Ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) is the study of the patterns and processes that structure ecological systems and drive evolutionary change.  Understanding the interactions between organisms and their environments is both fascinating and critical for solving environmental problems.  As ecologists, we study natural populations, communities and ecosystems and the links among them. As evolutionists we elucidate the past history of natural assemblages and how organisms respond to changing environments. And as organismal biologists we seek to understand how plants, animals and microbes function in relation to their environment. We delight in interacting with students; we integrate undergraduate and graduate education, and foster communication between science and society.

The department makes use of field research sites (from lakes to forests and fields to the ocean coast; locally, nationally and around the world), museum collections (we manage the Cornell Museum of Vertebrates), and modern laboratory facilities (we manage the Cornell Isotope Laboratory and the Evolutionary Genomics Core Facility). Undergraduates in EEB have opportunities to participate in laboratory and field-based research across a broad array of ecological and evolutionary projects.

Department website

Peter Marks

Professor Emeritus

Klarman Hall
plm6@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Paul Feeny

Professor Emeritus

Publications

  • Traw, M.B. and P. Feeny. 2008. Glucosinolates and trichomes track tissue value in two sympatric mustards. Ecology 89:763-772.
  • Murphy, S.M. and P. Feeny. 2006. Chemical facilitation of a naturally occurring host shift by Papilio machaon butterflies (Papilionidae). Ecological Monographs 761:339-414.
  • Heinz, C.A. and P. Feeny. 2005. Effects of contact chemistry and host plant experience in the oviposition behaviour of the eastern black swallowtail butterfly. Animal Behaviour 69:107-115.
  • Sime, K.R., P.P. Feeny, and M. Haribal. 2000. Sequestration of aristolochic acids by the pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor (L.): Evidence and ecological implications. Chemoecology 10:169-178.
  • Feeny, P. 1991. Chemical constraints on the evolution of swallowtail butterflies. In: P.W. Price, T.M. Lewinsohn, G.W. Fernandes, and W.W. Benson (eds.), Plant-animal interactions: Evolutionary ecology in tropical and temperate regions. J. Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 315-339.
  • Feeny, P., K. Sachdev, L. Rosenberry, and M. Carter. 1988. Luteolin 7-0-(6"-0-malonyl)-B-D-glucoside and trans-chlorogenic acid: Oviposition stimulants for the black swallowtail butterfly. Phytochemistry 27(11):3439-3448.
  • Damman, H. and P. Feeny. 1988. Mechanisms and consequences of selective oviposition by the zebra swallowtail butterfly. Animal Behaviour 36:563-573.
  • Feeny, P., W.S. Blau, and P.M. Kareiva. 1985. Larval growth and survivorship of the black swallowtail butterfly in central New York. Ecological Monographs 55:167-187.
  • Berenbaum, M. and P.P. Feeny. 1981. Toxicity of angular furanocoumarins to swallowtails: Escalation in a coevolutionary arms race? Science 212:927-929.
  • Rausher, M.D. and P.P. Feeny. 1980. Herbivory, plant density and plant reproductive success: The effect of Battus philenor on Aristolochia reticulata. Ecology 61:905-917.
  • Blau, P.A., P.P. Feeny, L. Contardo, and D.S. Robson. 1978. Allylglucosinolate and herbivorous caterpillars: A contrast in toxicity and tolerance. Science 200:1296-1298.
  • Slansky, F., Jr. and P.P. Feeny. 1977. Stabilization of the rate of nitrogen accumulation by larvae of the cabbage butterfly on wild and cultivated food-plants. Ecological Monographs 47:209-228.
  • Feeny, P.P. 1976. Plant apparency and chemical defense. Recent Advances in Phytochemistry 10:1-40.
  • Arms, K., P.P. Feeny, and R.C. Lederhouse. 1974. Sodium: Stimulus for pudding behavior by tiger swallowtail butterflies, Papilio glaucus. Science 185:372-374.
  • Rehr, S.S., P.P. Feeny, and D.H. Janzen. 1973. Chemical defense in Central American non-ant-acacias. Journal of Animal Ecology 42:405-416.
  • Whittaker, R.H. and P.P. Feeny. 1971. Allelochemics: Chemical interactions between species. Science 171:757-770.
  • Feeny, P.P. 1970. Seasonal changes in oak leaf tannins and nutrients as a cause of spring feeding by winter moth caterpillars. Ecology 51:565-581.
Klarman Hall
ppf1@cornell.edu

