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

David Esparza

Graduate Student

Klarman Hall
de245@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Lillian Senn

Graduate Student

Klarman Hall

Departments and programs

Claire Meaders

Post-doctoral Researcher

Klarman Hall
cmeaders@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Corrie Moreau

Martha N. & John C. Moser Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity; Director & Curator of the Cornell University Insect Collection

Publications

For a complete list see: http://www.moreaulab.entomology.cornell.edu/publications/

 

Klarman Hall

Education

Ph.D., Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University (2007)

M.Sc., San Francisco State University/California Academy of Sciences, Biology, Ecology, and Systematics (2003)

B.S., San Francisco State University, Biology (2000)

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

Evolution, entomology, symbiosis, genomics, microbiomes, systematics, phylogenetics, macroevolution, host-microbe interactions, biogeography, biodiversity

Xiangtao Xu

Assistant Professor

Publications

  • Xi Yang, Xiangtao Xu, Atticus Stovall, Min Chen, Jung-Eun Lee. (2021) Recovery: Fast and Slow – vegetation response during the 2012-2016 California Drought. Journal of Geophysical Research-biogeosciences.

  • F. Meunier, H. Verbeeck, B. Cowdery, S. A. Schnitzer, C. M. Smith-Martin, J. S. Powers, X. Xu, M. Slot, H. P. T. De Deurwaerder, M. Detto, D. Bonal, M. Longo, L. S. Santiago, M. Dietze, Unraveling the relative role of light and water competition between lianas and trees in tropical forests: A vegetation model analysis. J. Ecol. 109, 519–540 (2021).

  • S. Wu, J. Wang, Z. Yan, G. Song, Y. Chen, Q. Ma, M. Deng, Y. Wu, Y. Zhao, Z. Guo, Z. Yuan, G. Dai, X. Xu, X. Yang, Y. Su, L. Liu, J. Wu, Monitoring tree-crown scale autumn leaf phenology in a temperate forest with an integration of PlanetScope and drone remote sensing observations. ISPRS J. Photogramm. Remote Sens. 171, 36–48 (2021).

  • X. Xu, A. G. Konings, M. Longo, A. Feldman, L. Xu, S. Saatchi, D. Wu*, J. Wu, P. Moorcroft, Leaf surface water, not plant water stress, drives diurnal variation in tropical forest canopy water content. New Phytol. (2021), doi:10.1111/nph.17254.

  • X. Xu, A. T. Trugman, Trait-Based Modeling of Terrestrial Ecosystems: Advances and Challenges Under Global Change. Curr. Clim. Chang. Reports, 1–13 (2021).

  • D. Wu*, S. Piao, D. Zhu, X. Wang, P. Ciais, A. Bastos, X. Xu, W. Xu, Accelerated terrestrial ecosystem carbon turnover and its drivers. Glob. Chang. Biol. 26, 5052–5062 (2020).

  • M. Detto, X. Xu, Optimal leaf life strategies determine Vc,max dynamic during ontogeny. New Phytol. 228, 361–375 (2020).

  • J. S. Powers, G. Vargas G., T. J. Brodribb, N. B. Schwartz, D. Pérez-Aviles, C. M. Smith-Martin, J. M. Becknell, F. Aureli, R. Blanco, E. Calderón-Morales, J. C. Calvo-Alvarado, A. J. Calvo-Obando, M. M. Chavarría, D. Carvajal-Vanegas, C. D. Jiménez-Rodríguez, E. Murillo Chacon, C. M. Schaffner, L. K. Werden, X. Xu, D. Medvigy, A catastrophic tropical drought kills hydraulically vulnerable tree species. Glob. Chang. Biol. 26, 3122–3133 (2020).

  • C. M. Smith-Martin, X. Xu, D. Medvigy, S. A. Schnitzer, J. S. Powers, Allometric scaling laws linking biomass and rooting depth vary across ontogeny and functional groups in tropical dry forest lianas and trees. New Phytol. 226, 714–726 (2020).

  • J. H. Levy-Varon, S. A. Batterman, D. Medvigy, X. Xu, J. S. Hall, M. van Breugel, L. O. Hedin, Tropical carbon sink accelerated by symbiotic dinitrogen fixation. Nat. Commun. 10, 5637 (2019).

  • D. Medvigy, G. Wang, Q. Zhu, W. J. Riley, A. M. Trierweiler, B. G. Waring, X. Xu, J. S. Powers, Observed variation in soil properties can drive large variation in modelled forest functioning and composition during tropical forest secondary succession. New Phytol. 223, 1820–1833 (2019).

