Robert D. Hollister
Mailing Address: Department of Plant
Biology
Michigan State University
100 North Kedzie Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1031
USA
Office Location: 304 North Kedzie Hall
Voice:
+1 / 517 / 432-2399
Fax:
+1 / 517 / 432-2175
E-mail:
holliste@msu.edu
Arctic Ecology Laboratory
Department of Plant Biology
College of Natural Science
My research and teaching interests are broad. I am an ecologist interested in the interactions between humans and natural ecosystems. I currently am working on projects examining the influence of climate change and land use change on terrestrial tundra ecosystems in northern Alaska. I also have experience working with Michigan Wetlands, Tropical Dry Forests of Puerto Rico and Water Quality Monitoring in Indiana. For my doctoral work I explored the response of tundra vegetation to warming. Much of that research is ongoing. This long-term project uses small chambers to experimentally warm plots of vegetation in an attempt to simulate future climate change. We monitor the response of the plant species and a few ecosystem parameters. The research takes place in Barrow and Atqasuk, Alaska. This work is in close collaboration with the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The results from this work are being used to better forecast vegetation change in the Arctic.
I currently teach for the Department of Plant Biology. I received three degrees from Michigan State University. They include a Bachelors of Science majoring in Lyman Briggs - Zoology with honor, a Master of Science in Botany and Plant Pathology, and a Ph. D. in Plant Biology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior. I will begin a new position at Grand Valley State University in the fall.
Courses:
PLB 105 Plant Biology
PLB 319 Earth Systems Science
PLB 355 General Ecology
PLB 423 Wetland Plants & Algae
PLB 498 Undergraduate Research
ISB 202 Environmental Biology
ANR 480 International Studies in Agriculture and Natural Resources
Selected Publications:
Hollister, R.D. 2003. Response of Tundra Vegetation to Temperature: Implications for Forecasting Vegetation Change. Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. Michigan State University. East Lansing, MI. 385+XXIV pp.
Rustad, L.E., J. Campbell, G.M. Marion, R.J. Norby, M.J. Mitchell, A.E. Hartley, J. H.C. Cornelissen, J. Gurevitch, GCTE-NEWS [Richard Alward, Claus Beier, Scott Bridgham, Josep Canadell, Toben Christensen, Sara Duke, Jace Fahnestock, Ivan Fernandez, John Harte, Greg Henry, Robert Hollister, John Hom, Mark Johnson, Sven Jonasson, Suni Linder, Anna Lukewille, Greg Masters, Jerry Melillo, Chris Neill, David Olszyk, Kurt Pregitzer, Paul T. Rygiewiez, Osvaldo Sala, Gus Shaver, Ken Thompson, Anders Thichelsan, David T. Tingey, Paul Verburg, Diana Wall, Jeff Welker, Richard Wright]. 2001. A meta-analysis of the response of soil respiration, net mineralization, and aboveground plant growth to experimental ecosystem warming. Oecologia 126, 543-562.
Webber, P.J. and R.D. Hollister. 2001. Vegetation research and global Change at Barrow. In Fifty More Years Below Zero. Arctic Institute of North America. 303-312 pp.
Hollister, R.D. and P.J. Webber 2000. Biotic validation of small open-top chambers in a tundra ecosystem. Global Change Biology 6, 835-842.
Arft, A.M., M.D. Walker, J. Gurevitch, J.M. Alatalo, M.S. Bret-Harte, M. Dale, M. Diemer, F. Gugerli, G.H.R. Henry, M.H. Jones, R.D. Hollister, I.S. Jónsdóttir, K. Laine, E. Lévesque, G.M. Marion, U. Molau, P. Mølgaard, U. Nordenhäll, V. Raszhivin, C.H. Robinson, G. Starr, A. Stenström, M. Stenström, Ø. Totland, P.L. Turner, L.J. Walker, P.J. Webber, J.M. Welker, P.A. Wookey. 1999. Response patterns of tundra plant species to experimental warming: a meta-analysis of the International Tundra Experiment. Ecological Monographs 69, 491-511.
Hollister, R.D. (editor). 1999. Plant response to climate change: Integration of ITEX Discoveries. Proceedings from the 9th ITEX Meeting January 5-9,1999. Arctic Ecology Laboratory Report 1, Michigan State University. East Lansing, MI. 117 pp.
Hollister, R. D. 1998. Response of Wet Meadow Tundra to Interannual and Manipulated Temperature Variation: Implications for Climate Change Research. Master of Science Thesis. Michigan State University. East Lansing, MI. 128 pp.