Catherine Mann Pringle is a distinguished research professor at the

Odum School of Ecology The Odum School of Ecology is a school within the University of Georgia and the successor of the UGA Institute of Ecology. It is named after Eugene Odum, renowned UGA biologist, the father of ecosystem ecology, and the founder of the Institute. ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. She studies aquatic ecosystems and conservation. Pringle has previously served as president of the

Society for Freshwater Science The Society for Freshwater Science (SFS) is an international scientific society whose members study freshwater ecosystems (rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries) and ecosystems at the interface between aquatic and terrestrial habitats ...

. She is a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

and the

Ecological Society of America The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...

Early life and education

Pringle studied environmental science at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1976, her master's in 1979 and her doctorate in 1986. After earning her PhD, Pringle joined the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

as a postdoctoral scholar. She moved to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1991, where she stayed for two years before moving to the

Research and career

Pringle joined the

in 1993 where she works on

aquatic ecology An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environ ...

. Her research involves studying the

impact of climate change Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an Instrumental temperature record, overall warming trend, Effects of climate change on the ...

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

streams. Working at the

Organization for Tropical Studies The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS)/Organización para Estudios Tropicales (OET), founded in 1963, is a non-profit consortium of over 50 universities and research institutions based in the United States, Latin America, and South Africa. OTS ...

La Selva Biological Station La Selva Biological Station is a protected area encompassing 1,536 ha of low-land tropical rain forest in northeastern Costa Rica. It is owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies,Matlock, R., & Hartshorn, G. (1999). La selva biolo ...

, Pringle he has collected almost three decades of data collected from lowland streams in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. Pringle was awarded her first

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTERB) in

in 1985 and has continued to collect data since. She looks to understand the relationship between ecosystem processes in lowland tropical systems and surface–subsurface water interactions. In streams around La Selva solute-rich groundwater is transferred through subsurface flow, which alters nearby ecosystems. She showed that this solute-rich groundwater is responsible for almost half of stream discharge and can cause the build-up of cations in streams during the dry season. Solute-rich groundwater is associated with underlying volcanic activity, which alters the chemistry of the water through geothermal modification in Puerto Viejo Sarapiquí, a town near

. The town has undergone explosive population growth, which places increased demands on local water supplies, and pesticides from the

banana plantations A banana plantation is a commercial agricultural facility found in tropical climates where bananas are grown. Geographic distribution Banana plants may grow with varying degrees of success in diverse climatic conditions, but commercial banana pl ...

can result in contamination. Pringle and her graduate students developed the environmental outreach program ''Water for Life'', which focuses on water quality and quantity. The program involved volunteer stream monitoring (''Adopt-a-Stream''), posters to promote awareness of watershed protection and the development of teaching materials. In 2008, she was made a distinguished research professor. She has investigated the role of specific species in maintaining the function of ecosystems, and how freshwater ecosystems adapt when certain species are lost. She has evaluated the impact of frog extinction in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

's mountain streams and shrimp

extirpation Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with extinction, global extinctions. Local extinctions ...

(local extinction) in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Alongside her research, Pringle is involved with the design of innovative graduate education programmes. At the

she serves as a distinguished research professor and chair of the

Master's degree Conservation Ecology & Sustainable Development. In 2019 Pringle was made a Fellow of the

for her contribution to stream ecosystems and mentoring of students in aquatic conservation ecology. She has taught on the Semester at Sea program.

Awards and honours

Her awards and honours include: * 2000

Creative Research Medal * 2009 Elected Fellow of the

* 2013

International Society of Limnology The International Society of Limnology (SIL) is an international scientific society that disseminates information among limnologists, those who study all aspects of inland waters, including their physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and management ...

Kilham Memorial Award * 2017 Elected to the Council of the

* 2019 Elected Fellow of the

Selected publications

Her publications include: * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, Catherine Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American ecologists American women ecologists University of Georgia faculty Fellows of the Ecological Society of America Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science University of Michigan alumni Presidents of the Society for Freshwater Science