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Research in the Department of Natural Resources focuses on investigating
ecological processes operating at the level of ecosystems, and populations
and species, and the interactions at both levels with various societal
processes.
No single taxon is the focus of our attention, although many faculty members are experts in the study of wildlife, fish, and forest and wetland plants. Studies engage questions at spatial scales ranging from local to national to all over the world. The unifying theme underlying all of these studies is that both scientific and societal approaches are needed to test hypotheses and solve problems about the management and conservation of species, populations, and ecosystems. Many of the applications of our research are conducted in collaboration with the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, which is housed in the Department. |
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AREAS OF RESEARCH SPECIALIZATION
Reflecting the diversity of approaches needed to solve problems in resource management and conservation, areas of research in the department are varied. |
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ecosystems &
communities -
Those in the Department who focus at the level of ecosystems are concerned
with patterns in the structure and function of Earth's ecosystems --
forests, wetlands, lakes, streams, human-dominated landscapes -- and the
processes and environmental factors that control those patterns. A common
theme is the question of how humans alter these patterns, processes, and
environmental factors. Research interests include the effects of invasive
species on the structure and function of aquatic and terrestrial
ecosystems, biogeochemical controls of fluxes of greenhouse gases from
wetlands, trophic dynamics in stream and lake ecosystems, how microbial
processes affect nutrient cycling in forests, and local and landscape
controls of plant species diversity in tropical forests and temperate
wetlands. The Hubbard Brook Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program,
a National Science Foundation Biocomplexity Project on the aquatic
ecosystems of the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, and a large component of
Cornell's Program in Biogeochemistry and Biocomplexity are centered in the
Department of Natural Resources.
Bain | Bedford | Blossey | Cooch | Fahey | Gavin | Gillett | Kraft | Mills | Morreale | Rudstam | Schneider | Smith | Yavitt |
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populations
&
species -
Communities and ecosystems represent aggregates of lower-level orders of
organization - generally, individual species, and populations of those
species. Those in the Department who focus their research at this level
are
concerned with analysis and understanding of the dynamics of populations,
and how these dynamics might vary within and among species.
Thorough understanding of
population dynamics necessarily involves analysis from the bottom up
(individual-level life history traits) and from the top down (time series
analysis of changes in abundance). As with research at the ecosystem
level, a common theme concerns the degree to which population dynamics are
influenced by human activities. Research interests include statistical and
mathematical modeling of populations, the influence of trophic structure
on
changes in species abundance, the role of developmental plasticity in
habitat, habitat fragmentation and species occurrence, and harvest
management methods, both for control of overabundant
species, as well as restoration of historically abundant species.
Bain | Cooch | Curtis | Gavin | Jackson | Kraft | Richmond | Rudstam | Sullivan |
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policy &
human
dimensions -
This program area seeks to improve environmental policy and management decision-making
processes and outcomes. The program area emphasizes research and outreach in three content
areas, including: (1) development, analysis, and evaluation of natural resources and
environmental policy and management decision-making processes, and the implications of
resulting decisions for individuals, groups, and society; (2) analysis of the political,
legal, cultural, ethical, and technical contexts in which environmental and natural resources
management decisions occur; and (3) analysis of human behavioral and attitudinal dimensions of
environmental and natural resource management. This program area strives to improve
incorporation and integration of human and biological dimensions into natural resources policy
and management decision-making processes. Recent research thrusts include inquiry related to
community-based natural resources management, environmental ethics, citizen science,
environmental stewardship, risk perception and management, and institutional aspects of
natural resources and environmental management.
Baer | Brown | Curtis | Decker | Gillett | Knuth | Krasny | Lassoie | Wolf |