In this article, which appeared in the Fall 2016 issue of Open Rivers, researcher Jess Kozarek offers another look at a place many people know well: the Mississippi River. Kozarek’s research investigates the intersections between stream management and ecosystem response. That is, she studies the relationships between how a river works as a moving body of water susceptible to both “natural” and anthropogenic (i.e. human-caused) changes and the life contained within that river. What changes in water quality affect freshwater mussels, for example? Conversely, what do mussels do to affect the water quality of a river?
Read What Do You See When You Look At A River here.