Dr. Emma J. Rosi

Aquatic Ecologist | PhD, University of Georgia

Expertise
freshwater, invasive species, human impacts

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Emma Rosi advanced our understanding of how land use, urbanization, and climate change shape freshwater ecosystems, with projects exploring environmental contaminants such as pharmaceutical and personal care products, aging wastewater infrastructure, environmental implications of agricultural GMOs, and the effects of dams.

Rosi directed the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), a National Science Foundation Long Term Ecological Research site. As part of BES, Rosi explored the role that failing wastewater infrastructure plays in polluting streams and creating antibiotic-resistant microbes. She also revealed how prescription and illicit drugs that enter our waterways impact freshwater quality and aquatic life.

In addition to her work on human-driven threats to freshwaters, Rosi co-led a long-term project, in collaboration with Yale University, investigating how wildebeest and hippos shape the food web in the Kenyan reach of Africa’s Mara River.

Rosi is a leader in the field of freshwater science, is a Fellow of the Society for Freshwater Science and has conducted research on the role of emerging contaminants shaping these systems.  Rosi served on the  US Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board and her research has implications for our understanding of anthropogenic stressors on freshwater ecosystems.

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Bryospheres in oligotrophic headwater streams provide nutrient-dense habitats and dominate stream nutrient cycling
Steele, JJB, AN Thellman, OK Vought, Emma J. Rosi, T Wooster, Christopher T. Solomon, and Emily S. Bernhardt. (2025) 2024. “Bryospheres in Oligotrophic Headwater Streams Provide Nutrient-Dense Habitats and Dominate Stream Nutrient Cycling”. FRESHWATER SCIENCE. doi:10.1086/733067.
Stream bryophytes promote “cryptic” productivity in highly oligotrophic headwaters
Thellman, Audrey N., Tammy Wooster, Heather Malcom, Emma J. Rosi, and Emily S. Bernhardt. 2024. “Stream Bryophytes Promote ‘cryptic’ Productivity in Highly Oligotrophic Headwaters”. Limnology and Oceanography n/a (n/a). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.12741.
Long-term trends in nitrate and chloride in streams in an exurban watershed
Castiblanco, ES, Peter M. Groffman, J Duncan, LE Band, E Doheny, GT Fisher, Emma J. Rosi, and AK Suchy. (2025) 2023. “Long-Term Trends in Nitrate and Chloride in Streams in an Exurban Watershed”. URBAN ECOSYSTEMS 26 (3): 831-44. doi:10.1007/s11252-023-01340-0.
Are Animal Disease Reservoirs at Risk of Human Antiviral Exposure?
Rosi, Emma J., JB Fick, and Barbara A. Han. 2023. “Are Animal Disease Reservoirs at Risk of Human Antiviral Exposure?”. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS 10 (5): 439-45. doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00201.
Density declines, richness increases, and composition shifts in stream macroinvertebrates
Rumschlag, SL, MB Mahon, DK Jones, W Battaglin, J Behrens, ES Bernhardt, P Bradley, et al. 2023. “Density Declines, Richness Increases, and Composition Shifts in Stream Macroinvertebrates”. SCIENCE ADVANCES 9 (18). doi:10.1126/sciadv.adf4896.
Combination of factors rather than single disturbance drives perturbation of the nitrogen cycle in a temperate forest
Green, Mark B., Linda H. Pardo, John L. Campbell, Emma J. Rosi, Emily S. Bernhardt, Charles T. Driscoll, Timothy J. Fahey, Nicholas LoRusso, Jackie Matthes, and Pamela H. Templer. 2023. “Combination of Factors Rather Than Single Disturbance Drives Perturbation of the Nitrogen Cycle in a Temperate Forest”. Biogeochemistry 166 (2). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 139-57. doi:10.1007/s10533-023-01105-z.
Effects of spatially heterogeneous lakeside development on nearshore biotic communities in a large, deep, oligotrophic lake
Meyer, Michael F., Ted Ozersky, Kara H. Woo, Kirill Shchapov, Aaron W. E. Galloway, Julie B. Schram, Emma J. Rosi, et al. 2022. “Effects of Spatially Heterogeneous Lakeside Development on Nearshore Biotic Communities in a Large, Deep, Oligotrophic Lake”. Limnology and Oceanography. Wiley. doi:10.1002/lno.12228.
A social-ecological-technological systems framework for urban ecosystem services
McPhearson, Timon, Elizabeth M. Cook, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Chingwen Cheng, Nancy B. Grimm, Erik Andersson, Olga Barbosa, et al. 2022. “A Social-Ecological-Technological Systems Framework for Urban Ecosystem Services”. One Earth 5 (5). Elsevier BV: 505-18. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2022.04.007.
Novel Field-Based Protein Detection Method Using Light Transmission Spectroscopy and Antibody Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles
Brandão-Dias, Pedro F. P., Alison E. Deatsch, Jennifer L. Tank, Arial J. Shogren, Emma J. Rosi, Steven T. Ruggiero, Carol E. Tanner, and Scott P. Egan. 2022. “Novel Field-Based Protein Detection Method Using Light Transmission Spectroscopy and Antibody Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles”. Nano Letters 22 (7). American Chemical Society (ACS): 2611-17. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c04142.
Urban net primary production: Concepts, field methods, and Baltimore, Maryland, USA case study
Sonti, Nancy F., Peter M. Groffman, David J. Nowak, Jason G. Henning, Meghan L. Avolio, and Emma J. Rosi. 2022. “Urban Net Primary Production: Concepts, Field Methods, and Baltimore, Maryland, USA Case Study”. Ecological Applications 32 (4). Wiley. doi:10.1002/eap.2562.
Animal legacies lost and found in river ecosystems
Frauendorf, TC, Amanda L. Subalusky, CL Dutton, Stephen K. Hamilton, FO Masese, Emma J. Rosi, GA Singer, and DM Post. (2025) 2021. “Animal Legacies Lost and Found in River Ecosystems”. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS 16 (11). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac2cb0.
Watershed studies at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: Building on a long legacy of research with new approaches and sources of data
Campbell, John L., Lindsey E. Rustad, Scott W. Bailey, Emily S. Bernhardt, Charles T. Driscoll, Mark B. Green, Peter M. Groffman, et al. 2021. “Watershed Studies at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: Building on a Long Legacy of Research With New Approaches and Sources of Data”. Hydrological Processes 35 (1). Wiley. doi:10.1002/hyp.14016.
Water column contributions to the metabolism and nutrient dynamics of mid-sized rivers
Reisinger, Alexander J., Jennifer L. Tank, Robert O. Hall, Emma J. Rosi, Michelle A. Baker, and Laurel Genzoli. 2021. “Water Column Contributions to the Metabolism and Nutrient Dynamics of Mid-Sized Rivers”. Biogeochemistry 153 (1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 67-84. doi:10.1007/s10533-021-00768-w.
Fate of Environmental Proteins (eProteins) from Genetically Engineered Crops in Streams is Controlled by Water pH and Ecosystem Metabolism
Brandão-Dias, Pedro F. P., Emma J. Rosi, Arial Shogren, Jennifer L. Tank, David T. Fischer, and Scott P. Egan. 2021. “Fate of Environmental Proteins (eProteins) from Genetically Engineered Crops in Streams Is Controlled by Water PH and Ecosystem Metabolism”. Environmental Science & Technology 55 (8). American Chemical Society (ACS): 4688-97. doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c05731.
Exposure to a common antidepressant alters crayfish behavior and has potential subsequent ecosystem impacts
Reisinger, Alexander J., Lindsey S. Reisinger, Erinn K. Richmond, and Emma J. Rosi. 2021. “Exposure to a Common Antidepressant Alters Crayfish Behavior and Has Potential Subsequent Ecosystem Impacts”. Ecosphere 12 (6). Wiley. doi:10.1002/ecs2.3527.
A century of change: Reconstructing the biogeochemical history of Hubbard Brook
Likens, Gene E., Donald C. Buso, Emily S. Bernhardt, and Emma J. Rosi. 2021. “A Century of Change: Reconstructing the Biogeochemical History of Hubbard Brook”. Hydrological Processes 35 (6). Wiley. doi:10.1002/hyp.14256.
Dosing the Coast: Leaking Sewage Infrastructure Delivers Large Annual Doses and Dynamic Mixtures of Pharmaceuticals to Urban Rivers
Fork, M.L., Jerker Fick, Alexander J. Reisinger, and Emma J. Rosi. 2021. “Dosing the Coast: Leaking Sewage Infrastructure Delivers Large Annual Doses and Dynamic Mixtures of Pharmaceuticals to Urban Rivers”. Environmental Science & Technology 55 (17). American Chemical Society (ACS): 11637-45. doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c00379.
PHARMACEUTICAL TRANSPORT AND TRANSFORMATION IN TRAPA NATANS BEDS
Plum, Cami, Stephen K. Hamilton, Rebekah Henry, David McCarthy, Emma J. Rosi, and Michael Grace. (2019) 2021. “PHARMACEUTICAL TRANSPORT AND TRANSFORMATION IN TRAPA NATANS BEDS”. Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 2019. https://www.hudsonriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/polgar-plum-tp-06-19.pdf.
The meta-gut: community coalescence of animal gut and environmental microbiomes
Dutton, Christopher L., Amanda L. Subalusky, Alvaro Sanchez, Sylvie Estrela, Nanxi Lu, Stephen K. Hamilton, Laban Njoroge, Emma J. Rosi, and David M. Post. 2021. “The Meta-Gut: Community Coalescence of Animal Gut and Environmental Microbiomes”. Scientific Reports 11 (1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02349-1.
Towards more realistic estimates of DOM decay in streams: Incubation methods, light, and non-additive effects
Kelso, Julia E., Emma J. Rosi, and Michelle A. Baker. 2020. “Towards More Realistic Estimates of DOM Decay in Streams: Incubation Methods, Light, and Non-Additive Effects”. Freshwater Science 39 (3). University of Chicago Press: 559-75. doi:10.1086/710218.