  • Xu, X., Medvigy, D., Trugman, A.T., Guan, K., Good, S.P. & Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. (2018) Tree cover shows strong sensitivity to precipitation variability across the global tropics. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27, 450–460.
  • Wang, X., Wu, J., Chen, M., Xu, X., Wang, Z., Wang, B., Wang, C., Piao, S., Lin, W., Miao, G., Deng, M., Qiao, C., Wang, J., Xu, S. & Liu, L. (2018) Field evidence for the positive effects of aerosols on tree growth. Global Change Biology. (published online)
  • Fisher, R.A., Koven, C.D., Anderegg, W.R.L., Christoffersen, B.O., Dietze, M.C., Farrior, C.E., Holm, J.A., Hurtt, G.C., Knox, R.G., Lawrence, P.J., Lichstein, J.W., Longo, M., Matheny, A.M., Medvigy, D., Muller-Landau, H.C., Powell, T.L., Serbin, S.P., Sato, H., Shuman, J.K., Smith, B., Trugman, A.T., Viskari, T., Verbeeck, H., Weng, E., Xu, C., Xu, X., Zhang, T. & Moorcroft, P.R. (2018) Vegetation demographics in Earth System Models: A review of progress and priorities. Global Change Biology, 24, 35–54.
  • McDowell, N., Allen, C.D., Anderson-Teixeira, K., Brando, P., Brienen, R., Chambers, J., Christoffersen, B., Davies, S., Doughty, C., Duque, A., Espirito-Santo, F., Fisher, R., Fontes, C.G., Galbraith, D., Goodsman, D., Grossiord, C., Hartmann, H., Holm, J., Johnson, D.J., Kassim, A.R., Keller, M., Koven, C., Kueppers, L., Kumagai, T., Malhi, Y., McMahon, S.M., Mencuccini, M., Meir, P., Moorcroft, P., Muller-Landau, H.C., Phillips, O.L., Powell, T., Sierra, C.A., Sperry, J., Warren, J., Xu, C. & Xu, X. (2018) Drivers and mechanisms of tree mortality in moist tropical forests. New Phytologist, 219, 851–869.
  • Xu, X., Medvigy, D., Joseph Wright, S., Kitajima, K., Wu, J., Albert, L.P., Martins, G.A., Saleska, S.R. & Pacala, S.W. (2017) Variations of leaf longevity in tropical moist forests predicted by a trait-driven carbon optimality model. Ecology Letters, 20, 1097–1106.
  • Wu, J., Serbin, S.P., Xu, X., Albert, L.P., Chen, M., Meng, R., Saleska, S.R. & Rogers, A. (2017) The phenology of leaf quality and its within-canopy variation is essential for accurate modeling of photosynthesis in tropical evergreen forests. Global Change Biology, 23, 4814–4827.
  • Allen, K., Dupuy, J.M., Gei, M.G., Hulshof, C., Medvigy, D., Pizano, C., Salgado-Negret, B., Smith, C.M., Trierweiler, A., Van Bloem, S.J., Waring, B.G., Xu, X. & Powers, J.S. (2017) Will seasonally dry tropical forests be sensitive or resistant to future changes in rainfall regimes? Environmental Research Letters, 12, 023001.
  • Xu, X., Medvigy, D., Powers, J.S., Becknell, J.M. & Guan, K. (2016) Diversity in plant hydraulic traits explains seasonal and inter-annual variations of vegetation dynamics in seasonally dry tropical forests. The New phytologist, 212, 80–95.
  • Oh, Y., Stackhouse, B., Lau, M.C.Y., Xu, X., Trugman, A.T., Moch, J., Onstott, T.C., Jørgensen, C.J., D’Imperio, L., Elberling, B., Emmerton, C.A., St. Louis, V.L. & Medvigy, D. (2016) A scalable model for methane consumption in arctic mineral soils. Geophysical Research Letters, 43, 5143–5150.
  • Trugman, A.T., Fenton, N.J., Bergeron, Y., Xu, X., Welp, L.R. & Medvigy, D. (2016) Climate, soil organic layer, and nitrogen jointly drive forest development after fire in the North American boreal zone. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 8, 1180–1209.
  • Xu, X., Medvigy, D. & Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. (2015) Relation between rainfall intensity and savanna tree abundance explained by water use strategies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112, 12992–12996.
  • Wang, X., Piao, S., Xu, X., Ciais, P., Macbean, N., Myneni, R.B. & Li, L. (2015) Has the advancing onset of spring vegetation green-up slowed down or changed abruptly over the last three decades? Global Ecology and Biogeography, 24, 621–631.
  • Xu, X., Piao, S., Wang, X., Chen, A., Ciais, P. & Myneni, R.B. (2012) Spatio-temporal patterns of the area experiencing negative vegetation growth anomalies in China over the last three decades. Environmental Research Letters, 7, 035701.
Klarman Hall
E317 Corson Hall
xx286@cornell.edu

Education

Ph.D. Princeton University (2017)
B.S. Peking University (2012)

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

 

 

ecosystem ecology, quantitative ecology, global change ecology, plant functional diversity, vegetation modeling, plant hydraulics, canopy phenology

 

James Morin

Professor Emeritus

Publications

Reda, N. J., J. G. Morin, E. Torres, A. C. Cohen, V. Schawaroch and G. A. Gerrish. 2019.  A new bioluminescent ostracod genus in the Myodocopida (Cyrpidinidae), including one new species from Belize and six described species from Panama. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, London in press.

Morin, J. G. 2019. Luminaries of the Reef: The history of luminescent ostracods and their courtship displays in the Caribbean.  Journal of Crustacean Biology 39 (3): 227-243. DOI 10.1093/jcbiol/ruz009.

Morin, J. G. and A. C. Cohen. 2017. A guide to the morphology of bioluminescent signaling Cypridinid Ostracods from the Caribbean Sea, and a tabular key to the genera. Zootaxa 4303 (3): 301-349. DOI.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4303.3.1.

