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Contact Information:

Phone: (612) 625-5700
Fax: (612) 624-6777
Email: wiggins@umn.edu

University of Minnesota
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
100 Ecology Building
1987 Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108

Department Contacts
Support Staff
Research Associates
Department Directory

EEB Graduate Program Faculty

Donald N. Alstad, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-6748
E-mail: dna@ecology.umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Utah, 1978
Research Interests: Evolution and population ecology of insects; effects of selection and gene flow on adaptation and specificity in insect herbivores; distribution and community ecology of filtering caddisflies.

David A. Andow, Professor, Entomology
Phone: 612-624-5323
E-mail: dandow@umn.edu
Department: Entomology
Education: Ph.D., Cornell University, 1982
Research Interests: Insect population and community ecology, agricultural ecology.


F. Keith Barker, Assistant Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-2737
Email: barke042@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1999
Research Interests: I study patterns and correlates of phenotypic and taxic diversification in passerine birds (Aves: Passeriformes) using comparative methods. In addition, I am interested in theoretical issues raised in phylogenetic analysis, including determining molecular mechanisms of among-lineage substitution process heterogeneity, and testing for and explicitly incorporating heterogeneity among data sets (especially gene sequences) in phylogenetic inference.

Franklin H. Barnwell, Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor
Phone: 612-625-5296
E-mail: fhb@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1965
Research Interests: Invertebrate behavior; circadian rhythms; adaptations of intertidal shore crabs.

Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-6337
E-mail: cavender@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Harvard University, 2000
Research Interests: Physiological ecology of plants, evolution of plant function, particularly within the oak genus (Quercus), phylogenetic methods and their application to community ecology, integration of micro- and macroevolutionary processes, plant-mycorrhizal interactions, Conservation; impacts of global change on plant processes.

James B. Cotner, Associate Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Moos Chair of Limnology
Phone: 612-625-1706
E-mail: cotne002@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 1990
Research Interests: Biological limnology and oceanography; biogeochemistry; microbial ecology.

James W. Curtsinger, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-6746
E-mail: jwcurt@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University, 1978
Research Interests: Genetics of aging; experimental and theoretical population genetics; frequency-dependent selection; fitness in Drosophila.

Edward J. Cushing, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-625-5713
E-mail: cushing@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1963
Research Interests: Ecology and paleoecology of vegetation and landscapes; phytogeography; Quaternary vegetation history of Minnesota and Indonesia; pollen and spore morphology and analysis.

R. Ford Denison, Adjunct Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-626-6462
Fax: 612-624-6777
E-mail: denis036@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Cornell University, 1983
Research Interests: evolution of mutualism (especially legumes and rhizobia); implications of past and ongoing evolution for agriculture

Jacques Finlay, Assistant Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-4672
E-mail: jfinlay@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2000
Research Interests: Limnology; biogeochemistry; food web and ecosystem ecology; land-water interactions; stable isotope applications in ecological research

David Fox, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology and Geophysics
Phone: 612-624-6361
E-mail: dlfox@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1999
Research Interests: stable isotope measurements of biogenic and sedimentary materials to answer questions in paleobiology and paleoclimatology.

Lee E. Frelich, Research Associate, Forest Resources; Director, Center for Hardwood Ecology
Phone: 612-624-3671
E-mail: freli001@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1986
Research Interests: Ecology of forests of the Great Lakes region, especially disturbance and forest dynamics in response to disturbance.

Susan M. Galatowitsch, Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Science
Phone: 612-624-3242
E-mail: galat001@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Iowa State University, 1993
Research Interests: Wetland ecology; restoration ecology; landscape ecology.

Jeff Gralnick, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Bio Technology Institute
Phone: 612-624-6496
E-mail: gralnick@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2003
Research Interests: Physiology of Shewanella, a species of gram-negative bacteria found throughout the world in aquatic environments.

George Heimpel, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology
Phone: 612-624-3480
Email: heimp001@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 1995
Research Interests: Principles and application of biological control of arthropod pests. Behavioral, population and evolutionary ecology of natural enemies. Specific research initiatives include the implications of cover-cropping for biological control, the integration of biological control with resistance management in transgenic corn, population ecological implications of biased sex ratios in coccinellid beetles, and biological control of alfalfa blotch leafminer.

Sarah E. Hobbie, Associate Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Director of Graduate Admissions
Phone: 612-625-6269
E-mail: shobbie@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley, 1995
Research Interests: Ecosystem ecology, carbon and nutrient cycling, decomposition, species effects on ecosystem processes, plant-soil interactions.

