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Hairston, Nelson George
Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Environmental Science
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NG Hairston is FHT Rhodes Professor of Environmental Scienc, Associate Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and member of the Cornell Board of Trustees. He studies ecological and evolutionary responses of freshwater organisms to environmental change.
Research Areas
- aquatic science
- biocomplexity
- biogeochemistry
- biological control
- ecology
- ecosystem biology
- environmental sciences
- evolution
- new life sciences
- urban environment
- water resource management
- zoology
- Affiliations
- Research
- Publications
- Teaching
- Service
- Background
- Other
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Affiliations
administrative responsibilities
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Senior Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
member of graduate field
other Cornell affiliations
member of
- David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future (ACSF) Faculty Fellow
Research
research overview
- I study the interaction between microevolutionary, population, community, and ecosystem processes. Virtually all of my research has been on inland-water organisms, especially zooplankton and fish.
research activities
principal investigator on
- DISSERTATION RESEARCH: FOOD WEBS IN SPACE: THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN DISPERSAL AND TROPHIC INTERACTIONS awarded by DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES NSF 2011 - 2013
- DISSERTATION RESEARCH: THE EFFECTS OF PHENOTYPIC VARIATION ON FOOD WEB ARCHITECTURE AND ECOSYSTEM FLUXES: A DUAL TRACER ISOTOPE APPROACH awarded by DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES NSF 2012 - 2013
- EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE AND ECOSYSTEM PROPERTIES: HOW DOES HERBIVORE EVOLUTION INFLUENCE NUTRIENT DYNAMICS IN A MODEL FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM? awarded by DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES NSF 2011 - 2014
co-principal investigator on
- CONTEMPORARY RAPID EVOLUTION AND PERSISTENCE IN COMPLEX ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES II awarded by MCDONNELL FDN JAMES S 2011 - 2012
- EAGER: EXPLORATION OF THE PRESENCE AND ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF VIRAL PATHOGENS IN THE DYNAMICS OF DAPHNIA, A MAJOR PELAGIC GRAZER awarded by DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES NSF 2010 - 2013
- RAPID EVOLUTION AND THE DYNAMICS OF COMPLEX ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES awarded by NATL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 2008 - 2013
keywords
- ecology
- evolution
- evolutionary ecology
- freshwater plankton
- limnology
- population dynamics
geographic focus
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domestic geographical region
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new york state geographical region
Publications
individual publications
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academic article
- Linking genes to communities and ecosystems: Daphnia as an ecogenomic model. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B. 279:1873-82. 2012
- The functional genomics of an eco-evolutionary feedback loop: linking gene expression, trait evolution, and community dynamics.. Ecology Letters. 15:492-501. 2012
- Does rapid evolution matter? Measuring the rate of contemporary evolution and its impacts on ecological dynamics. Ecology Letters. 14:603-614. 2011
- Predator-dependent diel migration by Halocaridina rubra shrimp (Malacostraca: Atyidae) in Hawaiian anchialine pools. Aquatic Biology. 45:35-41. 2011
- Reduction of adaptive genetic diversity radically alters eco-evolutionary community dynamics. Ecology Letters. 13:989-997. 2010
- Rapid evolution and clonal food web dynamics. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 364:1579-1591. 2009
- The behavioral responses of the endemic shrimp Halocardinia rubra (Malacostraca:Atyidae) to an introduced fish, Gambusia affinis (Actinopterygii: Poeciliidae) and implications for the trophic structure of Hawaiian anchialine ponds. Pacific Science. 63:27-37. 2009
- Daphnia paleogenetics and environmental change: Deconstructing the Evolution of Plasticity. International Review of Hydrobiology. 93:578-592. 2008
- Patterns and modeling of the long-term optics record of Onondaga Lake, New York. Fundamental and Applied Limnology. 173:217-237. 2008