Gerrish, G. A. and J. G. Morin. 2016. Living in Sympatry via differentiation in time, space and display characters of courtship behaviors of bioluminescent marine ostracods.  Marine Biology 163: 163-190. DOI 10.1007/s00227-016-2960-5
 
Rivers, T. J. and J. G. Morin. 2013. Female ostracods respond to and intercept artificial conspecific male luminescent courtship displays. Behavioral Ecology 24 (4): 877-887. doi:10.1093/beheco/art022.
 
Rivers, T. J. and J. G. Morin. 2012. The relative cost of using luminescence for sex and defense: light budgets in cypridinid ostracods. Journal of Experimental Biology 215: 2860-2868. DOI 10.1242/jeb.072017 (with cover photo).

Morin, J. G. 2011. Based on a review of the data, use of the term 'cypridinid' solves the Cypridina/Vargula dilemma for naming the constituents of the luminescent system of ostracods in the family Cypridinidae.  Luminescence 26(1):1-4.

Morin, J. G. 2010. Our invisible close relatives.  American Paleontologist 18(4):23-25.

Cohen, A. C. and J. G. Morin. 2010. Two new bioluminescent Ostracod genera, Enewtonand Photeros (Myodocopida, Cypridinidae), and three new species from Jamaica.  Journal of Crustacean Biology 30(1):1-55.

Morin, J. G. and A. C. Cohen. 2010. It's all about sex: Bioluminescent courtship displays, morphological variation and sexual selection in two new genera of Caribbean ostracods.  Journal of Crustacean Biology 30(1):56-67.

Rivers, T. J. and J. G. Morin. 2009. Plasticity of alternative mating tactics of a marine bioluminescent ostracod.  Animal Behavior 78:723-734.

Gerrish, G. A., J. G. Morin, T. J. Rivers, and Z. Patrawala. 2009. Darkness as an ecological resource: the role of light in partitioning the nocturnal niche.  Oecologia 160:525-536.

Gerrish, G. A. and J. G. Morin. 2008. Life cycle of a bioluminescent marine ostracode,Vargula annecohenae (Cypridinidae, Myodocopida).  Journal of Crustacean Biology 28(4):669-674.

Rivers, T. J. and J. G. Morin. 2008. Complex sexual courtship displays by luminescent male marine ostracods.  Journal of Experimental Biology 211(14):2252-2262.

Torres, E. and J. G. Morin. 2007. Vargula annecohenae, a new species of bioluminescent ostracode (Myodocopida: Cypridinidae) from Belize.  Journal of Crustacean Biology 27(4):649-659.

Morin, J. G. 2007. Bioluminescence. In: M. Denny and S. Gaines (eds.), Encyclopedia of Tide Pools and Rocky Shores, pp. 87-91.

Cohen, A. C. and J. G. Morin. 2003. Sexual morphology, reproduction and the evolution of bioluminescence in Ostracoda. In: Paleontological Society Papers 9:37-70 (Chapter 4).

Hastings, J. W. and J. G. Morin. 1991. Bioluminescence. In: C. L. Prosser (ed.), Neural and integrative animal physiology [comparative animal physiology]. Wiley-Liss, Inc., Chapter 3, pp. 131-170.

Morin, J. G. and A. C. Cohen. 1991. Bioluminescent displays, courtship, and reproduction in Ostracodes. In: R. Bauer and J. Martin (eds.), Crustacean sexual biology. Columbia University Press, pp. 1-16.

Klarman Hall
jgm18@cornell.edu
607/227-5808

Education

  • B.A. 1965, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • M.A. 1967, Harvard University
  • Ph.D. 1969, Harvard University

Departments and programs

Keywords

Invertebrate biology, bioluminescence, systematics, behavioral ecology, ostracods

Benjamin Sterrett

Manager of Cornell Experimental Ponds, Facility Technician

Klarman Hall
947 Warren drive
bs756@cornell.edu

Departments and programs

Andrew Moeller

Assistant Professor; Faculty Curator of Mammalogy, Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates

Publications

  • Google Scholar Profile: tinyurl.com/nbked64
  • Sarkar, Amar, Siobhán Harty, Soili M. Lehto, Andrew H. Moeller, Timothy G. Dinan, Robin  IM Dunbar, John F. Cryan, and Philip WJ Burnet. 2018 The microbiome in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 22: 611–636.
  • Barbian, Hannah J., Yingying Li, Miguel Ramirez, Zachary Klase, Iddi Lipende, Deus Mjungu,  Andrew H. Moeller, Micahel L. Wilson, Anne E. Pusey, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Frederic D. Bushman, and Beatrice H. Hahn. 2018. Destabilization of the gut microbiome marks the end-stage of Simian Immunodeficiency virus infection in wild chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology 80: e22515.
  • Moeller, Andrew H., Taichi Suzuki, Dana Lin, Eileen A. Lacey, Samuel K. Wasser, Michael W. Nachman. 2017. Dispersal limitation drives the diversification of the mammalian gut microbiota. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 52: 13768–13773.
  • Moeller, Andrew H. 2017. The shrinking human gut microbiome. Current Opinion in  Microbiology 38: 30–35.
  • Raymann, Kasie T., Andrew H. Moeller, Andrew L. Goodman, Howard Ochman. 2017.  Unexpected archaeal diversity in the great ape gut microbiome. mSphere 2: e00026-17.
  • Moeller, Andrew H., Alejandro Caro-Quintero, Deus Mjungu, Alexander V. Georgiev,  Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Martin N. Muller, Anne E. Pusey, Martine Peeters, Beatrice H. Hahn, and Howard Ochman. 2016. Cospeciation of gut microbiota with hominids. Science 353: 380–382. 
  • Moeller, Andrew H., Steffen Foerster, Michael L. Wilson, Anne E. Pusey, Beatrice H. Hahn,  and Howard Ochman. 2016. Social behavior shapes the chimpanzee panmicrobiome. Science Advances 2: e1500997. 
  • Moeller, Andrew H., Martine Peeters, Ahibjo Ayouba, Eitel Mpoudi Ngole, Amadine Esteban,  Beatrice H. Hahn, and Howard Ochman. 2015. Stability of the gorilla microbiome despite SIV infection. Molecular Ecology 24: 690–697.
  • Waldor, Matthew K., Gene Tyson, Elhanan Borenstein, Howard Ochman, Andrew H. Moeller,  B. Brett Finlay, Heidi H. Kong, et al., 2015. Where next for microbiome research? PLOS Biology 13: e1002050.
  • Moeller, Andrew H., Yingying Li, Eitel Mpoudi Ngole, Steve Ahuka-Mundeke, Elizabeth V.  Lonsdorf, Anne E. Pusey, Martine Peeters, Beatrice H. Hahn, and Howard Ochman. 2014. Rapid changes in the gut microbiome during human evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111: 16431–16435.
  • ***Highlighted by Faculty of 1000 Moeller, Andrew H. and Howard Ochman. 2014. Microbiomes are true to type. Proceedings of  the National Academy of Sciences 111: 9372–9373.
  • Moeller, Andrew H., Martine Peeters, Jean-Basco Ndjango, Yingying Li, Beatrice H. Hahn, and  Howard Ochman. 2013. Sympatric chimpanzees and gorillas harbor convergent gut microbial communities. Genome Research 23: 1715–1720.
  • Moeller, Andrew H.*, Meghan Shilts*, Yingying Li, Rebecca S. Rudicell, Elizabeth V.  Lonsdorf, Anne E. Pusey, Michael L. Wilson, Beatrice H. Hahn, and Howard Ochman. 2013. SIV-induced instability of the chimpanzee gut microbiome. Cell Host & Microbe 14: 340–345.
  • (*joint first authors) Moeller, Andrew H. and Howard Ochman. 2013. Factors that drive variation among gut  microbial communities. Gut Microbes 4: 403–408.
  • López-Giráldez, Francesc, Andrew H. Moeller, and Jeffrey P. Townsend. 2013. Evaluating phylogenetic informativeness as a predictor of phylogenetic signal for metazoan, fungal, and mammalian phylogenomic data sets. BioMed Research International 2013.
  • Moeller, Andrew H. and Jeffrey P. Townsend. 2013. Response to: The relative utility of  sequence divergence and phylogenetic informativeness profiling in phylogenetic study design. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66: 436–436.
  • Moeller, Andrew H., Patrick H. Degnan, Anne E. Pusey, Michael L. Wilson, Beatrice H. Hahn,  and Howard Ochman. 2012. Chimpanzees and humans harbour compositionally similar gut enterotypes. Nature Communications 3: 1179.
  • Moeller, Andrew H. and Jeffrey P. Townsend. 2011. Phylogenetic informativeness profiling of  12 genes for 28 vertebrate taxa without divergence dates. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 60: 271–272.
Klarman Hall
E345 Corson-Mudd
ahm226@cornell.edu

Education

B.Sc. Biological Sciences 2010 University of South Carolina, Columbia

Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 2015 Yale University

Departments and programs

Links

Peter McIntyre

Associate Professor; Dwight Webster Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow

Publications

  • Fluet-Chouinard E, Funge-Smith S & McIntyre PB. 2018. Global hidden harvest of freshwater fish revealed by household surveys. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 115: 7623-7628.
  • Lisi PJ, Childress E, Gagne RB, Hain EF, Hogan JD, Gilliam JF, Blum MJ, & McIntyre PB. 2018. Overcoming urban stream syndrome: trophic flexibility confers resilience among Hawaiian stream fishes. Freshwater Biology 63: 492-502.
  • Magee M, McIntyre PB, & Wu C. 2018. Modeling oxythermal stress for cool-water fishes in lakes using a cumulative dosage approach. Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences 75: 1303-1312.
  • Milt A, Diebel M, Doran P, Ferris M, Herbert M, Khoury M, Moody A, Neeson T, Ross J, Treska T, O'Hanley J., Walter L, Wangen S, Yacobson E, & McIntyre PB. 2018. Minimizing opportunity costs to aquatic connectivity restoration while controlling invasive species. Conservation Biology 32: 894-904.
  • Neeson TM, Moody AT, O'Hanley JR, Diebel MW, Doran PJ, Ferris MC, Colling T, & McIntyre PB. 2018. Aging infrastructure creates opportunities for cost-efficient restoration of aquatic ecosystem connectivity. Ecological Applications, in press. 
  • Stevens A, Baird I, & McIntyre PB. 2018. Fish consumption preferences create differential mercury exposure among Wisconsin anglers. Fisheries 43: 31-41.
  • White CH, Heidinger AK, Ackerman SA, & Mcintyre PB. 2018. A long-term fine-resolution record of AVHRR surface temperatures for the Laurentian Great Lakes. Remote Sensing 10: 1210.
  • Hermoso V, Januchowski-Hartley S, Linke S, Dudgeon D, Petry P, & McIntyre PB. 2017. Optimal allocation of species assessments to guide conservation of biodiversity in a rapidly changing world. Global Change Biology 23: 3525-3532.
  • Koning AA, Moore J, Suttidate N, Hannigan R, & McIntyre PB. 2017. Intensification of swidden agriculture leads to eutrophication of Southeast Asian rivers. Ecosystems 20: 393-405.
  • Kraemer BK, Chandra S, Dell A, Dix M, Kuusisto E, Livingstone D, Schladow G, Silow E, Sitoki L, Tamatamah R & McIntyre PB. 2017. Global patterns in lake ecosystem responses to warming based on the temperature dependence of metabolism. Global Change Biology 23: 1881-1890.
  • Moody AT, Neeson TM, Wangen S, Dischler J, Diebel MW, Herbert M, Khoury M, Yacobson E, Doran PJ, Ferris MC, O'Hanley JR, & McIntyre PB. 2017. Pet project or best project? Online decision support tools for prioritizing barrier removals in the Great Lakes and beyond. Fisheries 42: 57-65.
  • Childress E & McIntyre PB. 2016. Life history traits modulate ecosystem-level effects of nutrient subsidies from fish migrations. Ecosphere 7: e01301.
  • Cohen AS, Gergurich EL, Kraemer BM, McGlue MM, McIntyre PB, Russell JM, Simmons JD, & Swarzenski PW. 2016. Climate warming reduces fish production and benthic habitat in Lake Tanganyika, one of the world’s most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113: 9563–9568.
  • Mason LA, Riseng CM, Gronewold AD, Rutherford ES, Wang J, Clites A, Smith SDP, & McIntyre PB. 2016. Fine-scale spatial variation in ice cover and surface temperature trends across the surface of the Laurentian Great Lakes. Climatic Change 138: 71-83.
  • McIntyre PB, Reidy Liermann C, & Revenga C. 2016. Linking freshwater fishery management to global food security and biodiversity conservation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113: 12880-12885.
  • Vanni MJ & McIntyre PB. 2016. Predicting nutrient excretion rates of aquatic animals using metabolic ecology and ecological stoichiometry: a global synthesis. Ecology  97: 3460-3471.
  • Winemiller KO, McIntyre PB, & 39 others. 2016. Balancing hydropower and biodiversity in the Amazon, Congo and Mekong. Science 351: 128-129.
  • Neeson TM, Ferris MC, Diebel MW, Doran PJ, O’Hanley JR, & McIntyre PB. 2015. Enhancing ecosystem restoration efficiency through spatial and temporal coordination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112: 6236–6241.
  • O’Reilly CM, et al. 2015. Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe. Geophysical Research Letters 42 doi:10.1002/2015GL066235.
  • Hogan JD, Blum MJ, Gilliam JF, Bickford N, & McIntyre PB. 2014. Consequences of alternative dispersal strategies in a putatively amphidromous fish. Ecology 95: 2397-2408.
  • Allan JD*, McIntyre PB*, Smith SDP, Halpern BS, & 18 coauthors. 2013. Joint analysis of stressors and ecosystem services to enhance restoration effectiveness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110: 372-377.
  • Januchowski-Hartley S, McIntyre PB, Diebel M, & Doran PJ. 2013. Restoring aquatic ecosystem connectivity requires expanding inventories of both dams and road crossings. Frontiers in Ecology & Environment 11: 211-217.
  • Pracheil BM, McIntyre PB, & Lyons JD. 2013. Enhancing conservation of large-river biodiversity by accounting for tributaries. Frontiers in Ecology & Environment 11: 124-128.
  • Vadeboncoeur Y, McIntyre PB, & Vander Zanden MJ. 2011. Borders of biodiversity: life at the edge of the world's Great Lakes.  BioScience 61: 526-537.
  • Vörösmarty CJ, McIntyre PB, Gessner MO, Dudgeon D, Prusevich A, Green P, Glidden S, Bunn SE, Sullivan CA, Reidy Liermann C, & Davies PM. 2010. Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity. Nature 467: 555-561.
  • Arnegard ME, McIntyre PB, Harmon LJ, Zelditch ML, Crampton WGR, Davis JK, Sullivan JP, Lavoué S, & Hopkins CD. 2010. Sexual signal evolution outpaces ecological divergence during electric fish species radiation. American Naturalist 176: 335–356.
  • McIntyre PB, Flecker A, Vanni M, Hood J, Taylor B & Thomas S. 2008. Fish distributions and nutrient recycling in a tropical stream: can fish create biogeochemical hotspots? Ecology 89: 2335-2346.
  • McIntyre PB, Jones L, Flecker A, & Vanni M. 2007. Fish extinctions alter nutrient recycling in tropical freshwaters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104: 4461-4466.
Klarman Hall
Fernow Hall
pbm3@cornell.edu

Education

  • B.A. 1998 Harvard University, Biology
  • Ph.D. 2006 Cornell University, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Departments and programs