Sharon Jansa, Assistant Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Bell Museum of Natural History
Phone: 612-624-6293
E-mail: jansa003@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1998
Research Interests: Mammalian systematics, biogeography, phylogeography, phylogenetic theory, molecular systematics and evolution

Susan Jones, Associate Professor, Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-9636
E-mail: jone0996@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1997
Research Interests: The changing scientific understanding of disease over time in conjunction with the historical context in which scientists worked; structure and practice within the biomedical sciences and professions; and scientists’ influences on human-animal interactions.

Jennifer Y. King, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate
Phone: 612-624-0786
E-mail: jyking@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of California - Irvine, 1999
Research Interests: Biogeochemistry, Earth system science, environmental change, isotope geochemistry, plant-soil-atmosphere interactions.

Linda L. Kinkel, Professor, Plant Pathology
Phone: 612-625-8200
E-mail: kinkel@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1988
Research Interests: Microbial ecology; microbial population and community dynamics on plant surfaces.

Ken Kozak, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology; Curator of Amphibians & Reptiles, Bell Museum of Natural History
Phone: 612-624-3982
E-mail: kozak016@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Washington University, 2005
Research Interests: Phylogenetics; museum/biodiversity informatics; phylogeography & historical biogeography; speciation & species limits; tempo & mode of lineage diversification; evolution of species richness & community structure; evolutionary, ecological, and conservation applications of geographic information systems (GIS)

Scott M. Lanyon, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Director, Bell Museum of Natural History
Phones: EEB: 612-624-7217, and Bell Museum: 612-624-2013
E-mail: lanyo001@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Louisiana State University, 1985
Research Interests: Avian molecular systematics, comparative behavioral evolution, phylogenetic methods.

Diane L. Larson, Adjunct Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-625-9271
E-mail: dllarson@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Illinois-Chicago, 1971
Research Interests: Ecological effects of alien plants in grassland ecosystems.



Clarence Lehman, Adjunct Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-625-5734 (campus); 763-434-5131 (field site)
Fax: 612-624-6777 (campus); 763-434-7361 (field site)
Office: 516 Ecology Building
E-mail: lehman@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2000
Reserarch Interests: Theoretical ecology and computation in biology; biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; habitat restoration.



Georgiana May, Associate Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Plant Biology
Phone: 612-624-6737
E-mail: gmay@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley, 1987
Research Interests: The evolution of mating systems in fungi; plant/fungal interactions; community genetics.


L. David Mech, Adjunct Professor, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; North Central Forest Experimental Station
Phone: 612-649-5231
E-mail: mechx002@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Purdue University, 1962
Research Interests: Wolf and deer social ecology, movements and behavior.


Rebecca Montgomery, Assistant Professor, Forest Resouces
Phone: 612-624-7249
E-mail: rebeccam@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Connecticut, 1999
Research Interests: The role of functional traits (e.g. photosynthesis, water loss, leaf anatomy, biomass allocation, allometry, growth) in plant ecology and evolution.

Helene Muller-Landau , Assistant Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-9529
E-Mail: hmuller@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Princeton University, 2001
Research Interests: Plant community ecology, especially of tropical forests; ecological and evolutionary theory; anthropogenic influences on plant community structure and dynamics.



Claudia M. Neuhauser, Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-6291
E-Mail: neuha001@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Cornell University, 1990
Research Interests: Theoretical ecology; role of space in community dynamics; theoretical population genetics; coalescent theory.

Raymond M. Newman, Professor, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
Phone: 612-625-5704
E-Mail: newma004@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1985
Research Interests: Aquatic ecology and fisheries management.

Karen S. Oberhauser, Assistant Professor, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
Phone: 612-624-8706
E-mail: oberh001@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1989
Research Interests: Conservation Biology, with an emphasis on monarch butterflies, and human impacts on insects.  Engaging the public, especially K-12 students and teachers, in citizen science.  Promoting a citizenry with a high degree of scientific and environmental literacy.

Craig Packer, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Distinguished McKnight University Professor
Phone: 612-625-5729
E-mail: packer@cbs.umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Sussex, England, 1977
Research Interests: Ecology of infectious diseases; ecosystem processes in African savannas; monitoring the effectiveness of poverty alleviation, natural resource management and public health programs in rural Africa.

John Pastor, Adjunct Professor, Natural Resource Research Institute, University of Minnesota-Duluth
Phone: 218-724-4061; 218-720-4271
FAX: 218-720-4219
E-mail: jpastor@nrri.umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1980
Research Interests: Nitrogen cycling; decomposition; ecosystem dynamics with emphasis on northern forests.