- Cryptic population dynamics: rapid evolution masks trophic interactions. Public Library of Science - Biology. 5:1868-1879. 2007
- Eco-evolutionary conservation biology: contemporary evolution and the dynamics of persistence. Functional Ecology. 21:444-454. 2007
- Grazer Control of Nitrogen Fixation: Phytoplankton Taxonomic Composition and Ecosystem Functioning. Fundamental and Applied Limnology/Archiv fur Hydrobiologie. 170:103-124. 2007
- Grazer Control of Nitrogen Fixation: Synergisms in the Feeding Ecology of Two Freshwater Crustaceans. Fundamental and Applied Limnology/Archiv fur Hydrobiologie. 170:89-101. 2007
- Mechanisms for consumer diversity. Nature. 439. 2006
- Prey evolution on the time scale of predator–prey dynamics revealed by allele-specific quantitative PCR. Proceedings at the National Academy of Science USA. 103:10690-10695. 2006
- The population genetic consequences of diapause in Eudiaptomus copepods. Archiv fur Hydrobiologie. 167:183-202. 2006
- Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of experimental plankton communities. Advances in Ecological Research. 37:221-243. 2005
- Rapid evolution and the convergence of ecological and evolutionary time. Ecology Letters. 8:1114-1127. 2005
- Species-specific Daphnia phenotypes: A history of industrial pollution and pelagic ecosystem response. Ecology. 86:1669-1678. 2005
- Evolutionary tradeoff between defence against grazing and competetive ability in a simple unicellular alga, Chlorella vulgaris. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B. 271:1947-1953. 2004
- Phosphorus: Time for us to oust bad spelling. Nature. 426:119. 2004
- Evolution as a critical component of plankton dynamics. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B. 270:1015-1022. 2003
- Rapid evolution drives ecological dynamics in a predator-prey system. Nature. 424:303-306. 2003
- Sustaining healthy freshwater ecosystems. Issues in Ecology. 10:1-16. 2003
- Meeting ecological and societal needs for freshwater. Ecological Applications. 12:1247-1260. 2002
- Predator-prey cycles in an aquatic microcosm: Testing hypotheses of mechanism. Journal of Animal Ecology. 7:802-815. 2002
- Temporal dispersal: Ecological and evolutionary aspects of zooplankton egg banks and the role of sediment mixing. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 42:481-491. 2002
- A partial history of phosphorus concentration at the south end of Cayuga Lake. Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service. 121:114-120. 2001
- Experimental evidence for changes in submersed macrophyte species composition caused by the herbivore Acentria ephemerella (Lepidoptera). Oecologia. 127:105-114. 2001
- Natural selection for grazer resistance to toxic cyanobacteria: Evolution of phenotypic plasticity? . Evolution. 55:2203-2214. 2001
- Crossing the Hopf Bifurcation in a live predator-prey system. Science. 290:1358-1360. 2000
- Ecosystem size determines food-chain length in lakes. Nature. 405:1047-1049. 2000
- Eurasian watermilfoil biomass associated with insect herbivores in New York. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management. 38:82-88. 2000
- In memoriam. W. Thomas Edmondson: A distinguished limnologist and an intelligent man of nobility, generosity, kindness and honesty. Archiv für Hydrobiologie. 148:38. 2000
- Life-history variation in the coexisting freshwater copepods Eudiaptomus gracilis and Eudiaptomus graciloides. Archiv für Hydrobiologie. 149:441-458. 2000
- Paleogenetic evidence for a past invasion of Onondaga Lake, New York, by exotic Daphnia curvirostris using mtDNA from dormant eggs. Limnology and Oceanography. 45:1409-1414. 2000
- Resolution of respect. W. Thomas Edmondson, Limnoecologist: 1916-2000. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 81:180-182. 2000
- The effect of diapause emergence on the seasonal dynamics of a zooplankton assemblage. Freshwater Biology. 45:133-145. 2000
- Population biology of a failed invasion: Paleolimnology of Daphnia exilis in upstate New York. Limnology and Oceanography. 44:477-486. 1999
- Rapid evolution revealed by dormant eggs. Nature. 401:446. 1999
- The roles of fluctuating selection and long-term diapause in microevolution of diapause timing in a freshwater copepod. Evolution. 53:111-122. 1999
- Benthic-pelagic coupling in freshwater zooplankton: The role of the benthos. Archiv für Hydrobiologie. Advances in Limnology. 52:163-174. 1998
- Copepod reproductive strategies: Life-history theory and phylogenetic pattern. Journal of Marine Systems. 15:23-34. 1998
- Eurasian watermilfoil decline in Cayuga Lake associated with herbivory by the aquatic moth larva Acentria ephemerella. Aquatic Ecology. 31:283-289. 1998
