Dr. Hanson’s research focuses on the response of freshwater organisms to various types of stressors, with a special emphasis on aquatic plants and invertebrates. The interactions between organisms and the way in which these can influence the stress response are studied at the laboratory and field-level. This helps in our understanding and ability to predict the risk an exposure to a toxicant or change in water quality can provoke at the ecosystem-level. The use of microcosms, large-scale model freshwater ecosystems, is emphasized along with developing new methodologies to assess changes in water quality in a rapid and effective manner.
