Karen Alofs

Karen Alofs is an Assistant Professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, specializing in freshwater conservation ecology. Her research addresses climate change impacts, invasive species, and habitat degradation on biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. Alofs leads the Alofs Lab, focusing on ecological predictions and sustainable fisheries management.

Education:

• PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (2010), University of Texas at Austin
• BA in Biology (2002), University of Chicago

Research Interests: Alofs investigates how ecological communities adapt to environmental stressors, emphasizing species interactions, climate-driven range shifts, and generalizable ecological predictions for both aquatic and terrestrial systems. Her work bridges empirical data with conservation strategies for freshwater ecosystems.

Scientific Awards:

• National Science Foundation International Research Fellowship Program (Postdoctoral)

Lab Members: Current and former students include PhD candidates like Hannah Cohen and Scott Jackson, and MSc students such as Evan Hill, Lian Anderson, and Olivia Williams. Lab staff includes Postdoctoral Researchers Peter Flood and Kelly Hoyer, and Lab Manager Andrew Runyon.

Publications: Alofs' recent work explores climate change effects on fish communities, community science data integration, and functional diversity conservation, with a focus on museum specimen analysis and hydrodynamic modeling.