Stephen Polasky, Professor, Applied Economics and Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Fesler-Lampert Professor of Ecological/Environmental Economics
Phone: 612-624-3663
E-mail: spolasky@apec.umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1986
Research Interests: Ecological/environmental economics, biodiversity conservation and endangered species policy.

Jennifer Powers, Assistant Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-625-5721
E-mail: powers@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Duke University, 2001
Research Interests: Terrestrial biogeochemistry, ecosystem processes, microbial ecology, tropical ecology and landscape ecology.

Anne E. Pusey, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Director, The Jane Goodall Institute's Center for Primate Studies
Phone: 612-625-5727
E-mail: pusey001@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Stanford University, 1977
Research Interests: Behavioral ecology; parent-offspring interaction; sex differences in development; dispersal patterns; mating systems.

Peter B. Reich, Professor, Forest Resources
Phone: 612-624-4270
E-mail: preich@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Cornell University, 1983
Research Interests: Forest ecology, temperate and tropical; linking physiological, community ecosystems and landscape processes; impacts of global change; savanna dynamics.

Michael J. Sadowsky, Professor, Soil, Water, and Climate
Phone: 612-624-2706
E-mail: sadowsky@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Hawaii, 1983
Research Interests: Soil microbial ecology; genetics of nitrogen fixation; gene transfer in the environment; bioremediation.

Imke Schmitt, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Biology
Phone: 612-624-5428
Email: schm2109@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Essen University, 2002
Research Interests: Evolution of lichenized fungi, molecular phylogenetics, symbiosis, fungal systematics, evolution of biosyntheic genes

Ruth G. Shaw, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-7206
E-mail: rshaw@superb.ecology.umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Duke University, 1983
Research Interests: Evolutionary quantitative genetics; plant population biology.

Andrew M. Simons, Associate Professor, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; Curator of Ichthyology, Bell Museum of Natural History and Director of Graduate Studies in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Phone: 612-624-6292
E-mail: asimons@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Alabama, 1997
Research Interests: Systematics, morphology, evolution, taxonomy and biogeography of North American fishes; phylogenetic treatment of morphological, molecular and biochemical data.



Peter W. Sorensen, Professor, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
Phone: 612-624-4997
E-mail: soren003@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Rhode Island, 1984
Research Interests: Fish behavior; behavioral physiology.



Marla Spivak, Professor, Entomology
Phone: 612-624-4798
E-Mail: spiva001@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Kansas, 1989
Research Interests: Apiculture; population biology, ecology, genetics and breeding of honey bees; social insects.

David W. Stephens, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-625-5722
E-Mail: steph031@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., The Queen’s College, Oxford University, 1982
Research Interests: Experimental behavioral ecology, foraging behavior; animal decision-making; evolutionary approaches to animal cognition; learning and memory as adaptations.

Robert W. Sterner, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-625-6790
E-mail: stern007@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1986
Research Interests: Limnology; plankton ecology; food webs; aquatic biogeochemistry; nutrient dynamics.

David Tilman, Regents' Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Phone: 612-625-5700
E-mail: tilman@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1976
Research Interests: Ecological effects of human domination of the earth; population ecology and theory of community dynamics and biodiversity; role of resource competition; biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; effect of habitat destruction.

Peter Tiffin, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Biology
Phone: 612-624-7406
E-mail: ptiffin@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Duke University, 1999
Research Interests: Evolutionary and ecological genetics; molecular and phenotypic evolution of plant defenses

Michael Travisano, Associate Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Phone: 612-626-6201
E-mail: travisan@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1993
Research Interests: Ecological and evolutionary dynamics, evolutionary genetics, microbial ecology and evolution.

George Weiblen, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Biology
Phone: 612- 624-3461
Email: gweiblen@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Harvard University, 1999
Research Interests: Plant systematics, molecular phylogenetics, coevolution, and plant/pollinator interaction

Susan J. Weller, Associate Professor, Entomology; Curator of Invertebrates, Bell Museum of Natural History
Phone: 612-625-6253
E-mail: welle008@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of Texas, 1989
Research Interests: Morphological and molecular systematics; evolution of behaviors; classification.

Michael Wilson, Assistant Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and Anthropology
Phones: EEB 612-625-5732, Anthropology 612-624-1376
E-mail: wilso198"at"umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., Harvard University, 2001
Research Interests: Ecology and evolution of social behavior and communication; intergroup relations; aggression; wildlife health and conservation.

Robert Zink, Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology, Bell Museum of Natural History
Phone: 612-624-7207
E-mail: zinkx003@umn.edu
Education: Ph.D., University of California-Berkeley, 1983
Research Interests: Evolution biogeography and molecular systematics of birds at the population and species level.