Scott Tiegs

Scott Tiegs
Professor, Ph.D.
366 DH
(248) 370-2695
Lab location: 364 DH, 365 DH
Lab phone: (248) 370-3546
[email protected]

Tiegs lab website

Courses:

BIO 1300  Biology II
BIO 3330  Ecology
BIO 4330  Ecology of Streams & Rivers
BIO 4333  Tropical Field Ecology

Research:

Professor Tiegs is an aquatic ecologist, and the overarching goal of his research is to understand human impacts on freshwater ecosystems so that they can be more effectively managed.  In particular, he is interested in human-related activities such as climate and land-use change, invasive-species introductions, and ecological restoration, and how they impact aquatic ecosystems.  He also researches the ecological roles of animals in aquatic ecosystems, including Galapagos tortoises, round gobies, New Zealand mudsnails, and Pacific salmon. One of his areas of expertise is organic-matter decomposition, and he has helped to develop a standardized, field-based assay  – the cotton-strip assay – that has been deployed in over 1,000 aquatic ecosystems globally. He is the author of nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Science Advances, Ecology, Science, and Global Change Biology. He is active with local environmental organizations, including the Clinton River Watershed Council, Trout Unlimited, and Seven Ponds Nature Center; he is an editor for the journals Fundamental and Applied Limnology and Ecosphere.  During the past 15 years, over 200 students have taken an immersive field-based course he teaches in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Bahamas titled Tropical Field Ecology (BIO 3333).

Selected Publications:

Scott Tieg list of publications

Tiegs, S. D. (2026). Plant phenology: Timing of leaf-litter delivery matters for stream ecosystem functioning. Currrent Biology 36 (4)

Parkinson, E., Wagner, N., & S. D. Tiegs (2026). Temporally Variable Impact of Artificial Light at Night on Insect-community Composition and Aquatic–Terrestrial Fluxes. Freshwater Biology

Tiegs, S. D., Capps, K. A., Costello, D. M., Schmidt, J. P., Patrick, C. J., Follstad Shah, J. J., LeRoy, C. J., & the CELLDEX Consortium. (2024). Human activities shape global patterns of decomposition in rivers. Science, 384, eadn1262

Parkinson, E., & Tiegs, S. D. (2023). Spectral composition of light-emitting diodes (LED) impacts aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate communities with potential implications for cross-ecosystem subsidies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 378, 20220361

Bovee, E. N., & Tiegs, S. D. (2023). Interactions between invasive New Zealand mudsnails and leaf litter: Growth and decomposition. Aquatic Ecology, 57, 523–528

Mancuso, J., Tank, J. L., Mahl, U. H., Vincent, A., & Tiegs, S. D. (2023). Monthly variation in organic-matter decomposition in agricultural stream and riparian ecosystems. Aquatic Sciences, 85, 83

Geist, J. A., Ethaiya, D., & Tiegs, S. D. (2022). Coupling gear-decontamination trials and angler surveys to minimize spread of invasive New Zealand mud snails. North American Journal of Fisheries Managemen

Mancuso, J., Messick, E., & Tiegs, S. D. (2022). Parsing spatial and temporal variation in stream ecosystem functioning. Ecosphere, 13(8), e4202

Tiegs, S. D., Costello, D. M., Isken, M. W., Woodward, G., McIntyre, P. B., Gessner, M. O., Chauvet, E., Griffiths, N. A., Flecker, A. S., Acuña, V., Albariño, R., Allen, D. C., Alonso, C., Andino, P., Arango, C., Aroviita, J., Barbosa, M. V. M., Barmuta, L. A., Baxter, C. V., … Zwart, J. A. (2019). Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones. Science Advances, 5, eaav0486

Tiegs, S.D., D.M. Costello, M.W. Isken, G. Woodward, P.B. McIntyre, M.O. Gessner, E. Chauvet, N.A. Griffith, et al. (2019). Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones. Science Advances 5: eaav0486. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav0486. D. Ethaiya* is a co-author.

Wensink*, S. and S.D. Tiegs. (2016). Shoreline hardening alters freshwater shoreline ecosystems. Freshwater Science 35:764-77. DOI: 10.1086/687279.

Tiegs, S.D., K.A. Berven, D. Carmack*, and K. Capps. (2016). Stoichiometric implications of a bi-phasic lifecycle. Oecologia 180:853-63. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3504-2.

Tiegs, S.D., J.E. Clapcott, N.A. Griffiths and A.J. Boulton. (2013). A standardized cotton-strip assay for measuring organic-matter decomposition in streams. Ecological Indicators 32:131-139. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.03.013.

Woodward, G., M.O. Gessner, P.S. Giller, V. Gulis, S. Hladys, A. Lecerf, B. Malmqvist, B.G. McKie, S.D. Tiegs, H. Cariss, M. Dobson, A. Elosegi, V. Ferreira, M.A.S. Graca, T. Fleituch, J.O. Lacoursiere, M. Nistorescu, J. Pozo, G. Risnoveanu, M, Schindler, A Vadineanu, L.B.-M. Vought and E. Chauvet. (2012). Continental-scale effects of nutrient pollution on stream ecosystem functioning. Science 336:1438-1440. DOI: 10.1126/science.1219534.

Greiner*, H.G., D.R. Kashian and S.D. Tiegs. (2012). Impacts of invasive Asian (Amynthas hilgendorfi) and European (Lumbricus rubellus) earthworms in a North American temperate deciduous forest. Biological Invasions 14:2017-2027. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-012-0208-y.

Tiegs, S.D., P.S. Levi, J. Rüegg, D.T. Chaloner, J.L. Tank and G.A. Lamberti. (2011). Ecological effects of live salmon exceed those of carcasses during an annual spawning migration. Ecosystems 14:598-614. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-011-9431-0. Article featured with cover photograph.

*OU student