Links

Keywords

Fisheries, food webs, climate change, ecological stoichiometry, global biodiversity, conservation planning, river networks, life history and migration

Michelle Smith

Ann S. Bowers Professor; Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, College of Arts and Sciences

Publications

  • Esparza D, Smith MK. “Professional social connections are associated with student science identity in a research-based field biology course.” Ecosphere. 2023 14(9):e4662. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4662  
  • Heim, AB, Esparza D, Holmes NG, Smith MK. “Comparing study features is easy but identifying next steps is hard: Evaluating critical thinking through the Biology Lab Inventory of Critical Thinking in Ecology.” Ecology and Evolution. 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10071
  • Treibergs KA, Esparza D, Yamazaki JA, Smith MK. “Journal reflections shed light on challenges students face in an introductory field biology course. Ecosphere. 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4509
  • Schmid KM, Avena J, Hobbie L, Kalas P, Kelley T, Klocko AL, Pavlova IV, Radick G, Edris Snow L, Smith MK. “Honoring the complexity of genetics: Exploring the role of genes and the environment using real world examples.” CourseSource. 2023 https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2023.2

  • Heim AB, Walsh C, Esparza D, Smith MK, Holmes NG. “What influences students’ abilities to critically evaluate scientific investigations?” PLOS-One. 2022 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273337

