William D. Taylor

• Limnology, including aquatic food webs and nutrient cycles
• Eutrophication and other human effects on water quality
• Phosphorus and the freshwater phosphorus cycle

Investigating the fresh water phosphorus cycle and the role and fate of bacteria in freshwater environments improves our understanding of eutrophication and of pathogens found in surface waters used for drinking.

Eutrophication, the pollution of surface waters by excess nutrients, is a pervasive threat to freshwater and coastal ecosystems worldwide. In Canada, eutrophication negatively affects the environment, human health, and the economy.

Phosphorus is the nutrient primarily responsible for eutrophication, and it also has several properties that make it a useful currency for studying the structure and dynamics of freshwater ecosystems and the impact of other environmental stresses.

Professor Taylor's research has aspired to address important gaps in our knowledge of the freshwater phosphorus cycle, including the nature and dynamics of dissolved organic phosphorus compounds, and factors affecting the total phosphorus concentration in lakes. His lab has examined the fate of phosphorus and bacteria added to rivers from sources such as agriculture, the processes that are responsible for the their removal, and how these processes influence water quality in rivers.

More recently, he has focused on the human impact on lakes and rivers through changes in freshwater nutrient cycles and in the fate of bacteria, including pathogens.

Professor Taylos has conducted research in the Laurentian Great Lakes, with Ontario Ministry of the Environment; small lakes of the Canadian Shield through OMOE's Dorset Environmental Science Centre; the Grand River, including partnership with the Grand River Conservation Authority; and East African Lakes, with collaborators in several countries.

Highly cited publications over Professor Taylor's career include:

• RE Hecky, REH Smith, DR Barton, SJ Guildford, WD Taylor, MN Charlton, T Howell. The nearshore phosphorus shunt: a consequence of ecosystem engineering by dreissenids in the Laurentian Great Lakes. 2004. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 61(7): 1285-1293, DOI: 10.1139/f04-065.

• DR Barton, WD Taylor, and R M Biette. Dimensions of riparian buffer strips required to maintain trout habitat in southern Ontario streams. 1985. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 5(3A):364-378, DOI: 10.1577/1548-8659(1985)5<364:DORBSR>2.0.CO;2.

• JJ Hudson, WD Taylor, DW Schindler.Phosphate concentrations in lakes. 2000. Nature 406: 54-56. DOI:10.1038/35017531.

• A Mazumder, WD Taylor, DJ McQueen, DRS Lean. Effects of fish and plankton on lake temperature and mixing depth. 1990. Science, 247: 312-315.

• GM Carr, HC Duthie, WD Taylor. Models of aquatic plant productivity: a review of the factors that influence growth. 1997. Aquatic Botany, 59(3-4): 195–215. doi:10.1016/S0304-3770(97)00071-5.

Please see William Taylor's Google Scholar profile for a complete list of his peer-reviewed articles.

• 2016 Frank Rigler Award, Society of Canadian Limnologists

• 2015 Distinguished Professor Emeritus

• 2013, Career Achievement Award, Canadian Council of University Biology Chairs

• 2003-2010 Canada Research Chair

• 1993 Chandler-Misener Award, with D.R.S. Lean and A. Mazumder, International Association for Great Lakes Research.

• Member, The Water Institute

​Past administrative roles

• 2013 Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor of Biology

• 2008 Interim Chair, Department of Biology

• 2005- 2008 Associate Dean of Science for Research

• 2002 - 2004 Associate Dean of Science for Graduate Studies

• 1996 - 2001 Chair, Department of Biology

• Editorial Boards: African Journal of Aquatic Science (until 2013), Journal of Great Lakes Research

• Chaired contributed paper sessions for Canadian Society of Limnologists, Winnipeg, 2010 and International Association for Great Lakes Research, 2014

• International Joint Commission, Science Advisory Board (2007 to 2013, including Canadian Co-Chair), including working groups on eutrophication, invasive species, beach closings, and indicators of ecosystem health.

• Technical Advisor to US EPA Science Advisor Board concerning Lake Erie Phosphorus Objectives Review, 2014.

The following news stories have featured Professor Taylor's research:

• November 12, 2013 Biology professor honoured for career achievements

• June 11, 2015 Distinguished geochemist among honorees at Science Spring 2015 Convocation

1973 BSc University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

1978 PhD University of Toronto, Toronto, ON