John Lehman

Contact/Bio | Research | Publications | Teaching | CV

John Lehman
Professor

Ph.D., Zoology, University of Washington, 1978

U-M affiliation(s)
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Contact information
University of Michigan
1053 Kraus Natural Science Bldg.
830 N. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
Phone: (734) 763-4680, office
(734) 647-2465, lab
Fax: (734) 763-0544
Email: jtlehman@umich.edu

Fields of study
Limnology, aquatic science, nutrient and trophic dynamics

Academic background
Professor Lehman received his B.S./M.S. in Biology from Yale University in 1974, and then received the Ph. D. in Zoology from the University of Washington in 1978. He joined the University of Michigan as Assistant Professor in 1978, and became Professor of Biology in 1988. Professor Lehman is recipient of the Henry Russel Award, the highest recognition by the University of Michigan for achievements of junior faculty (1982), and the Distinguished Faculty Governance Award, the highest elected award conferred university-wide by faculty at the University of Michigan (1999).

Lehman lab

News

Water quality improves after lawn fertilizer ban, study shows
Professor John Lehman and his students provide the first evidence of the effectiveness of lawn fertilizer bans in reducing phosphorous in the Huron River and two downstream lakes. Their research, published online Aug. 14, in the journal Lake and Reservoir Management shows that phosphorus levels in the Huron River dropped an average of 28 percent after Ann Arbor adopted an ordinance in 2006 that curtailed the use of phosphorus on lawns.

In an effort to keep lakes and streams clean, municipalities around the country are banning or restricting the use of phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizers, which can kill fish and cause smelly algae blooms and other problems when the phosphorus washes out of the soil and into waterways. Phosphorus is naturally plentiful in southeast Michigan soils, so fertilizing established lawns with the nutrient is generally unnecessary.

The study already has attracted the attention of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), which invited Lehman to present the study results at a meeting earlier this year, and may well generate interest beyond Michigan's borders. Students Douglas Bell and Kahli McDonald were co-authors. The research was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the city of Ann Arbor.

Lehman improves area lakes
Professor John Lehman has been appointed to the Blue Ribbon Commission on Lake St. Clair. The goals are to develop recommendations and policy to improve water quality. Lehman’s research to improve the quality of the water in Ford Lake is featured in a U-M News Service video.

Lehman’s algae research spotlighted in Ann Arbor News
Professor John Lehman discovered a way to manipulate the dams at Ford Lake to decrease algae-causing nutrients. As a result of the research, toxic algae blooms that can kill fish and hamper lake recreation may be dramatically reduced. The article was published October 8, 2006.