Valerie Brady Ph.D.

Valerie Brady headshot
Professional Title
Research Associate, Aquatic Ecosystem Ecologist, Interim Water Group Leader

Valerie's specialty is aquatic invertebrate ecology with a particular interest in using the invertebrate community for assessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems. She has twenty years of experience in understanding Great Lakes coastal wetland condition, including research on zebra mussels, and ten years of experience working in Minnesota and Wisconsin streams.

Current research interests include: the use of aquatic invertebrates as indicators for monitoring and assessment of stream and wetland ecosystems; investigating major determinants of invertebrate community structure in streams and wetlands; investigating the use of aquatic invertebrates as diagnostic indicators of particular causes of ecosystem impairment in streams and wetlands; investigating impacts of aquatic invasive species on food webs and ecosystems; recovery of natural invertebrate community structure and function in restored and created wetlands; using stable isotopes as aids in the above investigations; and public policy issues related to stream and wetland health, protection and water quality. 

Read full CV here

Recent projects

Recent Publications

Influences of seasonality and habitat quality on Great Lakes coastal wetland fish community composition and diets

9 months 3 weeks ago
Influences of seasonality and habitat quality on Great Lakes coastal wetland fish community composition and dietsDiller, S. N., Harrison, A. M., Kowalski, K. P., Brady, V. J., Ciborowski, J. J. H., Cooper, M. J., Dumke, J. D., Gathman, J. P., Ruetz, C. R., Uzarski, D. G., Wilcox, D. A. & Schaeffer, J. S., Jun 2022, In: Wetlands Ecology and Management. 30, 3, p. 439-460 22 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

A Basin-Wide Survey of Coastal Wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes: Development and Comparison of Water Quality Indices

2 years 9 months ago
A Basin-Wide Survey of Coastal Wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes: Development and Comparison of Water Quality IndicesHarrison, A. M., Reisinger, A. J., Cooper, M. J., Brady, V. J., Ciborowski, J. J. H., O’Reilly, K. E., Ruetz, C. R., Wilcox, D. A. & Uzarski, D. G., Jun 1 2020, In: Wetlands. 40, 3, p. 465-477 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

NRRI News Articles

Triennial 700-page document provides regular updates about changes and impacts to the lakes’ ecosystems.

Aquatic ecologist’s career wades into streams and shorelines to understand freshwater resources

NRRI is developing protocols to understand the effectiveness of peatland restoration efforts, while testing and refining monitoring methods that can be applied to other sites.