  • Treibergs K, Esparza D, Yamazaki J, Goebel M, Smith MK. “How do introductory field biology students feel? Journal reflections provide insight into student affect.” Ecology and Evolution.2022 http://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9454
  • Schmid KM, Lee D, Weindling M, Syed A, Yacoba Agyemang S, Donovan B, Radick G,  Smith MK. "Mendelian or Multifactorial? Current undergraduate genetics assessments focus on genes and rarely include the environment." The Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. 2022 https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00093-22
  • Diaz Eaton C, Bonner K, Cangialosi K, Drewsbury B, Diamond-Stanic M, Douma J, Smith MK, Taylor R, Wojdak J, Wilfong K. "Sustainability and justice: Challenges and opportunities for an open STEM Education." CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2022 https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-08-0180
  • Shinbrot XA, Treibergs K, Arcila Hernández L, Esparza D, Ghezzi-Kopel K, Goebel M, Graham OJ, Heim AB, Smith JA, Smith MK. "The impact of field courses on undergraduate knowledge, affect, behavior, and skills: A scoping review." BioScience. 2022 https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac070
  • Wollmuth EM, Sless TJL, Airey MA, France ED, Stump EM, Sundstrom MA, Wilkins RL, Smith MK. “Is the earth currently undergoing a sixth mass extinction?” CourseSource. 2022 https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2022.19
  • Heim AB, Smith MK. “Escape Zoom!: Reviewing introductory evolution content using an Escape Room format.” CourseSource. 2022 https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2022.21
  • Senn LG, Heim AB, Vinson E, Smith MK. “How do undergraduate biology instructors engage with the open educational resource life cycle? Frontiers in Education. 2022 https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.835764 
  • Meaders C, Senn LG, Couch BA, Lane AK, Stains M, Stetzer MR, Vinson E, Smith MK. “Am I getting through? Surveying students on what messages they recall from the first day of STEM classes.”  International Journal of STEM Education. 2021 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00306-y
  • Lane AK, Meaders C, Shuman JK, Stetzer MR, Vinson E, Couch BA, Smith MK, Stains M. “Making a first impression: Exploring what instructors do and say on the first day of introductory STEM courses.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2021 https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-05-0098
  • Meaders C, Smith MK, Boester T, Bracy A, Couch BA, Drake AG, Farooq S, Khoda B, Kinsland C, Lane AK, Lindahl SE, Livingston WH, Maliwal A, McCormick A, Morozov AI, Newell-Caito JL, Ruskin KJ, Sarvary MA, Stains M, St. Juliana JR, Thomas SR, van Es C, Vinson EL, Vitousek MN, Stetzer MR. “What questions are on the minds of STEM undergraduate students and how can they be addressed?” Frontiers in Education. 2021 https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.639338
  • Driessen E, Knight JK, Smith MK, Ballen C. “Demystifying the Meaning of Active Learning in Post-Secondary Biology Education.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2020 https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-04-0068
  • Arcila Hernández LM, Zamudio K, Drake A, Smith MK. “Implementing team-based learning in the life sciences: A case study in an online introductory level evolution and biodiversity course.” Ecology and Evolution. 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6863
  • Genova LA, Johnson BB, Castelli FR, Arcila Hernández LM, Chang van Oordt DA, Demery A, Fletcher NK, Gould EM, Holmes KD, Houtz JL, Howard MM, Hughes JJ, Jensen KH, Kunerth HD, Law EP, Lombardi E, Mazo-Vargas A, McDonald CA, Mittan CS, Ryan TA, Tracy AM, Uehling JJ, Weiss AK, Smith MK.  “What is speciation, how does it occur, and why is it important for conservation?” CourseSource. 2020 https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2020.28
  • Branchaw J, Pape-Lindstrom P, Tanner K, Bissonnette S, Cary T, Couch B, Crowe A, Knight J, Semsar K, Smith J, Smith MK, Summers M, Wienhold C, Wright C, Brownell S.“Resources for teaching and assessing the Vision and change biology core concepts.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2020 18(4):ar62. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-11-0243
  • Meaders C, Lane AK, Morozov AI, Shuman JK, Toth E, Stains M, Stetzer MR, Vinson E, Couch BA, Smith MK. “Undergraduate student concerns in introductory STEM courses: What they are, how they change, and what influences them.” Journal for STEM Education Research. 2020 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41979-020-00031-1
  • Vinson E, Stetzer MR, Lewin J, Smith MK.  “The University Classroom Observation Program: Connecting middle and high school teachers with university instructors.” Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement. 2020 24(2):Summer 2020.
  • Meaders C, Toth E, Lane AK, Shuman JK, Couch BA, Stains M, Stetzer MR, Vinson E, Smith MK. “What will I experience in my college STEM courses? An investigation of student predictions about instructional practices in introductory courses.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2019 18(4):ar60. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-05-0084
  • Zagallo P, McCourt J, Idsardi R, Smith MK, Urban-Lurain M, Andrews TC, Haudek K, Knight JK, Merrill J, Nehm R, Prevost LB, Lemons PP. “Through the eyes of faculty: using personas as a tool for learner-centered professional development.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2019 18(4):ar62. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-06-0114
  • Smith MK, Walsh C, Holmes NG, and Summers MM. 2019. “Using the Ecology and Evolution-Measuring Achievement and Progression in Science assessment to measure student thinking across the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education framework.” Ecosphere. 2019 10(9):e02873. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2873
  • Smith MK, Brownell S, Crowe AJ, Holmes NH, Knight JK, Semsar K, Summers MM, Walsh C, Wright CD, Couch BA. “Tools for change: measuring student conceptual understanding across undergraduate biology programs using Bio-MAPS assessments.” The Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. 2019 20(2): https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v20i2.1787
  • Couch BA, Wright, CD, Freeman S, Knight JK, Semsar K, Smith MK, Summers M, Zheng Y, Crowe AJ, Brownell SE. “GenBio-MAPS: A programmatic assessment to measure student understanding of Vision and Change core concepts across general biology programs.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2019 18(1):ar1. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.18-07-0117
  • Semsar K, Brownell S, Couch BA, Crowe AJ, Smith MK, Summers MM, Wright CD, Knight, JK. “Phys-MAPS: A programmatic physiology assessment for introductory and advanced undergraduates.” Advances in Physiology Education. 2019 43(1):15-27. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00128.2018
  • Smith MK. “Publishing activities improves undergraduate biology education.” FEMS Microbiology Letters. 2018 365:11. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fny099
  • Summers M, Couch BA, Knight J, Brownell SE, Crowe A, Semsar K, Wright CD, Smith MK. “EcoEvo-MAPS: An ecology and evolution assessment for introductory through advanced undergraduates.” CBE-Life Science Education. 2018 17(2):ar18. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.17-02-0037
  • Pelletreau KN, Knight JK, Lemons P, McCourt J, Merrill J, Nehm R, Prevost L, Urban-Lurain M, Smith MK. “A faculty professional development model that improves student learning, encourages student-centered instructional practices, and works for geographically separated faculty.” CBE-Life Science Education.  2018 17(2):es5. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.17-12-0260
  • Stains M, Harshman J, Barker MK, Chasteen SV, Cole R, DeChenne-Peters SE, Eagan MK, Esson JM, Knight JK, Laski FA, Levis-Fitzgerald M, Lee CJ, Lo SM, McDonnell LM, McKay TA, Michelotti N, Palmer MS, Plank KM, Rodela TM, Sanders ER, Schimpf NG, Schulte PM, Smith MK, Stetzer M, Van Valkenburgh B, Vinson E, Weir LK, Wendel PJ, Wheeler LB, Young AM. “Anatomy of STEM teaching in North American universities.”  Science. 2018. 359:1468-1470 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap8892
