Bill Nelson - Assistant Professor

Research: I am interested in the interaction between ecological and short-term evolutionary dynamics, and how this influences the patterns of diversity we see in nature. My research uses freshwater zooplankton as a study system, and aims to link the life-histories of individuals to the biological dynamics of populations and communities through a combination of mathematical modeling, laboratory experiments, and controlled mesocosm experiments.

 

 

»» Lab Website »« email: nelsonw@queensu.ca »« telephone: 613-533-6130 ««

Some Recent Publications:

•  Ananthasubramaniam, B., Nisbet, R.M., Nelson, W.A., McCauley, E. & Gurney, W.S.C. (In Press) Stochastic growth reduces population fluctuations in Daphnia–algal systems. Ecology.
• Huijben, S., Nelson, W.A., Wargo, A., Sim, D., Drew, D. & Read, A. (2010) Chemotherapy, within-host ecology and the fitness of drug resistant malaria parasites. Evolution 64: 2952-2968.
• Fox, J.W., Nelson, W.A. & McCauley, E. (2010) Quantifying the contribution of fluctuation-dependent coexistence mechanisms to solving the paradox of the plankton. Ecology 91: 1774-1786.
• Lewis, M.A., Nelson, W.A. & Xu, C. (2010) A structured threshold model for bark beetle outbreak. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 72: 565-589.
• McCauley, E., Nelson, W.A. & Nisbet, R.M. (2008) Small-amplitude cycles emerge from stage-structured interactions in Daphnia–algal systems. Nature455:1240-1243.
• Simpson, K., McCauley, E. & Nelson, W.A. (2008) Spatial heterogeneity and rates of spread in experimental streams. Oikos 117:1491-1499.
• Nelson, W.A. & Lewis, M.A. (2008) Connecting host physiology to host resistance in the conifer-bark beetle system. Theoretical Ecology 1:163-177.
• Nelson, W.A., Potapov, A., Lewis, M.A., Hundsdoerfer, A.E. & He, F. (2008) Balancing ecological complexity in predictive models: a reassessment of risk models in the mountain pine beetle system. Journal of Applied Ecology 45:248-257.