Education

  • B.A. 1960 (Chemistry), Oxford University
  • M.S. 1961 (Chemistry), Oxford University
  • B.A. 1963 (Zoology), Oxford University
  • Ph.D. 1966 (Zoology), Oxford University

Departments and programs

Brian Chabot

Professor Emeritus

Publications

  • Skinner, C. B., A. T. DeGaetano, and B. F. Chabot. 2010. Implications of 21st Century Climate Change on Northeastern United States Maple Syrup Production: Impacts and Adaptations.  Climatic Change 100(3):685-702.
  • Chabot, B. F. 2010. Sugarmakers can adapt to climate change.  Maple News 9(6):5.
  • Chabot, B. F. and A. T. DeGaetano. 2010. Is the Earth's climate changing?  Maple News 9(5):4.
  • Eggleston, K. and B. F. Chabot. 2010. Understanding weather forecasts.  Maple News 9(3):7-14.
  • Chabot, B. F., T. Perkins, and P. Ramacieri. 2008. Can maple sugar producers succeed without research?  Maple Syrup Digest 20A(3):20-21.
  • Chabot, B. F. and S. L. Childs. 2007. Comparison of visual grading methods.  Maple Syrup Digest 19A(1):20-27.
  • Chabot, B. F. and S. Childs. 2006. Relating spectrophotometer readings to visual grading of maple syrup.  Maple Syrup Digest 18A(2):34-37.
  • Worobo, R. W. and B. F. Chabot. 2006. Controlling microbial populations in sap systems.  Maple Syrup Digest 18A(1):24-27.
  • Chabot, B. F. 2005. New tapping guidelines.  Maple Syrup Digest 17A(3):13-18.
Klarman Hall
bfc1@cornell.edu
607/279-1291

Education

  • B.S. 1965, College of William and Mary
  • Ph.D. 1971, Duke University

Departments and programs

Swanne Gordon

Assistant Professor; CALS Graduate Diversity and Inclusion Lead

Publications

Please see a current list of publications here

Klarman Hall
E251 Corson Hall
swannegordon@cornell.edu

Education

Ph.D., University of California Riverside, Biology 
M.S., McGill University, Biology
B.Sc., Michigan State University

Departments and programs

Andrés López-Sepulcre

Assistant Professor

Publications

Please see current list of publications here

Klarman Hall
E209 Corson Hall
al2365@cornell.edu

Education

Ph.D., University of Jyväskylä, Finland (2007)
B.S., University of Barcelona, Spain (2002)

Departments and programs

Links

Ian Owens

Professor; Louis Agassiz Fuertes Director, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Publications