  • Smith MK, Toth ES, Borges K, Dastoor F, Johnston J, Jones EH, Nelson P, Page J, Pelletreau K, Prentiss N, Roe JL, Staples J, Summers M, Trenckmann E, Vinson E. “Using place-based economically relevant organisms to improve student understanding of the roles of carbon dioxide, sunlight, and nutrients in photosynthetic organisms.” CourseSource. 2018 https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2018.1
  • Akiha K, Brigham E, Couch BA, Lewin J, Stains M, Stetzer M, Vinson E, Smith MK. “What types of instructional shifts do students experience? Investigating active learning in STEM classes across key transition points from middle school to the university level.” Frontiers in Education. 2018 https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00068
  • McCourt J, Andrews T, Knight JK, Merrill JE, Nehm RH, Pelletreau K, Prevost LB, Smith MK, Urban-Lurain M, and Lemons PP. “What motivates biology instructors to engage and persist in teaching professional development?” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2017 16:ar54. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-08-0241
  • Trenckmann E, Smith MK, Pelletreau KN, Summers MM. “An active-learning lesson that targets student understanding of population growth in ecology.” CourseSource. 2017 https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2017.11
  • Pelletreau KN, Andrews T, Armstrong N, Bedell MA, Dastoor F, Dean N, Erster S, Fata-Hartley C, Guild N, Greig H, Hall D, Knight JK, Koslowsky D, Lemons PP, Martin J, McCourt J, Merrill J, Moscarella R, Nehm R, Northington R, Olsen BJ, Prevost L, Stoltzfus J, Urban-Lurain, Smith MK. “A clicker-based case study that untangles student thinking about the processes in the central dogma.” CourseSource. 2016 https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2016.15
  • Prevost LB, Smith MK, Knight JK. “Using student writing and lexical analysis to reveal student thinking about the role of stop codons in the central dogma.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2016 15:ar65. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.15-12-0267
  • Smith MK, Wood WB. “Teaching genetics: Past, present, and future.” Genetics. 2016 204:5-10. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.116.187138
  • Lewin J, Vinson EL, Stetzer MR, Smith MK. “A campus-wide investigation of clicker implementation: The status of peer discussion in STEM classes.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2016 15:1-12.  https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.15-10-0224
  • Barth-Cohen L, Smith MK, Capps D, Shemwell J, Lewin J, Stetzer MR. “What are middle school students talking about during clicker questions? Characterizing small-group conversations mediated by classroom response systems.” Journal of Science Education and Technology. 2016 25:50-61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-015-9576-2
  • Batz Z, Olsen BJ, Dumont J, Dastoor F, Smith MK. “Helping struggling students in introductory biology: A peer tutoring approach that improves performance, perception, and retention.” CBE-Life Sciences Education.  2015 14:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.14-08-0120
  • Smith MK, Merrill S. “Why do some people inherit a predisposition to cancer? A small group activity on cancer genetics.” CourseSource. 2014 https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2014.11 
  • Smith MK, Vinson EL, Smith JA, Lewin JD, Stetzer M. “A campus-wide study of STEM courses: New perspectives on teaching practices and perceptions.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2014 13:624-635. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.14-06-0108
  • Freeman S, Eddy SL, McDonough M, Smith MK, Okoroafor N, Jordt H, Wenderoth MP.  “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2014 11(23):8410-8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111 
  • Smith MK, Jones FHM, Gilbert SL, Wieman C. “The Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS): a new instrument to characterize university STEM classroom practices.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2013 Winter, 12(4):618-627.  https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0154
  • Knight JK, Wood WB, Smith MK. “What’s downstream? A set of classroom exercises to help students understand recessive epistasis.” Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. 2013 14(2) https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v14i2.560
  • Smith MK, Wenderoth MP, Tyler M. “The teaching demonstration: What faculty expect and how to prepare for this aspect of the job interview.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2013 Spring 12(1):12-18. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-09-0161 
  • Smith MK, Annis SL, Kaplan JJ, Drummond F.  “Using peer discussion facilitated by clicker questions in an informal education setting: Enhancing farmer learning of science.”  PLOS-ONE. 2012 7(10): e47564. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0047564
  • Smith MK, Thomas K, Dunham M. “In-class incentives that encourage students to take concepts assessments seriously.” Journal of College Science Teaching. 2012 42(2): 57-61.
  • Smith MK, Knight JK. “Using the genetics concept assessment to document persistent conceptual difficulties in undergraduate genetics courses.” Genetics. 2012 181(1):21-32. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.111.137810
  • Smith MK. “A fishy way to discuss multiple genes affecting the same trait.” PLOS-Biology.  2012 10(3): e1001279. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001279
  • Semsar K, Knight JK, Birol G, Smith MK. “The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for use in biology.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2011 Fall 10(3):268-278. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-10-0133
  • Haudek KC, Kaplan JJ, Knight J, Long T, Merrill J, Munn A, Nehm N, Smith M, Urban-Lurain M. “Harnessing technology to improve formative assessment of student conceptions in STEM: Forging a national network.” CBE-Life Sciences Education.  2011 Summer; 10(2):149-155. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.11-03-0019
  • Smith MK, Wood WB, Krauter K, Knight JK. “Combining peer discussion with instructor explanation increases student learning from in-class concept questions.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2011 Spring; 10(1):55-63. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-08-0101
  • Smith MK, Trujillo C, Su TT. “The benefits of using clickers in small enrollment seminar-style biology courses.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2011 Spring; 10(1):14-17. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-09-0114
  • Smith MK and Perkins KK. “ ‘At the end of my course, students should be able to …’: The benefits of creating and using effective learning goals.” Microbiology Australia. 2010 31(1):35-37. 
  • Knight JK and Smith MK. “Different but equal? How non-majors and majors approach and learn genetics.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2010 Spring; 9(1):34-44. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.09-07-0047
  • Smith MK, Wood WB, Adams WK, Wieman C, Knight JK, Guild N, Su TT.  “Why peer discussion improves student performance on in-class concept questions.” Science. 2009 323(5910):122-124. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1165919
  • Smith MK, Wood WB, Knight JK. “The Genetics Concept Assessment: A new concept inventory for gauging student understanding of genetics.” CBE-Life Sciences Education. 2008 Winter; 7(4):422-430. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.08-08-0045
  • Smith M, Wakimoto B. “Complex regulation and multiple developmental functions of misfire, the Drosophila melanogaster ferlin gene.” BMC Developmental Biology. 2007 7:21-36. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-213X-7-21
Klarman Hall
E231A Corson Hall
mks274@cornell.edu

Education

Ph.D., University of Washington (2006)

M.S., University of Dayton (2000)     

B.A., Hanover College (1998)

Departments and programs

Keywords

Discipline-Based Science Education Research

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