Peter Levi
Director of Conservation Science, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Peter Levi Peter Levi, Director of Conservation Science in Wisconsin © Tori Schell
Bio
Peter Levi is The Nature Conservancy's Director of Conservation Science in Wisconsin. He is a freshwater ecologist and environmental chemist interested in the ebbs and flows of elements through ecosystems. At TNC, Peter works with colleagues and partners across Wisconsin, the Midwest and North America to embed sound science into the organization’s conservation and management actions. Peter leads the climate and energy team at TNC Wisconsin, which seeks to accelerate the clean energy transition through projects that minimize impacts on conservation and maximize benefits to communities. In addition, he provides science support and expertise to the land and water management teams in areas of nature-based solutions, freshwater ecosystem restoration and carbon dynamics.
Prior to joining TNC, Peter worked in higher education for 20 years. He conducted research on streams, rivers and lakes in human-dominated landscapes, including urban and agricultural watersheds across the Midwest and abroad. He held faculty and research positions at several institutions, including as Associate Director of the Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation at Northland College (Ashland, WI), Associate Professor at Drake University (Des Moines, IA), and research fellow positions at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Limnology and the Department of Plant Biology at Aarhus University.
Peter serves as the Treasurer for the Society for Freshwater Science, Co-Chair of the Advisory Council for the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts and City Councilor for the City of Ashland. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame and B.A. from Lawrence University.
Citations/Publications
Gerhardt, A., P.S. Levi, N.A. Griffiths, C.R. DeRolph, J.S. Riggs, and A.M. Fortner. 2025. Longitudinal patterns in nitrate revealed through drone-based measurements in an agriculturally influenced midwestern river. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 130, e2024JG008342. DOI 10.1029/2024JG008342.
Hudson, M.J., M.J. Cooper, A.K. Suchy, P.S. Levi, B.R. Thornburg, P.J. Penningroth, and R.A. Lehr. 2024. Watershed inputs of suspended sediment drives patterns of total phosphorus in Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior. Journal of Great Lakes Research 51 (1). DOI 10.1016/j.jglr.2024.102444.
Levi, P.S., P. Giménez-Grau, A. Baattrup-Pedersen, and T. Riis. 2024. Macrophyte mediated fluctuations in stream ecosystem function. Freshwater Science 43. DOI 10.1086/730299.
Baattrup-Pedersen, A., A. Baisner Alnoe, J.J. Rasmussen, P.S. Levi, N. Friberg, and T. Riis. 2022. Stream restoration and ecosystem functioning in lowland streams. Ecological Engineering 184: 106782. DOI 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2022.106782.
Griffiths, N.A., P.S. Levi, J.S. Riggs, C.R. DeRolph, A.M. Fortner, and J.K. Richards. 2022. Sensor-equipped unmanned surface vehicle for high-resolution mapping of water quality in low- to mid-order streams. Environmental Science and Technology Water 2 (3): 425-435. DOI 10.1021/acsestwater.1c00342.
Levi, P.S., and P.B. McIntyre. 2020. Ecosystem responses to channel restoration decline with stream size in urban river networks. Ecological Applications 30 (5): e02107. DOI 10.1002/eap.2107.
Alnoee, A.B., P.S. Levi, A. Baattrup-Pedersen, and T. Riis. 2020. Macrophytes enhance reach-scale metabolism on a daily, seasonal, and annual basis in agricultural streams. Aquatic Sciences 83: 11. DOI 10.1007/s00027-020-00766-4.
Rüegg J., D.T. Chaloner, F. Ballantyne, P.S. Levi, C. Song, J.L. Tank, S.D. Tiegs, and G.A. Lamberti. 2020. Understanding the relative roles of salmon spawner enrichment and disturbance: a high-frequency, multi-habitat field data and modeling approach. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8: 19. DOI 10.3389/fevo.2020.00019.
Riis, T., J.L. Tank, A.J. Reisinger, A. Aubenau, K. Roche, P.S. Levi, A. Baattrup-Pedersen, A. Alonee, and D. Bolster. 2020. Riverine macrophytes control seasonal nutrient uptake via both physical and biological pathways. Freshwater Biology 65: 178-192. DOI 10.1111/fwb.13412.
Levi, P.S., P. Starnawski, B. Poulsen, A. Baattrup-Pedersen, A. Schramm, and T. Riis. 2017. Microbial community diversity and composition varies with habitat characteristics and biofilm function in macrophyte-rich streams. Oikos: DOI 10.1111/oik.03400.
