Monica Palta
Department of Environmental Studies and Science
Pace University
One Pace Plaza Y-34
New York, NY 10038
US
Biography
Dr. Palta is a wetland ecologist, examining ecosystem resilience and flux in urban areas. Her research interest is in the relationship between human populations and water, namely, what services wetlands provide to urban ecosystems, and how human use and urban design influence urban wetland function. Her previous work as an undergraduate and graduate student examined the influence of hydroelectric dams and urban infrastructure on large river systems in India and the southeastern US, and nitrogen cycling in small, "accidental" urban wetland complexes on brownfields in the northeastern US. As a New American Postdoctoral Scholar at ASU, she is currently undertaking studies on nutrient and pathogen loading, cycling, and loss in urban water bodies, as well as studies on uses of urban wetlands by homeless populations in Phoenix.
Education
- BA, Biology (with Honors), Grinnell College
- MS, Ecology, University of Georgia
- PhD, Ecology and Evolution, Rutgers University
Journal Articles
2023
McPhillips, L., M. Berbés-Blázquez, R. L. Hale, T. K. Harms, V. Bisht, L. Caughman, S. M. Clinton, E. Cook, X. Dong, J. W. Edmonds, S. E. Gergel, R. Gomez, K. G. Hopkins, D. M. Iwaniec, Y. Kim, A. L. Kuhn, L. Larson, D. B. Lewis, E. Martí, M. Palta, W. J. Roach and L. Ye. 2023. Learning from arid and urban aquatic ecosystems to inform more sustainable and resilient futures. Journal of Hydrology 616(Jan):128841. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128841. (link )
2020
Suchy, A., M. M. Palta, J. C. Stromberg and D. L. Childers. 2020. High potential nitrate removal by urban accidental wetlands in a desert city: Limitations and spatio-temporal patterns. Ecosystems 22:1227–1242. DOI: DOI 10.1007/s10021-019-00465-8. (link )
2018
Creed, I. F., A. Bergstrom, C. G. Trick, N. B. Grimm, D. O. Hessen, J. Karlsson, K. A. Kidd, E. Kritzberg, D. M. McKnight, E. C. Freeman, O. E. Senar, A. Andersson, J. Ask, M. Berggren, M. Cherif, R. Giesier, E. R. Hotchkiss, P. Kortelainen, M. M. Palta, T. Vrede and G. A. Weyhenmeyer. 2018. Global change‐driven effects on dissolved organic matter composition: Implications for food webs of northern lakes. Global Change Biology 24(8):3692-3714. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14129 . (link )
2017
Palta, M. M., N. B. Grimm and P. M. Groffman. 2017. "Accidental" urban wetlands: Ecosystem functions in unexpected places. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 15(5):248-256. DOI: 10.1002/fee.1494. (link )
2016
Palta, M. M., M. du Bray, R. Stotts and A. Y. Wutich. 2016. Ecosystem services and disservices for a vulnerable human population: Findings from urban waterways and wetlands in an American desert city. Human Ecology 44(4):463-478. DOI: 10.1007/s10745-016-9843-8. (link )
2015
Hopkins, K. G., N. B. Morse, D. J. Bain, N. D. Bettez, N. B. Grimm, J. L. Morse and M. M. Palta. 2015. Type and timing of stream flow changes in urbanizing watersheds in the eastern U.S.. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 3:Art. 56. DOI: 10.12952/journal.elementa.000056#sthash.9obRE2Qi.dpuf. (link )
Hopkins, K. G., N. B. Morse, D. J. Bain, N. D. Bettez, N. B. Grimm, J. L. Morse, M. M. Palta, W. D. Shuster, A. R. Bratt and A. K. Suchy. 2015. Assessment of regional variation in streamflow responses to urbanization and the persistence of physiography. Environmental Sciences & Technology 49(5):2724-2732. DOI: 10.1021/es505389y. (link )
Book Chapters
In Press
Palta, M. M. and E. K. Stander. Wetlands in urban environments. Handbook of Urban Ecology, 2nd Edition. Routledge. New York, NY.
2018
Palta, M. M. and H. E. Hartnett. 2018. Nitrogen cycle. In: White, W. M. ed., Encyclopedia of Geochemistry: A Comprehensive Reference Source on the Chemistry of the Earth. Springer. ISBN: 978-3319393117.
Posters
2019
Grimm, N. B., A. Handler, M. D. Lauck, M. M. Palta and A. Suchy. 2019. A most valuable accident: Accidental wetlands provide ecosystem services in an aridland city. Poster presented at the 21st Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposum, January 11, 2019, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ.
2017
Caulkins, C., M. M. Palta and N. B. Grimm. 2017. Effects of land use on denitrification potential in Oak Creek. Poster presented at the 19th Annual Central-Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 13 January 2017, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Handler, A., A. Suchy, N. B. Grimm, M. M. Palta, D. L. Childers and J. C. Stromberg. 2017. Nitrate attenuation pathways and capacity in urban wetlands of Phoenix, Arizona. Poster presented at the 19th Annual Central-Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
2016
Handler, A., A. Suchy, N. B. Grimm, M. M. Palta, D. L. Childers and J. C. Stromberg. 2016. Chemical and hydrologic connectivity of surface and porewater in an urban accidental wetland, with implications for nitrogen removal. Poster presented at the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Eighteenth Annual All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 15 January 2016, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Hartnett, H. E., M. M. Palta, A. Ruhi, M. van Schajik and N. B. Grimm. 2016. Modeling DOC quantity and quality in Tempe Town Lake: Time-series analysis of a 10-year data set. Poster presented at the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Eighteenth Annual All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 15 January 2016, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Palta, M. M., M. du Bray, R. Stotts, A. Y. Wutich and A. Wolf. 2016. Urban "accidental" wetlands mediate water quality and heat exposure for homeless populations in a desert city. Poster presented at the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Eighteenth Annual All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 15 January 2016, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ.
