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Ecology & Ecosystems Research


Examining a stream


Ecology is the study of biological organisms and their interaction with the environment, which together form ecosystems. Ecology research by faculty and students in ESS investigates how the composition of past and present-day vegetation communities can be used to identify impacts of changing climate and disturbance, how populations and communities of organisms are shaped  by social interactions, resource supply, or rapid environmental change in aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and how organisms influence the cycling of energy and nutrients in the environment. This research sheds light on human behavior, with respect to how we interact with one another and how we can best manage natural resources through conservation, restoration, and the built environment.


Ecology & Ecosystems Faculty

Simon Brewer

Simon Brewer

Associate Professor

Past and present climate change, paleoecology, environmental modeling, data mining and analysis.

simon.brewer@ess.utah.edu

Andrea Brunelle

Andrea Brunelle

Professor
Director, RED Lab

Paleoecology, Fire History, Climate change

andrea.brunelle@ess.utah.edu  

Phil Dennison

Philip Dennison 

Professor;
Director, School of Environment, Society, and Sustainability;
Director, URSA Lab

Hyperspectral, Multispectral, and Lidar Remote Sensing of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Wildfire and Firefighter Safety, Imaging Spectroscopy

dennison@ess.utah.edu

Jenifer Follstad Shah

Jennifer Follstad Shah

Director, Shah Analytical Group for the Environment (SAGE) Lab

Global Change Effects on the Metabolism and Biogeochemistry of Lotic and Riparian Ecosystems, Theoretical Ecology, River and Riparian Restoration

jennifer.shah@ess.utah.edu

Zach Lundeen

Zachary Lundeen

Research Assistant Professor
Director, Bonderman Field Station

z.lundeen@utah.edu

Kathleen Nicoll

Kathleen Nicoll

Professor

Geomorphology, Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Geoarchaeology, Arid Lands, Petroleum Geology

kathleen.nicoll@ess.utah.edu

Mitch Power

Mitchell J. Power

Professor, Curator of the Garrett Herbarium (Utah Museum of Natural History), and Power Paleoecology Lab Director

Vegetation History, Historical Biogeography, Fire, Paleoecology and Paleoclimatology

mitchell.power@ess.utah.edu

Rachna Reddy

Rachna Reddy

Assistant Professor of Anthropology

rachnabreddy@gmail.com

Jennifer Watt

Jennifer Watt

Assistant Professor
Associate Director, RED Lab
Director, Sustainability Education

Paleoecology, Environmental Science

jennifer.watt@ess.utah.edu

Last Updated: 8/29/24