J. Hall Cushman

Professor of Biology & Director of the Galbreath Wildlands Preserve
Ph.D. Northern Arizona University, 1989
Voicemail: (707) 664-2142
Email: cushman@sonoma.edu
Office: Darwin 238
Webpage

Postdoctoral Experience:

Imperial College at Silwood Park (England), Macquarie University (Australia), Stanford University.

Research Interests:

Population & Community Ecology; Biological Invasions; Conservation Biology; Plant-Animal Interactions; Global Change & Biodiversity Issues; Mutualism & Positive Interactions.

Research Program:
I have pursued a wide range of research projects in ecology and conservation biology using plant, insect, pathogen and mammalian systems.  This work has a strong emphasis on field experiments and addresses the roles played by species in shaping populations and communities.  Much of my research has focused on the influence of native and non-native mammals on plant communities in northern California.  For example, I am interested in how plant communities respond to the soil disturbances created by feral pigs, which are so prominent throughout the world.  In addition, I have numerous long-term experiments underway that address the impacts of black-tailed deer, hares and various small mammals on dune communities and oak woodlands. 

I am increasingly interested in biological invasions and the effects of non-native species on the communities they invade.  Since 2000, I have been collaborating with numerous colleagues on a large-scale project that seeks to understand the biotic and abiotic factors that drive the spread of Phytophthora ramorum, an exotic pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death throughout much of northern California and southern Oregon.  Currently, I am conducting field experiments that address the effects of cattle grazing in coastal grasslands on an endangered lycaenid butterfly, its host plant and the surrounding plant community.  My collaborators and I are especially interested in whether cattle grazing can be used as an effective tool for reducing the dominance of exotic plants while at the same time promoting the success of native taxa.  I have an active group of graduate students working with me on research projects in ecology, conservation biology and restoration ecology – and am always on the look-out for bright, motivated individuals who want to join our group. 

Representative Publications:
Cushman, J. H., & R. K. Meentemeyer.  2008.  Multi-scale patterns of human activity and the incidence of an exotic forest pathogen.  Journal of Ecology 96:766-776.

Huntzinger, M., R. Karban & J. H. Cushman.  2008.  Negative effects of vertebrate herbivores on invertebrates in a coastal dune community.  Ecology 89:1972-1980.

Meentemeyer, R. K., N. E. Rank, B. L. Anacker & J. H. Cushman.  2008.  Influence of land-cover change on the spread of an invasive forest pathogen.  Ecological Applications 18:159-171.

Cushman, J. H.  2007.  History and ecology of feral pig invasions in California grasslands.  In Ecology and Management of California Grasslands (M. Stromberg, C. D’Antonio and J. Corbin, editors).  Pages 191-196.  University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Lortie, C. J., & J. H. Cushman.  2007.  Effects of a directional abiotic gradient on plant community dynamics and invasion in a coastal duen system.  Journal of Ecology 95:468-481.

Johnson, B. E., & J. H. Cushman.  2007.  Influence of a large herbivore reintroduction on plant invasions and community composition in a California grassland.  Conservation Biology 21:515-526.

Tierney, T., & J. H. Cushman.  2006.  Temporal changes in native and exotic vegetation and soil characteristics following disturbances by feral pigs in a California grassland.  Biological Invasions 8:1073-1089.

McNeil, S. G, & J. H. Cushman.  2005.  Indirect effects of deer herbivory on local nitrogen availability in a coastal dune ecosystem.  Oikos 110:124-132.

Cushman, J. H., T. A. Tierney, and J. M. Hinds.  2004.  Variable effects of feral pig disturbances on native and exotic plants in a California grassland.  Ecological Applications 14:1746-1756.

Alvarez, M. E., & J. H. Cushman.  2002.  Community level consequences of a biological invasion: effects of a non-native vine on three plant communities.  Ecological Applications 12:1434-1444.

Warner, P. J., & J. H. Cushman.  2002.  Influence of herbivores on a perennial plant:  variation with life history stage and herbivore species.  Oecologia 132:77-85.

 

Course Offerings:

Ecology; Conservation Ecology; Genetics, Evolution & Ecology.