Directory

Shane Lishawa, MS

About

Shane Lishawa is a wetland ecologist with focused expertise on Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetlands. He has been a faculty Research Associate at Loyola University Chicago since 2008. He began his career at Loyola in 2007, in the now defunct Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy, where he co-developed and co-taught the Solutions to Environmental Problems (STEP) course and managed the biodiesel lab. Lishawa developed his connection with the ecosystems of the Great Lakes region early in life, growing up in Traverse City, Michigan. His dedication to conservation and restoration was sparked by observing the rapid development of the region as a youth. 

Degrees

• BS, Resource Ecology and Management, University of Michigan (2001)
• MS, Forest Ecology, University of Vermont (2005)

Research Interests

Lishawa is interested in investigating the interplay between invasive plant species and biodiversity, plant community dynamics, nutrient and carbon cycling, and water level change in Great Lakes coastal wetland ecosystems. Furthermore, his research aims to bridge the gap between ecological research and applied restoration and conservation. Working with students, tribes, federal agencies, and conservation non-profits, he is conducting large-scale adaptive ecological restoration experiments that test methods to treat invasive species, improve habitat values, and restore ecosystems that support culturally and ecologically important species. 

Professional & Community Affiliations

• Society of Wetland Scientists
• Society of Ecological Restoration
• Steering Committee Member: UNESCO Obtawaing Biosphere Region

Courses Taught

• Ecology Lab
• Solutions to Environmental Problems
• General Ecology
• Field Natural History
• Field Botany
• Field Ornithology
• Biological Research Independent Study in Biology
• Environmental Research Capstone

Awards

• United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. $1,166,288 (May 2023) Controlling invasive plants, improving waterbird habitat, and reducing nutrient run-off through biomass harvest, on-site biochar production, and biochar reapplication. Brian Ohsowski and Shane Lishawa.
• Bureau of Indian Affairs, Circle of Flight Program. $54,601. (July 2023) Testing the Potential for a Manoomin Habitat Suitability Model to Increase Detections of Existing Populations and to Inform Targeted Planting in the 1836 Ceded Territory. Eric Clark and Shane Lishawa
• Illinois Tollway $203,000. (October 2022) Evaluating Innovative Techniques to Enhance Tollway Bioswale Capacity to Reduce Chloride and Heavy Metal Runoff. $203,000. Illinois Tollway. Brian Ohsowski and Shane Lishawa
• Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program 2021. $387,100. (May 2022) Optimizing Early Detection of Aquatic Invasive Species in Michigan Using Novel Range Expansion Forecasts. Shane Lishawa, Brian Ohsowski, Andrew Monks.
• Bureau of Indian Affairs, Circle of Flight Program. $62,043. (February 2021) Determining environmental tolerances of Manoomin in the St. Marys River and developing innovative monitoring methodologies using unmanned aerial vehicles. Eric Clark, Dani Fegan, Shane Lishawa, Andrew Monks, Robert Pillsbury
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Sustain Our Great Lakes Program $185,215 (October 2020) Enhancing biodiversity and habitat complexity in Cheboygan Marsh through hybrid cattail control. Shane Lishawa and Andrew Monks.
• Illinois Tollway $298,000. (April 2019) Remediating runoff and creating renewable energy by harvesting invasive plants from Illinois Tollway detention basins. Beth Lawrence, Shane Lishawa, Andrew Monks.
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Selected Publications

• Jochems L, Requena J, Brandt J, Caughlin T, Monks A, Hopping K, Williamson M, Lishawa S. Active remote sensing data and dispersal processes improve predictions for an invasive aquatic plant during a climatic extreme in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Journal of Environmental Management. 370, 122610.
• Schurkamp SJ, Lishawa SC, Ohsowski BM. 2024. Wetland plant species and biochar amendments lead to variable salinity reduction in roadway-associated soils. Science of The Total Environment. 2024 Aug 26:175801.
• Panda A, Lishawa SC, Tallant J, Fegen, D. 2024. Modeling habitat suitability of wild rice (Zizania) to inform restoration efforts in Michigan, U.S.A. Restoration Ecology, e14205. doi.org/10.1111/rec.14205
• Varty AK, Cronan A, Mauchmar J, Lishawa SC. 2024. Examining effects of elevated temperature, pH, and salinity on early growth of Zizania palustris to improve restoration outcomes in Michigan lakes. Wetlands Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-024-09999-8
• Ohsowski BM, Redding C, Geddes P, Lishawa SC. 2024. Field-based measurement tools to distinguish clonal Typha taxa and estimate biomass: A resource for conservation and restoration. Frontiers in Plant Science. 15 (2024): 1348144. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1348144
• Monks AM, Lishawa SC, Ohsowski BM, Schurkamp SJ, Lawrence BA. 2023. Complementarity of road salt and heavy metal pollutant removal through invasive Typha and Phragmites harvest in urban wetland detention basins. Ecological Engineering. 194,107058.
• Lishawa SC, Schrank AJ, Lawrence BA, Monks AM, Albert DA. 2023. Aquatic connectivity treatments increase fish and macroinvertebrate use of Typha‐invaded Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Freshwater Biology. DOI: 10.1111/fwb.14141
• Johnson OJ, Panda A, Lishawa SC, Lawrence BA. 2021. Repeated large-scale mechanical treatment of invasive Typha under increasing water levels promotes floating mat formation and wetland methane emissions. Science of The Total Environment. 790, 147920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147920
• Jochems, LW, Brandt J, Monks A, Cattau, M, Kolarik N, Tallant J, Lishawa S. 2021. Comparison of different analytical strategies for classifying invasive wetland vegetation in imagery from unpiloted aerial systems (UAS). Remote Sensing. 13, 4733.
• Lishawa SC, Dunton EM, Pearsall DR, Monks AM, Himmler KB, Carson BD, Loges B, Albert DA. 2020. Wetland waterbird food resources increased by harvesting invasive cattails. Journal of Wildlife Management. 84(7) 1326-1337. DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21912
• Schrank AJ, Lishawa SC. 2019. Invasive cattail reduces fish diversity and abundance in a Great Lakes coastal wetland. Journal of Great Lakes Research. 45(6) 1251-1259. DOI: /10.1016/j.jglr.2019.09.013.
• Monks AM, Lishawa SC, Wellons KC, Albert DA, Mudrzynksi B, Wilcox DA. 2019. European frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) invasion facilitated by non-native cattails (Typha) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research. 45(5) 912-20. DOI: 1016/j.jglr.2019.07.005
• Johnson OF, Lishawa SC, Lawrence BA. 2019. Submerged harvest reduces invasive Typha and increases soil macronutrient availability. Plant and Soil. 442(1-2) 157-67. DOI:10.1007/s11104-019-04171-1
• Bansal S, Lishawa SC, Newman S, Tangen BA, Wilcox D, et al. 2019. Typha (cattail) invasion in North American wetlands: Biology, regional problems, impacts, ecosystem Services, and management. 39 (4) 645-684. DOI:10.1007/s13157-019-01174-7
• Lishawa SC, Lawrence BA, Albert DA, Larkin DJ, Tuchman NC. 2019. Invasive species removal increases species and phylogenetic diversity of wetland plant communities. Ecology and Evolution. DOI:10.1002/ece3.5188
• Keyport S, Carson BD, Johnson O, Lawrence BA, Lishawa SC, Tuchman NC, Kelly JJ. 2019. Effects of experimental harvesting of an invasive hybrid cattail on wetland structure and function. Restoration Ecology. 27 (2) 389-398. DOI:10.1111/rec.12859

Please see his CV for his complete list of publications, affiliations and awards.