Antarctica Trip Leader: Thomas Mozdzer

Dr. Mozdzer is a global change ecologist who aims to create a better understanding of how ecosystems are responding and evolving to global change factors including rising concentrations of carbon dioxide, nutrient pollution, sea level rise, and global warming.  At Bryn Mawr, he teaches Global Change Biology, where students critically evaluate the consequences of melting glaciers in Antarctica on coastal ecosystems that are very sensitive to changes in sea level.  In his NSF-supported research at the Smithsonian Global Change Research Wetland, Dr. Mozdzer is evaluating a novel question: does rapid evolution in response to global change influence how ecosystems function?  Ecologists used to think evolution was too slow to affect their studies, but recent findings from Mozdzer’s research are proving otherwise.