Ecology is the study of ecosystems, i.e., organisms and how they interact with their environment. Here at the School, on-going research in ecology explores both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecological interests of our faculty range from landscapes to individual species, including animal-ecosystem interactions, forest responses to global change, and carbon and water cycling through forests and wetlands.
Faculty Areas of Interests
Predators & ecological hotspots; Aquatic-terrestrial links; Stable isotopes in wildlife ecology; Wind energy-wildlife issues
Forest responses to global change factors; Belowground processes; Carbon and nutrient cycling; Physiological ecology of tree roots; Undergraduate involvement in research
Forest canopy structure and function; Forest response to global change; Carbon and water cycling through forests; Tree ecophysiology; Stable isotope ecology; Invasive tree species
Applied wetland ecology; Peatland and wetland restoration; Peatlands; Mountain wetlands; Tropical peatlands; Ecosystem carbon cycling; Wetland ecohydrology
Remote sensing of vegetation structure and composition; LiDAR remote sensing; Forest mensuration and biometrics; Landscape ecology; Wildlife habitat modeling; Remote sensing of active fire and post-fire effects; Fire ecology; Spatial ecology; Statistics
Sampling, inventory and monitoring program design; Biomass harvesting and forest productivity; Intensive silviculture esp. Populus plantation management; Empirical, process and hybrid forest modelling
Wetland ecology; Hydrological modeling; Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in wetlands; Wetland classification and mapping
Woody bioenergy; Climate change; Natural resource policy; Water resource policy
Geographic information systems; Cartography; Global positioning systems; Great Lakes Quaternary (glacial) geomorphology
Soil carbon; Plant/soil relationships; Decomposition; Dissolved organic carbon; Wildfire; Black carbon
Forest ecology; Ecosystems ecology; Physiological ecology; Community ecology; Fungal ecology; Mycorrhizal fungi; Molecular ecology; Soil ecology; Global environmental change impacts on forest ecosystems; Invasive species impacts; Biogeography of invasive soil organisms
Environmental policy and environmental science; Sociology of natural resources; Natural resource and environmental policy; Sustainability science; Landscape ecology; Diversity patterns of terrestrial vertebrates; Bird conservation
Forest vegetation dynamics; Silviculture of the Great Lakes region; Invasive plant species in forested ecosystems; Adaptive silviculture in the face of climate change
Forest hydrology; Micrometeorology; Ecohydrology; Carbon cycling; Stable isotopes
Forest carbon dynamics; Soil carbon sequestration; Forest restoration; Isotope applications in forests
Forest mycology, pathology, fungal ecology; Tree and forest disease diagnosis and assessment; Wood decay & mold/stain testing; Mycorrhizae, plants and mushrooms
Aquatic ecology; Aquatic-terrestrial links; Conservation and management of aquatic systems; Long-term monitoring
Forest insect ecology; Insect/fungus/plant interactions in forest ecosystems; Impacts of exotic species on forest ecosystems; Interactions among fire, insects and disease in forests; Urban forest health
Soil organic carbon stabilization and cycling; Radiocarbon analysis and interpretation; Forest response and adaptation to climate change; Landscape scale conservation
Invasion ecology; Road ecology; Applied restoration and weed control; Stress tolerance and competition
Gap dynamics and disturbance ecology; Invasion biology of exotic species; Landscape ecology; Plant community response to herbivory; Restoration silviculture; Wildlife habitat relationships