I investigate processes at the ecosystem level using statistical modelling. My main interest in research is to understand ecological processes and population dynamics of aquatic organisms at the ecosystem level, in particular those aspects that are relevant to resource management. Recently I have been investigating spatial and temporal scales needed to study the spatial distribution of fish abundance and obtain indices of abundance of fish populations in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Since fish, as other aquatic organisms, cannot be directly observed large scale population studies must rely on analysis of data from scientific surveys or commercial operations. The analysis of this information requires specialized statistical modeling. Currently my focus is in the Great Lakes.

Research and teaching emphases are on the politics of international development and environmental conservation, with a focus on institutional change, property rights, poverty, and biodiversity. Written extensively on 1) indigenous knowledge, 2) community-based conservation, 3) common property, 4) population and resources, and 5) environmental identities. Recent interests include the decentralization of environmental policy (especially forestry and wildlife), and the emergence of environment as a subject of human concern.

Teaching emphasis is on the application of ecological knowledge to species conservation and ecosystem management. Research interests center on the influence of human activities on the condition of rivers and their watersheds, including the effects of land use on stream health, assessment of variation in flow regime, and estimation of nutrient loads and budgets. Additional, collaborative activities are directed at the translation of aquatic science into useful products for management, conservation, and restoration of running waters.

Dr. Burton is the newly appointed Director of NOAA's Cooperative Institute of Limnology and Ecosystem Research and a Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Recently, he was Professor and Chair of the Earth & Environmental Sciences Department at Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio. While at WSU he directed the Institute for Environmental Quality, started the PhD program in Environmental Sciences, and was the Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research.

Teaching interests center around fish ecology, aquaculture, and environmental sciences. Current teaching includes a senior course on fish ecology and an introductory course on environmental sciences. Major research interest has focused on the ecology of natural fishes, particularly pike and muskellunge.  In addition, research interests include a focus on aquaculture, its role in feeding the world, especially poorer people in developing countries, and its impact on the environment.

Research and teaching in conservation biology and the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. Major research projects focus on the impact of diseases on wildlife populations and the environmental causes leading to disease emergence. Other projects examine how habitat fragmentation and global climate change result in species extinction.

Teaching and research in evolutionary and behavioral ecology; resource control and reproductive success in vertebrates, including humans; integration of evolutionary theory and resource management; resources and reproductive variance; reproductive and resource tradeoffs for modern women.

My areas of teaching include Field Ecology, a graduate seminar in conservation biology (Conservation in Fragmented Landscapes), and an undergraduate course on sustainable development and globalization (Our Common Future). My research focuses on trophic interactions in tropical agroecosystems and ecological succession in tropical regions.

My current research examines the function of biological diversity in the coffee agroecosystem in Southern Mexico.

Paul Webb holds a joint appointment with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and he serves as Associate Director of the Program in the Environment. Teaching includes Ecological Issues, fish biology and ecology, animal physiology, and a number of undergraduate independent studies each year. Research includes physiological ecology and functional morphology of aquatic vertebrates, primarily fishes. Research seeks to identify and understand fundamental principles of energetics and form and function, which in turn affect distributions of fishes and their populations and assemblages. These interests are currently focussing on how physical factors shape shorelines and hence shoreline fish communities, affecting management and restoration. Another area of research concerns factors that affect fish assemblages in coastal marshes. Much of these researches are done in collaboration with faculty in the engineering school.

Teaching involves general aquatic and stream/river ecology. Research interests include ecology of rivers and lakes, watershed management, community dynamics and population regulation, trout stream food webs, behavioral adaptations of aquatic insects, fish invertebrate interactions, and fisheries management.

John Witter is the George Willis Pack Professor of Forest Entomology. He focuses on the effects of invasive insects and diseases on individual trees, ecosystems, and landscapes in the Great Lakes Region. He examines interactions of various disturbances, such as insects, drought, frost, pollution, and human actions, and their impacts on health and changes in forests.

Steven Yaffee is the Theodore Roosevelt Professor of Ecosystem Management. Research involves natural resource and environmental policy, planning and management; processes of policy formation and implementation; and organizational arrangements for managing natural resources. Of particular interest is policy involving endangered species, public lands, ecosystem management, and nonprofit environmental organizations. Also interested in innovative ways to make collective choices including alternative dispute resolution, collaborative problem-solving, and negotiation processes.

Don Zak holds a joint appointment in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Literature, Science, and Arts. His research investigates links between the composition and function of soil microbial communities, and the influence of microbial activity on ecosystem-level processes. This work draws on ecology, microbiology, and biochemistry and is focused at several scales of understanding. Current research centers on understanding the link between plant and microbial activity within terrestrial ecosystems, and the influence climate change may have on these dynamics. Teaching includes courses in soil ecology and ecosystem ecology.