brien D. and M.J. Wooller (2007). Tracking human travel using stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope analyses of hair and urine. Rapid communications in Mass Spectrometry 21: 2422–2430

M. Knoche A.N. Powell  M.J. Wooller L. Quakenbush and L.M. Phillips  (2007). Further evidence of fidelity to molt site locations by King Eiders: Combining stable isotope analyses and satellite telemetry. Waterbirds 30 (1): 52-57

F.A. Street-Perrott, P. Barker, K. Ficken, M. Wooller et al. (2007), Late Quaternary changes in ecosystems and carbon cycling on Mt. Kenya, East Africa: a landscape-ecological perspective based on multi-proxy lake-sediment fluxes. Quaternary Science Reviews.

T.W. Bentzen E.H. Follmann S.C. Amstrup G.W. York M.J. Wooller and T.M. O’Hara (2007) Variation in winter feeding ecology of southern Beaufort Sea polar bears inferred from stable isotope analysis. Canadian Journal of Zoology

R. Greenberg P. Mara and M.J. Wooller (2007) Stable isotope (C,N,H) analyses locate the unknown winter range of the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (MELOSPIZA GEORGIANA NIGRESCENS). Auk.

M.J. Wooller R. Boone et al. (2007). A survey of the stable isotope (C and N) composition of eastern Beringian grasses and sedges: investing their potential as indicators of past environmental conditions. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research.

Y. Wang and M.J. Wooller. (2006) The stable isotopic (C and N) composition of modern plants from northern Iceland: with paleoenvironmental implications. JoKull.

J. Briner M.J. Wooller et al. (2006) Multi-proxy lacustrine records of Holocene Environmental change in Arctic Canada. Quaternary Research.65: 431-442.

M.K. Schweizer M. J. Wooller J. Toporski M.L. Fogel, A. Steele. (2006) Examination of an Oligocene lacustrine ecosystem using C and N stable isotopes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 230: 335 – 351.

M.J. Wooller M. Fogel et al. (2005), Stable isotope characteristics across a sharp ecotone in Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater, Western Australia: palaeoecological implications. Oecologia.

M.J. Wooller M. Fogel et al. (2004). Mangrove ecosystem dynamics and elemental cycling at Twin Cays, Belize, during the Holocene. Journal of Quaternary Science. 19 (7): 703-711.

M.J. Wooller D. Francis M. L. Fogel G.H. Miller Ian R. Walker Alexander P. Wolfe, (2004) Quantitative paleotemperature estimates from d18O in chironomid head capsules from arctic lake sediment. Journal of Paleolimnology. 31: 267-274.

B. Smallwood M.J. Wooller M. Jacobson M. Fogel (2003). Compound specific stable isotope analyses of R. mangle leaves. Geochemical Transactions. 7: 14 – 27.

M.J. Wooller B. Smallwood U. Scharler M. Jacobson and M. Fogel (2003) Towards a multi-proxy approach to mangrove palaeoecology: A taphonomic study of d13C and d15N values in R. mangle leaves. Organic Geochemistry. 34: 1259-1275

M.J. Wooller B. Smallwood M. Jacobson and M. Fogel (2003) Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic variation in Laguncularia racemosa from Florida and Belize: Implications for trophic level studies. Hydrobiologia. 499: 13-23.

M. J. Wooller D.L. Swain K. Ficken A.D.Q. Agnew and F.A. Street Perrott (2003) Late Quaternary environmental change on Mount Kenya: multi-proxy evidence from Lake Rutundu. Journal of Quaternary Science 18(1) 3-15.

K.J. Ficken M.J. Wooller D.L. Swain F.A. Street-Perrott and Eglinton G. (2002) Reconstruction of a sub-alpine grass dominated ecosystem, Lake Rutundu, Mount Kenya: A novel multi-proxy approach. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (special issue). 177: 137-149.

M.J. Wooller and K. Beuning (guest editors) (2002) Introduction to the reconstruction and modelling of grass dominated environments. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2708: 1-3.

M.J. Wooller (2002) A method for the analysis of grass cuticles from lacustrine sediment cores. The Holocene, 12, 1: 107-115.

M.J. Wooller and A.D.Q. Agnew (2002) Changes in graminoid stomatal morphology over the last glacial-interglacial transition: evidence from Mount Kenya, East Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2716: 1-14.

A.D.Q. Agnew and M.J. Wooller (2001) New and interesting records of grasses and sedges in Kenya. Journal of East African Natural History. 91: 75-84.

M.J. Wooller A.D.Q. Agnew S. Mathai D.L. Swain and F.A. Street-Perrott (2001) An altitudinal and stable carbon isotope survey of grasses on Mount Kenya, East Africa. Journal of East African Natural History. 90: 69-85.

