Professor Emeritus
About
Academic background
I received my Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and began a postdoctoral fellowship in 1983 at the Marine Biological Laboratory’s (MBL) Ecosystems Center in Woods Hole, MA. In 1996-97, I was awarded a Fulbright Research Fellowship to work at the Norwegian Institute of Water Research (Oslo). After moving through the ranks to Senior Research Scientist, I left the MBL in 2002 to serve as co-Director of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Ecosystem Studies Program. I joined the University of Michigan as Director of the UM Biological Station (UMBS) and Professor in EEB in 2003 and retired as UMBS Director as of September 1, 2020 and as EEB Professor as of December 31, 2020.
Research interests
I am interested in ecological and biogeochemical processes that determine ecosystem dynamics and functioning at local, regional and global levels. I conduct field studies in temperate forests and arctic tundra to improve understanding of how ecosystems respond to climate change, air pollution and physical disturbance. I am particularly interested in how interactions among soil biota, plants and climate interact to determine ecosystem structure and stability.
Teaching
EEB 476 Ecosystem Ecology: A lecture/discussion course focused on understanding the regulation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by physical, chemical and biological processes. We integrate across physiological, microbial, population and community ecology to understand how and why ecosystems differ in composition, structure and function, and how ecosystems change over time.
EEB 381 General Ecology: This 5-credit field course, offered in spring and summer terms at the UM Biological Station, focuses on organismal, population, community and ecosystem ecology using diverse habitats in northern Michigan as living laboratories.
EEB 410 Capstone Seminar: This course integrates ecological and evolutionary principles underlying key issues in biology and human affairs. We use readings from peer-reviewed journals and popular literature to address topics such as emerging diseases, climate change, bioethical questions, early hominid ecology and evolution, conservation biology, environmental problems, speciation, and biodiversity.
U-M Biological Station website
Research Areas(s)
- Ecosystem ecology, terrestrial biogeochemistry, carbon & nitrogen cycling, global change, science outreach, and environmental policy
Affiliation(s)
- U-M Biological Station (Pellston)
- Program in the Environment (PitE)
Field(s) of Study
- Ecosystem ecology, terrestrial biogeochemistry, soil carbon, nitrogen and carbon cycling, global change
Graduate students
Jacqueline Popma
Research scientists and postdoctoral fellows
- Lucas Nave (EEB/UMBS Associate Research Scientist)