Riis, T., P.S. Levi, K.G. Jespersen, S.R. Leth, and A. Baattrup-Pedersen. 2017. Experimental drought changes ecosystem structure and function in a macrophyte-rich stream. Aquatic Sciences: DOI 10.1007/s00027-017-0536-1
Levi, P.S., T. Riis, A.B. Alnøe, M. Peipoch, K. Mætzke, C.B. Pedersen, and A. Baattrup-Pedersen. 2015. Macrophyte complexity controls nutrient uptake in lowland streams. Ecosystems 18: 914-931. DOI 10.1007/s10021-015-9872-y.
Roley, S.S., J.R. Griffiths, P.S. Levi, C.J. Patrick, S. Sadro, and J.P. Zarnetske. 2014. State of the ecosystem: progress in quantifying ecosystem health in aquatic ecosystems. Limnology and Oceanography Eco-DAS X Symposium Proceedings, 101-118. DOI 10.4319/ecodas.2014.978-0-9845591-4-5.101.
Janetski, D.J., D.T. Chaloner, A.H. Moerke, P.S. Levi, and G.A. Lamberti. 2014. Novel environmental conditions alter subsidy and engineering effects by introduced Pacific salmon. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 71, 502-513. DOI 10.1139/cjfas-2013-0292.
Levi, P.S., and J.L. Tank. 2013. Non-native Pacific salmon alter hot spots of sediment nitrification in Great Lakes tributaries. JGR-Biogeosciences 118: 436-444. DOI 10.1002/jgrg.20044.
Levi, P.S., J.L. Tank, J. Rüegg, D.J. Janetski, S.D. Tiegs, D.T. Chaloner, and G.A. Lamberti. 2013. Whole-stream metabolism response to spawning Pacific salmon in their native and introduced ranges. Ecosystems 16: 269-283. DOI 10.1007/s10021-012-9613-4.
Levi, P.S., J.L. Tank, S.D. Tiegs, D.T. Chaloner, and G.A. Lamberti. 2013. Biogeochemical transformation of a nutrient subsidy: salmon, streams, and nitrification. Biogeochemistry 113: 643-655. DOI 10.1007/s10533-012-9794-0.
Levi, P.S., J.L. Tank, S.D. Tiegs, J. Rüegg, D.T. Chaloner, and G.A. Lamberti. 2012. Reply to comment by Jackson and Martin on “Does timber harvest influence the dynamics of marine-derived nutrients in Southeast Alaska streams?” Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 69: 1898-1901. DOI10.1139/f2012-106.
Rüegg, J., D.T. Chaloner, P.S. Levi, J.L. Tank, S.D. Tiegs and G.A. Lamberti. 2012. Environmental variability and the ecological effects of spawning salmon on stream biofilm. Freshwater Biology 57: 129-142. DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2011.02703.x.
Levi, P.S., J.L. Tank, S.D. Tiegs, J. Rüegg, D.T. Chaloner, and G.A. Lamberti. 2011. Does timber harvest influence the dynamics of marine-derived nutrients in Southeast Alaska streams? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 68: 1316-1329. DOI 10.1139/f2011-067.
Tiegs, S.D., P.S. Levi, J. Rüegg, D.T. Chaloner, J.L. Tank, and G.A. Lamberti. 2011. Effects of live salmon on stream nutrients and biofilms exceed those of their carcasses during an annual spawning migration. Ecosystems 14: 598-614. DOI 10.1007/s10021-011-9431-0.
Rüegg, J., S.D. Tiegs, D.T. Chaloner, P.S. Levi, J.L. Tank, and G.A. Lamberti. 2011. Salmon subsidies alleviate nutrient limitation of benthic biofilms in Southeast Alaskan streams. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 68: 277-287. DOI 10.1139/F10-145.
Tiegs, S.D., E.Y. Campbell, P.S. Levi, J. Rüegg, M.E. Benbow, D.T. Chaloner, R.W. Merritt, J.L. Tank, and G.A. Lamberti. 2009. Separating physical disturbance and nutrient enrichment caused by Pacific salmon in stream ecosystems. Freshwater Biology 54: 1864-1875. DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02232.x.
Tiegs, S.D., D.T. Chaloner, P.S. Levi, J. Rüegg, J.L. Tank, and G.A. Lamberti. 2008. Timber harvest transforms ecological roles of salmon in southeast Alaska rain forest streams. Ecological Applications 18: 4-11. DOI 10.1890/07-0655.1.