  • Bennett, PM & Owens, IPF (2002) Evolutionary Ecology of Birds: Life Histories, Mating Systems and Extinction. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Peck H, Pringle H, Marshall H, Owens IPF & Lord A (2014) Experimental evidence of impacts of an invasive parakeet on foraging behaviour of native birds. Behavioral Ecology 25, 582-590.
  • Bell S, Owens IPF & Lord A (2014) Quality of breeding territory mediates the relationship between paternal quality and sex ratio bias in a free-living bird population. Behavioral Ecology 25, 352-358.
  • Jenkins T, Thomas GH, Hellgren O & Owens IPF. (2012) Migratory behavior of birds affects their coevolutionary relationship with blood parasites. Evolution 66, 740-751.
  • Pigot AL, Owens IPF & Orme CDL. (2012) Speciation and extinction drive the appearance of directional range size evolution in phylogenies and the fossil record the evolution of geographic ranges in birds and mammals. PLoS Biology 10, 1371.
  • Olson VA, Davies RG, Orme CDL, Thomas GH, Meiri S, Blackburn TM, Gaston KJ, Owens IPF, Bennett PM (2009) Global biogeography and ecology of body size in birds. Ecology Letters 12, 249-259.
  • Clegg SM, Fretiu FD, Kikkawa J, Tavecchia G, Owens IPF (2008) 4000 years of phenotypic chance in an island bird: heterogeneity of selection over three microevolutionary timescales. Evolution 62, 2393- 2410.
  • Grenyer, R., Orme, C.D.L., Jackson, S.F., Thomas, G.H., Davies, R.G., Davies, T.J., Jones, K.E., Olson, V.A., Ridgely, R.S., Rasmussen, P.C., Ding, T-S., Bennett, P.M., Blackburn, T.M., Gaston, K.J., Gittleman, J.L. and Owens, I.P.F. (2006) The global distribution and conservation of rare and threatened vertebrates. Nature 444, 93-96.
  • Orme CDL, Davies RG, Olson VA, Thomas GH, Ding TZ, Rasmussen PC, Ridgely RS, Stattersfield AJ, Bennett PM, Owens IPF, Blackburn TM, Gaston KJ (2006) Global Patterns of Geographic Range Size in Birds. PLoS Biol 4(7): e208
  • Hadfield JD, Burgess MD, Lord A, Phillimore AB, Clegg SM, Owens IPF (2006) Direct versus indirect sexual selection: genetic basis of colour, size and recruitment in a wild bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 273, 1347-1353.
  • Phillimore AB, Owens IPF (2006) Are subspecies useful in evolutionary and conservation biology? Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 273, 1049-1053
  • Orme C.D.L., Davies R.G., Burgess M., Eigenbrod F., Pickup N., Olson V.A., Webster A.J., Ding T-.S., Rasmussen P.C., Ridgely R.S., Stattersfield A.J., Bennett P.M., Blackburn T.M.,. Gaston K.J., Owens, I.P.F. (2005) Global hotspots of species richness are not congruent with endemism or threat. Nature 436 (7053): 1016-1019.
  • Hausmann, F., Marshall, N.J. & Owens, I.P.F. (2003) “UV signals in birds are special”. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 270, 61-67.
  • Clegg, S.M, Degnan, S.M., Kikkawa, J., Moritz, C., Estoup, A. & Owens, I.P.F. (2002)“Genetic consequences of sequential founder events in a natural system”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 99, 8127-8132.
  • Griffith, S.C., Owens, I.P.F. & Thruman, K. A. (2002) “Extra-pair paternity in birds: a review of interspecific variation and adaptive function”. Molecular Ecology 11, 2195-2122.
  • Owens, I.P.F. and Bennett, P.M. (2000) “Ecological basis of extinction risk in birds: habitat loss versus human persecution and introduced predators”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 97, 12144-12148.
  • Griffith, S., Owens, I.P.F., Burke, T. “Non-genetic inheritance of a sexually selected trait”. Nature 400 (1999), 358-360.
  • Arnold, K.E. & Owens, I.P.F. (1998) “Cooperative breeding in birds: a comparative test of the life history hypothesis”. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 265, 739-745.
  • Olson, V. & Owens, I.P.F. (1998) “Costly sexual signals: are carotenoids rare, risky or required?” Trends in Ecology & Evolution 13, 510-514.
  • Bennett, P.M. & Owens, I.P.F. (1997) “Variation among birds in vulnerability to extinction: chance or evolutionary predisposition?” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 264, 401-
  • Owens, I.P.F. & Short, R.V. (1995) “Hormonal control of sexual dimorphism in birds: implications for new theories in sexual selection”. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 10, 44-47.
Klarman Hall
No Address Supplied
ian.owens@cornell.edu

Education

Ph.D., Evolutionary Biology, University of Leicester (1991)

B.Sc., Zoology, University of Liverpool (1988)

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

Behavioral ecology, biodiversity, citizen science, conservation, ecology, evolutionary biology, ornithology, vertebrate zoology

Departments/Programs: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Graduate Fields: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Leslie Babonis

Assistant Professor

Publications

Please see a current list of publications here.

