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Dr. Peter L. Chesson, Professor

Positions and Education
2005-present  Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona.
1999-2005 Professor, Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis
1998-1999 Associate Professor, University of California, Davis.
1990-1997 Senior Fellow, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University.
1985-90 Associate Professor of Zoology, Botany and Statistics, Ohio State University.
1981-5 Assistant Professor of Zoology, Ohio State University.
1977-81 Postgraduate Research Biologist, University of California, Santa Barbara.
1974 B.Sc.(Hons). University of Adelaide, Australia
1978 Ph.D. (Departments of Statistics and Zoology). University of Adelaide, Australia
Honors and Awards
1998- Board of Editors, Evolutionary Ecology Research
1996-8 Board of Editors, Evolutionary Ecology
1990-1995 Associate Editor, American Naturalist
1987- Editor, Theoretical Population Biology.
1983-6 Board of Editors, Ecological Society of America.

Research Interests
Peter Chesson's research questions primarily concern how the adaptations of organisms to variable environments promote species diversity and affect ecosystem functioning. He investigates these questions using mathematical models and experiments in natural systems. Recent research topics have involved neighborhood competition, community assembly, invasion resistance, life-history evolution, and temporal and spatial niches in their various forms. In addition, he is involved with field projects on annual plants in the Arizona deserts, and in California, and has studied herbaceous perennial plants in Australia. A major thrust at the present time is the development of the methodology for field testing hypotheses on diversity maintenance. He also develops diversity maintenance theory for coral reef fish communities, tropical forests, and plant communities in mediterranean climates.

Visit Peter Chesson's website.

PubMed list of publications for Peter Chesson
Selected Publications
  1. Chesson, P., Gebauer, R. L. E., Schwinning, S., Huntly, N., Wiegand, K., Ernest, M. S. K., Sher, A., Novoplansky, A., and Weltzin, J.F. 2004. Resource pulses, species interactions and diversity maintenance in arid and semi-arid environments. Oecologia
    http://springerlink.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s00442-004-1551-1

  2. Chesson, P. 2003. Quantifying and testing coexistence mechanisms arising from recruitment fluctuations. Theoretical Population Biology 64, 345­357.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0040-5809(03)00095-9

  3. Chesson, P. 2003. Quantifying and testing coexistence mechanisms arising from recruitment fluctuations. Theoretical Population Biology 64, 345­357.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0040-5809(03)00095-9

  4. Dewi, S., Chesson, P. 2003. The age-structured lottery model. Theoretical Population Biology 64, 331­343.
    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0040-5809(03)00094-7

  5. Snyder, R.E. and Chesson, P. 2003. Local dispersal can facilitate coexistence in the presence of permanent spatial heterogeneity. Ecology Letters 6,301­309.

  6. Osenberg, C.W., C.M. St. Mary, R.J. Schmitt, S.J. Holbrook, P.Chesson, and B. Byrne. 2002. Rethinking ecological inference: Density dependence in reef fishes.Ecology Letters 5, 715­721.

  7. Chesson, P., Peterson, A.G. 2002. The quantitative assessment of the benefits
    of physiological integration in clonal plants. Evolutionary Ecology Research 4, 1153­1176.

  8. Peterson, A.G. and Chesson, P. 2002. Short term fitness benefits of physiological integration in the clonal herb Hydrocotyle peduncularis. Austral Ecology 27, 647-657.

  9. Chase, J. M., P. A. Abrams, J. P. Grover, S. Diehl, P. Chesson, R. D. Holt, S. A. Richards, R. M. Nisbet, and T. J. Case. 2002. The interaction between predation and competition: a review and synthesis. Ecology Letters 5:302-315.

  10. Shea, K., Chesson, P. 2002. Community ecology theory as a framework for biological invasions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17, 170-176.

  11. Chesson, P., Pacala, S., Neuhauser, C. 2001. Environmental niches and ecosystem functioning. Pages 213-245 in "The Functional Consequences of Biodiversity", Ann Kinzig, Stephen Pacala, and David Tilman, eds, Princeton University Press.

  12. Chesson, P. 2001. Metapopulations. Pp 161-176 in Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Vol 4, Simon A. Levin, ed, Academic Press.

  13. Hood, G.M., Chesson, P., Pech, R.P. 2000. Biological control using sterilising viruses: Host suppression and competition between viruses in non-spatial models. Journal of Applied Ecology 37, 914-925.

  14. Chesson, P. 2000. General theory of competitive coexistence in spatially varying environments. Theoretical Population Biology 58, 211-237.

  15. Chesson, P. 2000. Mechanisms of maintenance of species diversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 31, 343-66.

  16. Kerans, B., Chesson, P.L., Stein, R.A. 2000. Assessing density-dependent establishment and dispersal: an example using caddisfly larvae. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57, 1190-1199.
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