- Evolutionary and ecological aspects of crustacean diapause. Archiv für Hydrobiologie. Advances in Limnology. 52:561. 1998
- Food limitation in a wild cyclopoid copepod population: Direct and indirect life history responses. Oecologia. 115:320-330. 1998
- Long-term diapause and spreading of risk across the life cycle. Archiv für Hydrobiologie. Advances in Limnology. 52:297-312. 1998
- Time travelers: What's timely in diapause research. Archiv für Hydrobiologie. Advances in Limnology. 52:1-15. 1998
- Does food web complexity eliminate trophic level dynamics?. American Naturalist. 149:1001-1007. 1997
- Effect of prey size on the estimation of behavioral visual resolution for sunfish. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science. 54:2502-2508. 1997
- Distribution of crustacean diapause: Micro- and macroevolutionary pattern and process. Hydrobiologia. 320:27-44. 1996
- Particle transport by benthic invertebrates: Its role in egg bank dynamics. Hydrobiologia. 332:63-70. 1996
- Phenotypic variation in a zooplankton egg bank. Ecology. 77:2382-2392. 1996
- Zooplankton egg banks as biotic reservoirs in changing environments. Limnology and Oceanography. 41:1087-1092. 1996
- Age and survivorship of diapausing eggs in a sediment egg bank. Ecology. 76:1706-1711. 1995
- The interaction of photoperiod and temperature in diapause timing: A copepod example. Biological Bulletin. 189:42-48. 1995
- Diapause dynamics of two diaptomid copepod species in a large lake. Hydrobiologia. 292/293:209-218. 1994
- Feeding rates and filament clipping by crustacean zooplankton consuming cyanobacteria. Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie, Verhandlungen. 25:2375-2381. 1994
- Role of overlapping generations in maintaining genetic variation in a fluctuating environment. American Naturalist. 143:403-417. 1994
- Size-related changes in the visual resolution of sunfish. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science. 51:2017-2020. 1994
- Cause-effect relationships in energy flow, trophic structure, and interspecific interactions. American Naturalist. 142:379-411. 1993
- Environmental variability and the persistence of multiple emergence strategies. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology. 53:313-334. 1992
- Growth-related constraints on diet selection by sunfish. Ecology. 73:429-437. 1992
- Consumer control of gross primary production in replicate freshwater ponds. Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie, Verhandlungen. 24:1512-1516. 1991
- Gape-limited piscivores, prey size refuges, and the trophic cascade. Archiv für Hydrobiologie. 121:389-404. 1991
- A field test for the cues of diapause in a freshwater copepod. Ecology. 71:2218-2223. 1990
- Determination of diapausing eggs of copepods in preserved samples. Limnology and Oceanography. 35:763-766. 1990
- Fluctuating selection and response in a population of freshwater copepods. Evolution. 44:1796-1805. 1990
- Problems with the perception of zooplankton research by colleagues outside aquatic sciences. Limnology and Oceanography. 35:1214-1216. 1990
- Celebratory Issue. Limnology and Oceanography. 33:198. 1988
- Interannual variation in seasonal predation: Its origin and ecological importance. Limnology and Oceanography. 33:1245-1253. 1988
- Predator driven changes in community structure. Oecologia. 77:468-479. 1988
- Rate of evolution slowed by a dormant propagule pool. Nature. 336:239-242. 1988
- Perspective on prospective methods for obtaining life table data. Limnology and Oceanography. 32:517-520. 1987
- Population differences in the timing of diapause: A test of hypotheses. Oecologia. 71:339-344. 1987
- Partial photoperiodic control of diapause in three populations of the freshwater copepod Diaptomus sanguineus. Biological Bulletin. 171:135-142. 1986
- Rapid evolution of a life-history trait. Proceedings at the National Academy of Science USA. 83:4831-4833. 1986
- An analysis of the feeding behavior of Daphnia pulex. Limnology and Oceanography. 30:862-870. 1985
- Bet-hedging and environmentally cued diapause strategies of diaptomid copepods. Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie, Verhandlungen. 22:3170-3177. 1985
- Fish size, visual resolution, and prey selectivity. Ecology. 66:1729-1735. 1985
- Obtaining life history data from cohort analyses: A critique of current methods. Limnology and Oceanography. 30:886-893. 1985
- Population differences in diapause timing: Adaptation in a spatially heterogeneous environment. Oecologia. 61:42-48. 1984
- The timing of copepod diapause as an evolutionarily stable strategy. American Naturalist. 123:733-751. 1984