Klarman Hall
E138 Corson Hall
lsb257@cornell.edu

Education

Ph.D., University of Florida (2011)

B.S., University of Miami (2003)

 

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

 

 

evolutionary development (Evo-Devo), origin of novelty, invertebrate biodiversity, cnidarians, ctenophores, gene regulation, cell identity, tissue morphogenesis, regeneration , evolution of multicellularity

 

Benjamin Houlton

Professor; Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Publications

Please see a current list of publications here.

Klarman Hall
E334 Corson Hall
bzhoulton@cornell.edu

Education

Postdoctoral Scholar, 2007, Stanford University, Biological Sciences, and Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Global Ecology

Ph.D., 2005, Princeton University (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)

M.S., 2000, Syracuse University (Environmental Engineering Science)

B.S., 1998, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources (Water Chemistry, Chemistry Minor)

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

Climate Change; Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability; Biogeochemical Cycles; Global Ecology; Carbon Capture and Removal; Planetary Resilience

Meredith Holgerson

Assistant Professor

Publications

For a complete list, please see Google Scholar

  • Holgerson, M.A., A. Duarte, M. Hayes, M. Adams, J. Tyson, K. Douville, and A. Strecker. 2019. Floodplains provide important amphibian habitat despite multiple ecological threats. Ecosphere: e02853.
  • Homan, R.N., M.A. Holgerson, and L.M. Biga. 2018. A long-term demographic study of a spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) population in central Ohio. Herpetologica 74: 109-116.
  • Holgerson, M.A., M.R. Lambert, L.K. Freidenburg, and D.K. Skelly. 2018. Suburbanization alters small pond ecosystems: Shifts in nitrogen and food web dynamics.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75: 641-652.
  • Holgerson, M.A., E. Farr, and P.A. Raymond. 2017. Gas transfer velocities in small forested ponds. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 122: 1011-1021.
  • Holgerson, M.A., C.J. Zappa, and P.A. Raymond. 2016. Substantial overnight reaeration by convective cooling discovered in pond ecosystems. Geophysical Research Letters 43: 8044-8051.
  • Holgerson, M.A., D.M. Post, and D.K. Skelly. 2016. Reconciling the role of terrestrial leaves in pond food webs: A whole-ecosystem experiment. Ecology 97: 1771-1782.
  • Kolozsvary, M.B.= and M.A. Holgerson=. 2016. Creating temporary pools as wetland mitigation: How well do they function?  Wetlands 36: 335-345.
  • Holgerson, M.A. and P.A. Raymond. 2016. Large contribution to inland water CO2 and CH4 emissions from very small ponds. Nature Geoscience 9: 222-226.
  • Holgerson, M.A. 2015. Drivers of carbon dioxide and methane supersaturation in small, temporary ponds. Biogeochemistry 124 (1): 305-318.
  • Atwood, M.A.  2013. Effects of euthanasia method on stable-carbon and stable-nitrogen isotope analysis for an ectothermic vertebrate. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 27: 909-913.
  • Atwood, M.A.†, J.W. Mora†, and A.W. Kaplan. 2010. Learning to lead: Evaluating leadership and organizational learning. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal 31 (7): 576-595.
  • Homan, R.N., M.A. Atwood†, A.J. Dunkle†, and S.B. Karr†. 2010. Movement orientation by adult and juvenile wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) and American toads (Bufo americanus) over multiple years. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 5 (1): 64-72.
Klarman Hall
E303 Corson Hall
meredith.holgerson@cornell.edu
607/2544210

Education

Ph.D., Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (2016)
M.S., SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (2011)
B.S., Denison University (2009)

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

 

 

Freshwater ecology, ponds and lakes, food webs, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, greenhouse gases, conservation, amphibians

 

Megan Greischar

Assistant Professor; co-Leader for Diversity and Inclusion

Publications

Please see a current list of publications here.

Klarman Hall
E315 Corson Hall
megan.greischar@cornell.edu

Education

Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University (2014)
B.S., Indiana University (2007)

 

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

life history evolution, malaria, disease, transmission, epidemiology, population dynamics

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