Palta, M. M., M. du Bray, R. Stotts, A. Y. Wutich and A. Wolf. 2016. Urban "accidental" wetlands mediate water quality and heat exposure for homeless populations in a desert city. Poster presented at the 18th Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, January 15, 2016, Scottsdale, AZ.
2015
Handler, A., A. Suchy, N. B. Grimm, M. M. Palta and D. L. Childers. 2015. Hydrologic and chemical connectivity between surface and soils in an urban accidental wetland: Implications for nitrogen removal. Poster presented at the Seventeenth Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 16 January 2015, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Handler, A. M., A. K. Suchy, N. B. Grimm, M. M. Palta, D. L. Childers and J. C. Stromberg. 2015. Hydrologic and chemical connectivity in urban accidental wetlands: Implications for nitrate removal. Poster presented at the Ecological Science at the Frontier: Celebrating the ESA Centennial 1915-2015, 9-14 August 2015, Baltimore, Maryland. (link )
Hopkins, K. G., N. Morse, D. J. Bain, N. D. Bettez, N. B. Grimm and M. M. Palta. 2015. Characterizing hydrologic alterations following urbanization using gradient and long-term approaches. Poster presented at the Seventeenth Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 16 January 2015, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Palta, M. M., M. du Bray, R. Stotts, A. Y. Wutich and A. Wolf. 2015. Urban "accidental" wetlands mediate water quality and heat exposure for homeless populations in a desert city. Poster presented at the American Geophysical Union, December 14-18, 2015, San Francisco, CA.
Sampson, M., L. Pollard, N. Grimm and M. Palta. 2015. Urban soil characteristics and their effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Poster presented at the Seventeenth Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 16 January 2015, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Suchy, A., M. M. Palta, D. L. Childers and J. C. Stromberg. 2015. Small- and large-scale drivers of denitrification patterns in “accidental” urban wetlands in Phoenix, Arizona. Poster presented at the Seventeenth Annual CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, 16 January 2015, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
2014
Palta, M. M. and N. B. Grimm. 2014. "Accidental" urban wetland networks along the Salt River in Phoenix, AZ. Poster presented at the 16th Annual CAP LTER Poster Symposium and All Scientists Meeting, January 17, 2014, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Pollard, L., M. Sampson, M. Palta, M. Bernstein, T. Combs, X. Dong, S. R. Earl, N. B. Grimm, R. L. Hale, A. Handler, C. Kochert, J. McGehee, E. Holland, M. Ribot, D. Shorts, A. Suchy and E. Worth. 2014. Greenhouse gas emissions in an urban environment. Poster presented at the 16th Annual CAP LTER Poster Symposium and All Scientists Meeting, January 2014, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Wolf, A., N. B. Grimm, J. Gwiszcz, M. M. Palta and D. Schwake. 2014. Ecosystem services and trade-offs mediated by urban water bodies for homeless populations in Phoenix. Poster presented at the 16th Annual CAP LTER Poster Symposium and All Scientists Meeting, January 17, 2014, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
2013
Hopkins, K. G., N. Morse, R. Smith, D. J. Bain, N. D. Bettez, N. B. Grimm, J. L. Morse and M. M. Palta. 2013. Characterizing hydrologic alterations following urbanization through time and across space among U.S. cities. Poster presented at the Sustainable Pathways: Learning from the Past and Shaping the Future, 98th Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, 4-9 August 2013, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (link )
Palta, M. M., P. M. Groffman and S. E. Findlay. 2013. Use of nitrogen budgest and N2 flux measurements to estimate the role of denitrification in brownfield stormwater wetlands. Poster presented at the 11 January 2013, 15th Annual CAP LTER Poster Symposium and All Scientist Meeting 2013, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Palta, M. M. and H. E. Hartnett. 2013. Assessment of temporal patterns in dissolved organic carbon in Tempe Town Lake. Poster presented at the 11 January 2013, 15th Annual CAP LTER Poster Symposium and All Scientist Meeting 2013, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Presentations
2019
Grimm, N. B., S. Earl, R. L. Hale, H. E. Hartnett, K. Kemmitt, L. McPhillips and M. Palta. 2019. Ecohydrological and biogeochemical dynamics of urban stormwater in arid central Arizona. Presentation at the AGU Fall Meeting, December 9-13, 2019, San Francisco, CA. (link )
2017
Cheng, C., N. Grimm, L. McPhillips, J. Lee and M. Palta. 2017. Green infrastructure, urban resilience and sustainability. Presentation at the Resilience 2017: Resilience Frontiers for Global Sustainability, August 20-23, 2017, Stockholm, Sweden. (link )
2016
Suchy, A., M. M. Palta, D. L. Childers and J. C. Stromberg. 2016. Patterns and predictors of denitrification potentials in "accidental" urban wetlands in Phoenix, Arizona. Presentation at the ESA Annual Meeting 2016: Novel Ecosystems in the Anthropocene, 7-12 August 2016, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (link )
2013
Bishop, A., M. M. Palta and A. Y. Wutich. 2013. Water insecurity and health in desert homeless populations. Presented March 22 at The Society for Applied Anthropology 73rd Annual Meeting, Natural Resource Distribution and Development in the 21st Century, March 19-23, 2013, Denver, CO.
Palta, M. M. and N. B. Grimm. 2013. Pathogen and nutrient pulsing and attenuation in “Accidental” urban wetland networks along the Salt River in Phoenix, Arizona. Presentation at the Sustainable Pathways: Learning from the Past and Shaping the Future, 98th Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, 4-9 August 2013, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (link )