Academic Education:

B.Sc. University of Puget Sound
Ph.D. Oregon State University


Appointments:

Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Northeastern University (2007 - present)

Postdoctoral Scholar, Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Davis (2005 - 2007)

Postdoctoral Scholar, Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis

(2004 - 2005)

Other Professional Activities:

Member of a National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) working group comparing trophic structure across ecosystems (2005-2008).

Participant in the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography’s DIALOG VII symposium to promote interdisciplinary collaboration across aquatic sciences (Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama, 2005).

Co-organizer of the 2006 California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Symposium: Ecological interactions useful for ecosystem-based management.

Invited participant in an international workshop and symposium on the Effect of global change on carbon sequestration and food web structure across ecosystems (Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven, Germany, 2009).


Research Interests:

My research, based primarily at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center in Nahant, uses an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate the linkages between marine communities and ecosystems. Recently, ecologists have begun to realize that large-scale, ecosystem-level processes are important mediators of community structure and dynamics and that local-scale phenomena, such as the ecological and physiological attributes of species, influence ecosystem functioning. In particular, my research focuses on (1) the impacts of ecosystem functioning (the transformation and flux of energy and materials) on patterns of distribution, abundance, biodiversity, and community structure and (2) the roles that organisms—and the diversity of those organisms—play in mediating ecosystem functions. In evaluating these linkages between communities and ecosystems, I draw from a variety of ecological sub-disciplines, including community ecology, physiological ecology, and ecosystem ecology.

Figure. Research and teaching in marine ecology. (A) Measuring nitrate uptake rates of seaweed assemblages to assess herbivore impacts on nitrogen use. (B) At the helm. (C) Quantifying intertidal seaweed biodiversity. (D) Members of my Three Seas Program Marine Ecology (BIOL 5515) class measuring seaweed and invertebrate diversity and abundance on the rocky shore at Nahant, Massachusetts.

Teaching Activities:

I currently teach two classes every year, Marine Ecology (BIOL 5515) during the fall semester at the Marine Science Center as part of the Three Seas Program and Marine Biology (BIOL 2325) during the spring semester on Northeastern’s Boston campus. My Marine Ecology course is a conceptual survey of ecology—the study of the distributions, abundances, and interactions of organisms and the roles of those organisms in mediating the transformation and flux of energy and matter—in the marine environment. My Marine Biology course is a survey of biological processes, in general, as applied to marine systems, including physiology, ecology, evolution, and biogeochemistry. In addition to my assigned teaching, I frequently offer graduate seminars in ecology, including Topics in Integrative Biology (BIOL 7384) courses in Classics and Neoclassics in Ecology and Ecology and the Media.


Selected Publications:

Altieri, A.H., G.C. Trussell, P.J. Ewanchuk, G. Bernatchez, and M.E.S. Bracken. 2009. Consumer effects on diversity indirectly influence marine ecosystem function. PLoS ONE 4: e5291.

Aquilino, K.M., M.E.S. Bracken, M.N. Faubel, and J.J. Stachowicz. 2009. Local-scale autochthonous nutrient inputs in an upwelling ecosystem facilitate seaweed growth on wave-exposed rocky shores. Limnol. Oceanogr. 54: 309-317.

Bracken, M.E.S., S.E. Friberg, C.A. Gonzalez-Dorantes, and S.L. Williams. 2008. Functional consequences of realistic biodiversity changes in a marine ecosystem. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105: 924-928.

Stachowicz, J.J. R.J. Best, M.E.S. Bracken, and M.H. Graham. 2008. Complementarity in marine biodiversity manipulations: reconciling divergent evidence from field and mesocosm experiments. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105:18842-18847.

Stachowicz, J.J., M. Graham, M.E.S. Bracken, and A.I. Szoboszlai. 2008. Diversity enhances cover and stability of seaweed assemblages: the importance of environmental heterogeneity and experimental duration. Ecology 89: 3008-3019.

Bracken, M.E.S., C.A. Gonzalez-Dorantes, and J.J. Stachowicz. 2007. Whole community mutualism: associated invertebrates facilitate a dominant habitat-forming seaweed. Ecology 88: 2211-2219.

Elser, J.J., M.E.S. Bracken, E.E. Cleland, D.S. Gruner, W.S. Harpole, H. Hillebrand, J.T. Ngai, E.W. Seabloom, J.B. Shurin, and J.E. Smith. 2007. Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Ecol. Lett. 10: 1135-1142.

Hillebrand, H., D.S. Gruner, E.T. Borer, M.E.S. Bracken, E.E. Cleland, J.J. Elser, W.S. Harpole, J.T. Ngai, E.W. Seabloom, J. B. Shurin, and J. E. Smith. 2007. Consumer versus resource control of producer diversity depends on ecosystem type and producer community structure. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 10904-10909.

Bracken, M.E.S., and J.J. Stachowicz. 2006. Seaweed diversity enhances nitrogen uptake via complementary use of nitrate and ammonium. Ecology 87: 2397-2403.

Menge, B.A., J. Lubchenco, M.E.S. Bracken, F. Chan, M.M. Foley, T.L. Freidenburg, S.D. Gaines, G. Hudson, C. Krenz, H. Leslie, D.N.L. Menge, R. Russell, and M.S. Webster. 2003. Coastal oceanography sets the pace of rocky intertidal community dynamics. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100: 12229-12234.

Complete List of Publications

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