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Dr. Bill Hamilton

Howe Hall 403

Phone (540) 458-8890

E-mail: hamiltone@wlu.edu

 

Education

Undergraduate Degree:  B.S., Syracuse University, 1992 

Graduate Degree: M.A., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1995.  Advisor: Ian Baldwin

Graduate Degree: Ph.D., Syracuse University, 1999.  Advisor: Sam McNaughton

 

Positions

Associate Professor, Washington and Lee University, 2007-present

Assistant Professor, Washington and Lee University, 2001-2007

Full-time Lecturer, University of Rochester, 1999

Postdoctoral Fellow

       Syracuse University, 1999-2001, Advisor: Scott Heckathorn

       Syracuse University, 1999, Advisor: Doug Frank

 

Memberships

Ecological Society of America

International Society for Microbial Ecology

Weed Science Society of America

American Institute of Biological Sciences

 

Courses Taught at W&L

Fundamentals of Biology (Biology 111)

Atmospheric Science from the Ground Up (Biology 120)

Plant Biology (Biology 225)

Medicinal Botany Seminar (Biology 295)

Chemical Ecology Seminar (Biology 295)

Plant Functional Ecology (Biology 332)

Experimental Botany: Global Climate Change (Biology 330)

 

Complete CV

 

Current Research Interests

I study physiological plant ecology, focusing on (1) herbivore-plant-microbe interactions ,  (2) physiological and growth responses to herbivory and  (3)  adaptation to, or effects of, environmental stress, primarily heat and sodium.  I am interested in elucidating species level adaptations to stress and herbivory that explain observed community dynamics (e.g. species distributions, competitive interactions,  and nutrient cycling) as well as relating adaptations to ecosystem function. The majority of my current research is based on large ungulate grazers (e.g. bison and elk) and their interactions with grasses and soil microbes in Yellowstone National Park (PHOTOS). 

 

Back Campus Research Park Species Images Restoration Project

Selected Publications

  • Hamilton, E.W., Giovannini, M.S., Moses, S.A., Coleman, J.S. and McNaughton, S.J. (1998). Biomass and mineral element responses of a Serengeti short-grass species to nitrogen supply and defoliation: Compensation requires a critical [N]. Oecologia 116, 407-418 Download PDF File

  • Baldwin, I.T. and Hamilton, E.W. (2000). Methyl jasmonate-induced responses of Nicotiana sylvestris are costly due to impaired competitive ability for a fitness-limiting resource. Journal of Chemical Ecology 26, 915-952 PDF File

  • Hamilton, E.W. and Coleman, J.S. (2001). Heat-shock proteins are induced in unstressed leaves when distant leaves are stressed. American Journal of Botany  88, 950-955 PDF File

  • Hamilton, E.W., McNaughton, S.J. and Coleman, J.S. (2001). Soil Na stress: Molecular, physiological and growth responses in Serengeti C4 grasses. American Journal of Botany 88, 1258-1265  PDF File

  • Hamilton, E.W. and Heckathorn, S.A. (2001) Mitochondrial adaptations to Sodium Chloride: Complex I is protected by anti-oxidants and small Heat-shock proteins, while Complex II is protected by proline and betaine. Plant Physiology  126, 166-1274 PDF File

  • Hamilton, E.W. and Frank, D.A. (2001) Plant defoliation promotes microbial nitrogen cycling through increased root exudation of carbon. Ecology 82,2397-2402  PDF File

  • Heckathorn, S.A. Ryan, S.L. Baylis, J.A. Wang, D. Hamilton, E.W. Cundiff, L. Luthe, D.S. (2002) In vivo evidence from an Agrostis stolonifera selection genotype that chloroplast small-heat shock proteins can protect photosystem II during heat stress. Functional Plant Biology 29, 933-944   PDF File

  • Wang, D., Heckathorn, S.A., Barua D., Joshi P, Hamilton, E.W., LaCroix, J.J. (2008) Effects of elevated CO2 on the tolerance of photosynthesis to acute heat stress in C3, C4, and CAM species American Journal of Botany  95: 165-176. PDF File

  • Hamilton, E.W., Heckathorn, S.A., Joshi, P., Wang, D., and Barua, D. (2008) Interactive effects of elevated CO2 and growth temperature on the tolerance of photosynthesis to acute heat stress in C3 and C4 species. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 50, 1375-1387: PDF File.

  • Barua, D., Frantz, J.M., Hamilton, E.W., Heckathorn, S.A., Joshi, P., Wang, D. (2008) The interactive effects of elevated CO2 and ozone on leaf thermotolerance in field-grown Glycine max.Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 50, 1396-1405: PDF File

  • Wang, D., Heckathorn, S.A., Mainali, K., Hamilton, E.W. (2008) Effects of N on plant responses to heat waves: a field study with prairie vegetation.Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 50, 1416-1425: PDF File.

  • Hamilton, E.W., Frank, D.A., Hinchey, P.M., Murray, T.M. (2008) Defoliation induces root exudation and triggers positive rhizospheric feedbacks in a temperate grassland. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40, 2865-2873 PDF File