معرفی
Lydia Zeglin is an Associate Professor in the Division of Biology within the College of Arts and Sciences at Kansas State University. Her research focuses on microbial ecology, particularly microbial diversity and nutrient cycling processes in streams and soils, studied within the framework of global environmental change. She integrates microbial- and ecosystem-level approaches to understand both natural and managed systems.
Her primary research interests include:
- Microbial ecology and community dynamics
- Nutrient cycling in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
- Soil and stream microbiome responses to environmental change
- Global change impacts on microbial processes
- Microbial dispersal mechanisms, including animal-mediated vectors
The trends in her recent publications indicate a strong focus on microbial responses to climate variables such as drought and temperature, nutrient dynamics in freshwater systems, and the functional roles of archaea and bacteria in soil nitrification. Her work frequently employs meta-analyses and large-scale ecological datasets, including contributions to the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON).
Notable scientific contributions include studies on:
- Microbial diversity shifts in response to historical drought
- Temperature sensitivity of leaf litter breakdown in global streams
- Role of bison dung in microbial dispersal in grasslands
- Host-microbiome interactions in extreme environments
Dr. Zeglin advises graduate students and leads an active research laboratory, the Zeglin Lab, which investigates microbial ecosystem functioning. She has secured research grants supporting long-term studies on soil and aquatic microbial processes, particularly those related to climate change and land use. Her collaborative work spans multiple institutions and includes participation in large-scale synthesis efforts.
She maintains her research lab at Kansas State University, accessible at zeglinlab.weebly.com, where ongoing projects and team information are shared.
