Office of the Provost
and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Office of the Provost
and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Ecologist and Professor of Biology, Division of Biological Sciences
2011 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 6:00 PM
University Center Theater (3rd Floor)
Informal reception to follow
Man's views of the natural world derive from both the relentless need to eliminate competitors in order to survive and the equally persistent need to cooperate with others to avoid being eliminated. This conflict is embodied in the contrasting views on evolution promoted by English scientist Charles Darwin, famous for describing nature as ‘red in tooth and claw,’ and Russian nobleman Prince Peter Kropotkin, who is far less famous for his book, Mutual Aid. Professor Callaway’s lecture will explore competition and mutualism in the context of these two historical figures and link these two processes in a modern synthesis of thought about the nature of nature.
Professor Callaway is interested in all aspects of ecology and his research focuses primarily on how organisms interact with each other, including direct interactions, such as competition for resources, allelopathy, and facilitation; and indirect interactions mediated by herbivores, soil microbes, and other competitors. He focuses a great deal on facilitative interactions among organisms and the insight that facilitative interactions provide into the organization of nature. He typically studies facilitation and competition in alpine habitats, but has worked in tropical and temperate forests, grasslands, savannas, salt marshes, and deserts. Also, through the influence of his graduate students over the last 15 years, much of Dr. Callaway's time is now spent exploring how exotic invaders become so abundant in non-native ranges and suppress native species.