Amina Pollard facts for kids

Amina Pollard is an American scientist who studies limnology and ecology. Limnology is the study of freshwaters like lakes and rivers. She works at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

At the EPA, Dr. Pollard leads a big project called the National Lakes Assessment. This project collects information about how healthy lakes, ponds, and reservoirs are across the United States. She also helps lead the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) and advises Canada's Lake Pulse research program.

Education and Early Career

Amina Pollard went to Lawrence University and earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Arts (BA), in 1995. She then got her Master's degree (MS) from Wright State University in 1997.

In 2002, she earned her highest degree, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There, she studied how streams and lakes are connected. She also looked at how removing dams affects the tiny creatures living at the bottom of streams.

After finishing her PhD, Dr. Pollard started working at the EPA as a special researcher. She has continued to work there ever since.

Her Work at the EPA

At the EPA, Dr. Pollard is in charge of the National Lakes Assessment (NLA). This project regularly checks the health of lakes across the U.S. Every five years, starting in 2007, they collect information about the water, plants, animals, and how people use the lakes. This information is available to everyone.

By comparing data from 2007 and 2012, Dr. Pollard and her team found something important. They saw that the number of "blue" (clear and healthy) lakes was going down. At the same time, the number of "murky" (cloudy and less healthy) lakes was going up in the U.S.

This increase in murky lakes means the water quality is getting worse. It's happening because of two main reasons:

• Eutrophication: Too many nutrients, like phosphorus, get into the water. This can cause too much algae to grow.
• Dissolved organic carbon: More dark, carbon-rich material from the land is washing into the lakes.

Dr. Pollard's research also showed that murky lakes are not as good at supporting the food web. Even though they might have a lot of tiny plants (primary production), this energy doesn't easily move up to animals like zooplankton (tiny animals that eat algae). Murky lakes also had high levels of microcystin. These are toxins made by certain types of bacteria. In large amounts, they can be harmful to people.

Dr. Pollard and her team have also helped us understand how changes in the environment affect freshwater communities. They studied how streams, lakes, and wetlands are connected. These connections control how freshwater organisms move and live. They also found that levels of phosphorus (a nutrient that causes eutrophication) were increasing in both lakes and streams, even in areas that were once very clean.

Dr. Pollard also helped create the EPA's Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS). This system helps scientists figure out what is causing problems for aquatic organisms (animals and plants living in water).

In 2018, Dr. Pollard made history. She became the first African-American woman to give a main speech at the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography annual meeting. She is currently in charge of ASLO's awards committee. In 2021, she was a candidate to join ASLO's Board of Directors.

Awards

• Friends of North American Lake Management Society Award
• Embassy Science Fellow in Uruguay
• US EPA Science and Technology Achievement Award
• US EPA Gold Medal for Exceptional Service

In 2018, Dr. Pollard and her EPA NLA team won the Friends of North American Lake Management Society Award. They received this award for their great work in leading the National Lakes Assessment. This project is a huge effort involving the EPA, states, tribes, and other groups. It helps us understand the condition of our nation's lakes, ponds, and reservoirs.