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Dr. Stephen K. Hamilton

Ecosystem Ecologist, Biogeochemist | PhD, University of California at Santa Barbara

Expertise
wetlands, streams, rivers and lakes, agricultural ecology, water quality, tropical rivers, floodplains

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Stephen Hamilton’s principal research interests involve ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry, with particular emphasis on water. He has studied wetlands, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds, as well as agricultural cropping systems and their effects on water and climate. His research draws on multiple disciplines to understand and mitigate environmental problems and inform environmental protection and conservation.

Hamilton’s research publications include studies of nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, invasive species, food webs, remote sensing, conservation planning, and hydrology. He has received awards for his engagement with environmental issues from the Michigan Environmental Council and the Society for Freshwater Science, and is a Fellow of that society.

Hamilton has conducted a variety of studies in tropical floodplain and river ecosystems of South America and Australia, and presently works with several research groups in Brazil on hydropower effects on river systems.

Hamilton also works part-time as a Professor at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station. Here, Hamilton has recently served as the Lead Principal Investigator of the National Science Foundation’s Long Term Ecological Research site. He is also a Project Leader in the Department of Energy’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.

Flecker, AS, QR Shi, Rafael M. Almeida, H Angarita, JM Gomes-Selman, R Garcia-Villacorta, SA Sethi, et al. 2022. “Reducing Adverse Impacts of Amazon Hydropower Expansion”. SCIENCE 375 (6582): +, 753+. doi:10.1126/science.abj4017.
Hamilton, Stephen K., CA Murphy, SL Johnson, and A Pollock. 2022. “Water Quality Ramifications of Temporary Drawdown of Oregon Reservoirs to Facilitate Juvenile Chinook Salmon Passage”. LAKE AND RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT. doi:10.1080/10402381.2021.2017082.
Dutton, Christopher L., Amanda L. Subalusky, Alvaro Sanchez, Sylvie Estrela, Nanxi Lu, Stephen K. Hamilton, Laban Njoroge, Emma J. Rosi, and David M. Post. 2021. “The Meta-Gut: Community Coalescence of Animal Gut and Environmental Microbiomes”. Scientific Reports 11 (1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02349-1.
Cruz, Rúbia Fantin, Stephen K. Hamilton, Hans M. Tritico, Ibraim Fantin‐Cruz, Daniela Maimoni Figueiredo, and Peter Zeilhofer. 2021. “Water Quality Impacts of Small Hydroelectric Power Plants in a Tributary to the Pantanal Floodplain, Brazil”. River Research and Applications. Wiley. doi:10.1002/rra.3766.
Frauendorf, TC, Amanda L. Subalusky, CL Dutton, Stephen K. Hamilton, FO Masese, Emma J. Rosi, GA Singer, and DM Post. (2024) 2021. “Animal Legacies Lost and Found in River Ecosystems”. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS 16 (11). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac2cb0.
de Figueiredo, Juliane Stella M. C., Ibraim Fantin-Cruz, Geovanna Mikaelle S. Silva, Renato Leandro Beregula, Pierre Girard, Peter Zeilhofer, Eduardo Morgan Uliana, Eduardo Beraldo de Morais, Hans M. Tritico, and Stephen K. Hamilton. 2021. “Hydropeaking by Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes on Tributaries to the Pantanal Wetland of Brazil”. Frontiers in Environmental Science 9. Frontiers Media SA. doi:10.3389/fenvs.2021.577286.
Hussain, MZ, Stephen K. Hamilton, GP Robertson, and B Basso. 2021. “Phosphorus Availability and Leaching Losses in Annual and Perennial Cropping Systems in an Upper US Midwest Landscape”. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 11 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99877-7.
Kuhl, Alexandria S., Anthony D. Kendall, Remke L. van Dam, Stephen K. Hamilton, and David W. Hyndman. 2021. “Root Water Uptake of Biofuel Crops Revealed by Coupled Electrical Resistivity and Soil Water Content Measurements”. Vadose Zone Journal 20 (4). Wiley. doi:10.1002/vzj2.20124.
Almeida, Rafael M., AS Fleischmann, JPF Breda, DS Cardoso, H Angarita, W Collischonn, B Forsberg, et al. (2024) 2021. “Climate Change May Impair Electricity Generation and Economic Viability of Future Amazon Hydropower”. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS 71. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102383.
Strayer, David L., Stephen K. Hamilton, and Heather M. Malcom. 2021. “Long‐term Increases in Shell Thickness in Elliptio Complanata (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in the Freshwater Tidal Hudson River”. Freshwater Biology 66 (7). Wiley: 1375-81. doi:10.1111/fwb.13723.

Current Projects