- Cyclomorphosis in Eubosmina longispina in a small North American lake. Hydrobiologia. 102:61-67. 1983
- The causes and consequences of sex specific mortality in a freshwater copepod. Limnology and Oceanography. 28:935-947. 1983
- The effects of chronic mercury exposure on survival, reproduction, and population dynamics of Mysidopsis bahia. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 2:61-68. 1983
- Fish vision and the detection of planktonic prey. Science. 218:1240-1242. 1982
- The use of life-tables for evaluating the chronic toxicity of pollutants to Mysidopsis bahia. Hydrobiologia. 93:179-187. 1982
- On the diel variation of copepod pigmentation. Life Science. 25:742-747. 1980
- Fitness, survival and reproduction. Systematic Zoology. 28:392-395. 1979
- The adaptive significance of color polymorphism in two species of Diaptomus (Copepoda). Limnology and Oceanography. 24:15-37. 1979
- The effect of temperature on carotenoid photoprotection in the copepod Diaptomus nevadensis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 62A:445-448. 1979
- The relationship between pigmentation and reproduction in two species of Diaptomus (Copepoda). Limnology and Oceanography. 24:38-44. 1979
- Carotenoid photoprotection in Diaptomus kenai. Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie, Verhandlungen. 20:2541-2545. 1978
- Photoprotection by carotenoid pigments in the copepod Diaptomus nevadensis. Proceedings at the National Academy of Science USA. 73:971-974. 1976
- Response of Daphnia population size and age structure to predation. Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie, Verhandlungen. 19:2898-2905. 1975
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article
-
booksection
-
conference paper
- Prey evolution on the time scale of predator-prey dynamics revealed by allele-specific quantitative PCR. 10690-10695. 2006
- Evolutionary tradeoff between defence against grazing and competitive ability in a simple unicellular alga, Chlorella vulgaris. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 1947-1953. 2004
- Size-selective feeding of zooplankton by fish. Tested studies for laboratory teaching. 23-28. 1993
- From cohort data to life table parameters via stochastic modeling. Estimation and analysis of insect populations. Lecture Notes in Statistics. 81-92. 1989
- Preservation of biological and cultural diversity, Proceedings of the University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium. Separatum. 160. 1983
- The interaction of salinity, predators, light and copepod color. Hydrobiologia. 151-158. 1981
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document part
-
report
-
review
- An Introduction to Copepod Diversity. 551-552. 2004
- Book review of “Pennak’s Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States” 4th ed. by D. G. Smith. 1376. 2001
- Book review of Successes, limitations, and frontiers in ecosystem science. 1595-1596. 1999
- Book review of How many people can the Earth support? by J. E. Cohen. 578-579. 1996
- Nelson G. Hairston Sr.: An ecologist at the forefront of schistosomiasis control (Panel 1) 2005
- Lake ecosystems 2002
- Dormancy and diapause 2001
presentations
- An Integrative Evolutionary-ecological Analysis of Speciation in Desmognathus Salamanders, Host, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminars 2011
- Rapid Evolution: Coupling Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics, Speaker, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminars 2011
- The Evolutionary Context of the Obesity Epidemic - Thrifty Genes or Drifty Genes?, Host, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminars 2011
- Viral Ecology: Infection and Transport Across the Terrestrial - Marine Continuum, Host, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminars 2011
- Population Periodicity, Physical (Ph)orcing, and Polyphemus pediculus: Assessing the relative role of internal vs. external forcing on plankton community dynamics, Host 2010
- The Challenge of Sustainability: Lessons From an Evolutionary Perspective , Host 2010
featured in archived article
Teaching
teaching overview
- General Ecology; Limnology; Tropical Field Ecology
teaching activities
- BIOEE-6601: Tropical Field Ecology - Spring 2013
- BIOEE-9990: Ph.D. Dissertation Research - Spring 2013
- BIOEE-9990: Ph.D. Dissertation Research - Fall 2012
- BIOEE-4570: Limnology: Ecology of Lakes, Lectures - Spring 2012
- BIOEE-4571: Limnology: Ecology of Lakes, Laboratory - Spring 2012
- BIOEE-9990: Ph.D. Dissertation Research - Spring 2012
- BIOEE-1610: Ecology and the Environment - Fall 2011
