YEREVAN, Armenia — The American University of Armenia (AUA) is pleased to announce that an article co-authored by Garabet Kazanjian, assistant professor in the Zaven P. and Sonia Akian College of Science and Engineering and researcher at the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, was recognized as a 2025 top cited article in Limnology and Oceanography Letters, a premier journal of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO).
Reflecting on the recognition, Kazanjian emphasized the significance of the distinction within the scientific community. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see our work resonate with fellow researchers,” he said. “Knowing that our findings are being used, cited, and built upon by others in the field is one of the most meaningful aspects of scientific research.”
The study explores the sensitivity of benthic primary producers (BPP) to human-driven environmental changes. BPP, which include macrophytes and periphyton, serve as foundational habitats in inland waters. Despite their ecological importance and sensitivity to human-driven environmental change, long-term seasonal monitoring of these organisms remains limited. This gap has hindered scientists’ ability to fully understand the causes and consequences of shifts in the timing of BPP life cycle events — changes that can trigger cascading effects across aquatic ecosystems and food webs.
Drawing on a comprehensive review of existing literature, the researchers found that BPP phenology is driven primarily by temperature, while also being shaped by interacting pressures such as eutrophication.
Given the high sensitivity of BPP to these drivers and while the world is witnessing significant climate and landscape changes, improved monitoring strategies to better track seasonal dynamics is suggested. Strengthening such efforts will be essential for predicting how ongoing environmental change will impact these critical habitats and the ecosystems they support.
The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, a research center of the American University of Armenia (AUA), promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. The AUA Acopian Center’s focus areas include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity protection and conservation, greening the built environment, sustainable energy, as well as information technology and the environment. Visit http://ace.aua.am.