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Mark Hunter
Professor
Director of the Frontiers Master's Program
Ph.D., Community Ecology, University of Oxford
U-M affiliation(s)
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
School of Natural Resources and Environment
Contact information
University of Michigan
1141 Kraus Natural Science Building
830 N. University
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1048
Phone: (734) 647-3691
Fax: (734) 763-0544
Email: mdhunter@umich.edu
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Fields of study
Population ecology, plant herbivore interactions, ecosystem processes
Academic background
B.A. Zoology (with honors), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, Ph.D. in Community Ecology, University of Oxford, UK
Graduate student
Rachel Vannette, Elizabeth Wason
News
Hunter awarded NSF grant
The National Science Foundation has awarded Professor Mark Hunter a $650,000 grant to study the causes and consequences of variation in plant defense as related to colonization by mycorrhizae, a symbiotic fungi within the roots of plants. The study system includes the common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, three species of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, and four species of insect herbivore.
The project will support the doctoral program of Rachel Vannette. The project will be linked to the education and research mission of the Frontiers Master’s Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, which hosts groups that are under-represented in the ecological sciences at the U-M Biological Station (UMBS) each summer. The Asclepias project will also contribute to other standing UMBS programs and public outreach initiatives. Understanding the role of mycorrhizal fungi in the expression of plant defense is of value to insect pest managers and those wishing to control invasive plant species. Finally, the proposed work is potentially transformative because it challenges the accepted notion that mycorrhizae play no significant role in the expression of plant defense.
$910K NSF grant to fund new advanced program in biology and mathematics
Congratulations to EEB Professors Aaron King and Mark Hunter on their key roles in this interdepartmental venture with faculty from math, MCDB, and emergency medicine. The National Science Foundation has awarded $910,000 to develop this undergraduate program.
Dubbed SUBMERGE, the program will fund up to 12 students for two years at a time, to learn cutting-edge research. Changes will be implemented in the math and biology curriculums, resources and training experience in theory and experiments will teach students to become interdisciplinary scientists.
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