- BIOEE-9990: Ph.D. Dissertation Research - Fall 2011
- BIOG-2990: Introduction to Research Methods in Biology - Fall 2011
Service
service to the profession
- Sigma Xi
- External Review Committee Eawag, Switzerland Reviewer, Program 2009
- Eminent Ecologist and Distinguished Service Awards Committee of the Ecological Society of America Committee Member 2003 - 2009
- Eminent Ecologist and Distinguished Service Awards Committee of the Ecological Society of America Member 2003 - 2009
- Selection Jury, International Ecology Institute (ECI) Prize and International Recognition of Professional Excellence (IRPE) Prize Chairperson - 2006
- International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology National Representative 2001 - 2004
- International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology National Representative 2001 - 2004
- Selection Jury, International Ecology Institute (ECI) Prize and International Recognition of Professional Excellence (IRPE) Prize Member - 2003
- Nominating Committee, American Society of Naturalists Committee Member 1999 - 2002
- Committee on Publications, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Committee Member 1997 - 2002
- Governing Board, Ecological Society of America Member-at-Large 1996 - 1998
- Appointments Board for Professorship in Limnology, Uppsala University Expert Member - 1998
- Scientific Committee, 2nd International Symposium on Diapause of the Crustacea Committee Member 1996 - 1997
- Committee on Financial Resources, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Committee Member 1995 - 1997
- Future Limnology and Oceanography Operations Committee, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Committee Member 1994 - 1996
- Appointments Board for Professorship in Animal Ecology, Stockholm University Expert Member - 1996
- Awards Committee, Ecological Society of America Chairperson 1992 - 1995
- International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology National Representative 1992 - 1995
- Steering Committee of The Freshwater Imperative Committee Member 1992 - 1995
- Challenges to Limnology Committee, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Member 1992 - 1994
- Nominating Committee, American Society of Naturalists Committee Member - 1994
- Council of Representatives, Ecological Society of America Member 1990 - 1993
- Committee on Financial Resources, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Committee Member 1991 - 1992
- R. H. MacArthur Award Subcommittee, Ecological Society of America Chairperson 1991 - 1992
- Organizing Committee, 1986 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Member - 1986
- Nominating Committee, American Society of Naturalists Committee Member - 1983
- Site Visit Committee, Environmental Protection Agency Committee Member - 1983
Background
education and training
- Ph.D. in Zoology, University of Washington 1977
- University of Michigan 1971
awards and honors
- Plenary Speaker, XV National and VIII International Meeting of the Mexican Society of Planktology, Mexico City, Mexico, 2009
- Plenary Speaker, Gordon Conference on Microbial Population Biology, NH, 2009
- Invited Instructor, PhD Summer School “Interactions between ecological and evolutionary processes in aquatic systems” Eawag - Kastanienbaum, Switzerland, 2009
- Speaker, Symposium on “Darwinian thinking in limnology” XXI Conference of Polish Hydrobiologists, Lubin, Poland, 2009
- Pleanary Speaker, 2009
- W.T. Edmondson Memorial Lecturer, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2007
- Keynote Speaker, Symposium on the Population Consequences of Adaptive Processes, European Society for Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala, Sweden, 2007
- Plenary Speaker, 100th Annual Meeting of the Germany Zoological Society, Cologne, Germany, 2007
- Velux Foundation Professor of Biodiversity, 2007
- Keynote Speaker, SERA-17 Organization to Minimize Phosphorus Losses from Agriculture, 2006
- Keynote Speaker, Symposium in Honor of Winfried Lampert’s Retirement as Director of the Max-Planck Institute for Limnology, 2006
- Keynote Speaker, Ontario Ecology and Ethology Colloquium Annual Meeting, Department of Psychology, McMaster University, 2003
- Plenary Speaker, Third Annual Onondaga Lake Scientific Forum, Syracuse, New York, 2001
- Visiting Eminent Ecologist, 1989
- A. W. Mellon Foundation Visiting Distinguished Ecologist, 1984
- Visiting Assistant Professor, 1980
- Plenary Speaker
Other
college
- CALS
research keyword
- ecology
- evolution
- evolutionary ecology
- freshwater plankton
- limnology
- population dynamics
name prefix
- Professor
name suffix
- Jr