Dr. Lara Jansen
Dr. Lara Jansen is a freshwater ecologist with expertise at the community level and at varying spatial scales. Her research centers on the drivers and dynamics of bioindicator communities such as algae and invertebrates in the context of specific management scenarios such as flow alterations. She has worked in a range of ecosystems from mountain lakes to subtropical wetlands and aims to elucidate the overlaps and deviations in biological responses across the multiple ecosystem types that lie within a watershed. Her work leverages field studies spanning environmental gradients and statistical modeling of key organisms and whole communities to further not only scientific understanding but also provide guidance for managing vulnerable aquatic ecosystems in varied landscapes.
She received a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology from Portland State University, a M.S in natural resource management from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt and a B.S in environmental science from University of California, San Diego. She joined SCCWRP in 2025.
Education
Ph.D., aquatic ecology, Portland State University, 2023
M.S., natural resource management, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, 2018
B.S., environmental science, University of California, San Diego, 2014
Professional Experience
Scientist, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA. 2025-present
Postdoctoral Fellow, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Corvallis, OR. 2023-2025
Doctoral Student Researcher, Portland State University. Portland, OR. 2018-2023
Water Resources Intern, Lake Oswego Corporation. Lake Oswego, OR. 2021-2023
Master Student Researcher, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Humboldt, CA. 2016-2018
Post Baccalaureate Research Intern, Archbold Biological Station. Venus, FL. 2014-2015
Publications
Journal Articles
Jansen LS, Tromas N, Shapiro J, Strecker, AS. Under review. Differing dynamics & toxicity of cyanobacterial blooms are represented in bacterioplankton of mountain lakes. Harmful Algae
Cagle S, Fadum J, Jansen LS, Burnet S, Pace M. 2024. Evaluating mentorship in the aquatic sciences in the context of a global pandemic. Limnology & Oceanography Bulletin. doi.org/10.1002/lob.10635
Jansen LS, Sobota D, Pan, Y, Strecker, AS. 2024. Watershed, lake and food web factors influence diazotrophic cyanobacteria in mountain lakes. Limnology & Oceanography. doi/ 10.1002/lno.12523
Li D, Record S, Sokol E, Bitters ME, Chen MY, Chung AY, Helmus MR, Jaimes R, Jansen LS, Jarzyna MA, Just MG, Montagne JM, Melbourne B, Moss W, Norman K, Parker S, Robinson N, Seyednasrollah B, Smith C, Spaulding S, Surasinghe T, Thomsen S, Zarnetske P.2022. Standardized NEON organismal data for biodiversity research. Ecosphere. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4141
Nagy, R. C., Balch, J. K., Bissell, E. K., Cattau, M. E., Glenn, N. F., Halpern, B. S., Ilangakoon, N., Johnson, B., Joseph, M. B., Marconi, S., OâÃÂÃÂRiordan, C., Sanovia, J., Swetnam, T. L., Travis, W. R., Wasser, L. A., Woolner, E., Zarnetske, P., Abdulrahim, M., Adler, J., Jansen LS, Zhu, K (1 of 120 authors). 2021. Harnessing the NEON data revolution to advance open environmental science with a diverse and data-capable community. Ecosphere. doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3833
Jansen LS, Gregson, KB, O'Dowd, AP. 2020. A comparison of benthic algal and macroinvertebrate communities in a dammed and undammed Mediterranean river (Eel River watershed, California, USA). River Research & Applications. doi.org/10.1002/rra.3695
Jansen LS, Pierre S, Boughton E. 2019.Interactions of fire, grazing, and pasture management: Short-term and long-term responses of water quality to management regimes in wetlands. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2019.04.026M
Carney, LT, Reinsch, SS, Lane, PD, Solberg, OD, Jansen, LS, Williams, KP, Trent, JD, Lane, TW. 2014. Microbiome analysis of a microalgal mass culture growing in municipal wastewater in a prototype OMEGA photobioreactor, Algal Research . doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2013.11.006