M.J. Wooller B. Collins M.L. Fogel (2001) The elemental analyzer sample carousel: Loading an autosampler made easy. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 15: 1-3.

M. J. Wooller and K. Beuning (2001) Workshop Report: Paleo-Grassland Research (PGR) 2000: a conference on the reconstruction and modelling of past grass dominated ecosystems. PAGES News. 9: 16-17.

M. J. Wooller (2001) contributions In: J. A. Matthews et al. (editor), The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Environmental Change. Edward Arnold.

M. J. Wooller F.A. Street-Perrott A.D.Q. Agnew (2000) Late Quaternary fires and grassland palaeoecology of Mt. Kenya, East Africa: Evidence from charred grass cuticles in lake sediments. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 164: 207-230.

M. J. Wooller. (2000), Reconstructing past grasslands using grass cuticles: an optimum size (area) for micromorphological investigation. Swansea Geographer. 35: 9-17.

Current Research Projects

• Studying diet in threatened eiders using stable carbon isotopes of specific fatty acids: Validation of a new technique with controlled feeding experiments (NPRB)
  Spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri) and Steller’s eiders (Polysticta stelleri) were listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act in the 1990s, due to precipitous declines in numbers of breeding birds and nesting ranges in Alaska (Federal Register 1993, 1997). Changes in the marine ecosystem, leading to alterations in the quality and quantity of available food resources, have been considered as potential causes for these declines and threats to recovery and long term survival of the Alaskan eider populations (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1996, 2002). However, relatively little is known of foraging ecology, nutritional requirements, and food limitation in eiders. Specifically, little is known about critical foraging habitat associations and nutrient requirements during energetically demanding seasons in the arctic and subarctic marine environments. Information is lacking on the relative importance of marine versus terrestrial nutrients during prebreeding and breeding seasons, and impacts of foraging conditions on habitat use and distribution of birds during the nonbreeding season. Recently advanced biochemical methodologies involving the analysis of dietary biomarkers (i.e. fatty acid signature analysis, coupled with stable isotope analysis) have been developed and offer new and sophisticated avenues ways for to exploring investigate and understanding foraging ecology in marine species, . These techniques also and provide novel, minimally invasive alternatives toways to assess diets and foraging patterns in stressed and endangered species. Development of diet assessment techniques is a recovery task for both Steller’s and spectacled eiders, due to the importance of further understanding of nutrient resources and habitat associations of threatened populations. Our project will advance methodologies to understand foraging ecology, nutrient pathways, and critical habitat characteristics of threatened sea duck populations in the North Pacific ecosystem.
• TRACKING THE SEASONAL CONTRIBUTION OF ALGAL FATTY ACIDS TO THE ARCTIC MARINE SYSTEM (NSF-OPP)
  Record minima for summer sea ice in the Arctic have recently occurred. The Bering Sea has one of the highest seasonal sea ice regimes in the Arctic and one of the highest rates of observed change. Cascading effects of seasonal changes in sea ice are expected to influence primary production and propagate through marine ecosystems in the Arctic. Our project involves a transformative approach to better track the complex seasonal interdependencies between arctic marine primary production and arctic marine food web components in the Bering Sea. We are tracking the seasonal, proportional contributions of specific biomarkers derived from the two main primary producers sea ice algae and open ocean phytoplankton into higher trophic levels (sympagic, pelagic and benthic invertebrates and ice seals) in the Bering Sea. The overall goal of this project relates to providing an exceptional level of ecological detail by: 1) tracing the seasonal inputs of specific fatty acid biomarkers deriving from sea ice alga and open ocean phytoplankton through the marine food web using sophisticated fatty acid profiling and novel compound-specific stable isotope analyses (CSIA); 2) tracing the seasonal (spring and summer) changes in the proportions of these biomarkers in sympagic, pelagic and benthic arctic marine invertebrates; 3) investigating the presence of these seasonally derived biomarkers in ice seals, which are an important subsistence resource to Alaskan Native communities in the region. Our detailed and seasonal perspective will contribute to ongoing food web studies in the Bering Sea (e.g., the Bering Ecosystem Study and Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program - BEST/BSIERP, funded by the NSF and North Pacific Research Board), including research being conducted by the Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) on marine subsistence resources used by Alaskan Native communities.
• Nonlinearities in the Arctic climate system during the Holocene — ARCSS 8 ka project (NSF-OPP) (NSF-OPP)
  A major goal of the Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program is to understand the variability of the Arctic system and the feedbacks that lead to pronounced system changes, such as those that are currently taking place. Rapid changes in the Arctic climate system that occurred in the relatively recent past can be compared with the output of climate models to improve the understanding of the processes responsible for nonlinear system change. In particular, this study focuses on the transition between the Holocene thermal maximum (HTM) and the onset of Neoglaciation, and on the step-like changes that occurred subsequently during the late Holocene. The millennial-scale cooling trend that followed the HTM coincides with the decrease in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation driven by slow changes in Earth’s orbit. Despite the nearly linear forcing, the transition from the HTM to the Little Ice Age (1500-1900 AD) was neither gradual nor uniform. To understand how feedbacks and perturbations result in rapid changes, a geographically distributed network of proxy climate records is proposed to study the spatial and temporal patterns of change, and to quantify the magnitude of change during these transitions. The 12 PIs of this collaborative project will use lacustrine sediments to produce 13 new high-resolution proxy climate records of the past 8000 years. The study sites form two focus regions (eastern Beringia and the NW Atlantic) that generally coincide with the nodes of the surface temperature expression of the Arctic Oscillation (AO). This project will nearly double the number of high-resolution lacustrine records that extend through the last two millennia, and will generate some of the first high-resolution records that capture the HTM.
• Source characterization and temporal variation of methane seepage from thermokarst lakes on the Alaska North Slope in response to arctic climate change (NETL - DOE)
  The goals of this research are to characterize the source, magnitude and temporal variability of methane seepage from two representative thermokarst lake areas within the Alaskan North Slope gas hydrate province and to assess the vulnerability of these areas to ongoing and future arctic climate change. Atmospheric methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Predicted increases in methane flux, connected in large part to expected changes in the thickness of permafrost, will in turn affect atmospheric methane concentrations. However, knowledge gaps remain regarding nearly all aspects of past and present methane emissions from terrestrial arctic sites thus limiting the accuracy of climate change models used to predict fluctuations in methane flux under various climate warming scenarios. Assessing changes in the size or intensity of terrestrial arctic methane seeps as both a possible cause and a probable effect of future climate change requires a baseline understanding of (a) the contemporary factors controlling the spatial distribution and temporal frequency of arctic methane emissions; (b) the key methane sources; and (c) the associated methane flux. This research program is largely designed to address these critical needs. Related to the overarching issue of present and future arctic methane emissions is the more focused problem of the susceptibility of arctic methane hydrate deposits to global climate change. Much of the published research on methane hydrates purports to be partially motivated by the potential that global warming could lead to dissociation of a portion of the global hydrate reservoir, which may in turn exacerbate warming if/once the methane reaches the atmosphere. Terrestrial permafrost gas hydrates are thought to be particularly susceptible to climate forcing since the overlying thermal buffer of ocean water is absent. At the same time, the absence of ocean water, where much of the methane emitted at the seafloor may dissolve or be oxidized, also means that dissociation of permafrost hydrates could lead to more direct and presumably more efficient methane transfer to the atmosphere. To date, no study has proved that dissociating methane hydrates contribute to arctic methane emissions, nor have sufficient field data been acquired to assess the potential for such a contribution in the future. This issue is central to the evaluation of the role of methane hydrates in climate change and will be directly, systematically, and quantitatively addressed in this project.
• A novel application of stable isotope techniques to ‘fingerprint’ the origin of Marijuana in Alaska
  Like fossil plants remians, modern plants can preserve an isotopic record of the environment they once existed in. We are developing a method to identify the origin of marijuana being supplied to the state of Alaska (AK). Marijuana in AK can originate from within the state (e.g. Fairbanks and the Matsu Valley) (ABDEA 2003) and from a number of areas outside the state (e.g. Latin America, Canada and the lower 48 states of the U.S.A.). Although Latin America is known to supply a large proportion of the marijuana in the lower 48 states of the U.S.A. the proportions from different potential geographic areas that supply AK are not well known. This is primarily because marijuana confiscated from individuals cannot be traced back to the source from which it was originally grown. We propose developing a forensic method in the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility (ASIF) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) for using chemical ‘fingerprints’ (stable isotope compositions) preserved in marijuana samples, confiscated in AK and supplied to us by the UAF Police Department, to identify the geographic source from which they originated. Results from preliminary analyses of different marijuana samples from Fairbanks are very intriguing and suggest that the samples came from multiple sources ranging from low to high latitudes. We have developed a unique collaborative partnership with the UAF Police Department, who are a critical part of our chain of custody and are furnishing samples for analysis. Our project also has the potential of developing state of the art forensic tools here in AK with significant potential for application to other forensic questions.

Links

• Wooller lab: Alaska Stable Isotope Facility
  More details of the Wooller lab and research can be found at the: Alaska Stable Isotope Facility
• Alaska Quaternary Center
  Dr Wooller serves on the science steering board for the Alaska Quaternary Center.

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