Faculty/Staff Directory

Robert

Hollister

hollistr@eduftp.net

• Professor

http://9dap.eduftp.net/aep/bob-hollister-21.htm

3390K Kindschi Hall of Science

616-331-8582

Ecology, Botany, Polar Systems, Wetland Ecology, Global Change Biology

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Arctic Observatory Network (AON)
Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS)
Ecological Society of America (ESA)
International Tundra Experiment (ITEX)

BIO 105 Environmental Science
BIO 109 Plants in the world
BIO 120 General Biology I
BIO 215 General Ecology
BIO 243 Plant Identification & Natural History
BIO 323 Aquatic & Wetland Plants
BIO 573 Plants of the Great Lakes Region

My research and teaching interests are broad. I am an ecologist interested in the interactions between humans and natural ecosystems. While my area or expertise is vegetation change, I am always interested in taking on new student led projects. My research focus is in northern Alaska examining the influence of climate change and land use change on tundra ecosystems. I am also interested in Michigan vegetation especially in wetlands.

My research in Alaska is funded by the National Science Foundation. This long-term project uses small chambers to experimentally warm plots of vegetation in an attempt to simulate future climate change. We monitor the response of the plant species and important ecosystem parameters. I am the lead Primary Investigator for a project examining terrestrial ecosystem change in Northern Alaska.  My research takes place in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) and Atqasuk, Alaska. This work is in close collaboration with the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX); currently I serve as co-chair of the network.  The results from this work are being used to better forecast vegetation change in the Arctic.

While not part of my research, I am also active in faculty governance and I serve as chair of the Faculty Salary and Budget Committee (FSBC).

Ph.D. Plant Biology / Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior, Michigan State University, 2003.
M.S. Botany and Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, 1998.
B.S. Lyman Briggs Zoology with Honor, Michigan State University, 1994.

See Google Scholar for most current

Note: GVSU students in bold italics .

2025

Lemieux, T.A., J.D.R. Coles, A.L. Haley, M.L. LaFlamme, S.K. Steel, K.M. Scott, J.F. Provencher, C. Price, J.R. Bennett, I.C. Barrio, H.S. Findlay, S.J. Goodman, B. Matthews, J. Näslund, D.A. Pearce, R.D. Hollister, M.L. Mallory, P.A. Smith, G. Schaepman-Strub, and S.J. Cooke. 2025. Persistent and emerging threats to Arctic biodiversity and ways to overcome them: A horizon scan. Arctic Science:as-2024-0035. 10.1139/as-2024-0035

Schwieger, S., E. Dorrepaal, M. Petit Bon, V. Vandvik, E. Le Roux, M. Strack, Y. Yang, S. Venn, J. Van Den Hoogen, F. Valiño, H.J.D. Thomas, M. Te Beest, S. Suzuki, A. Petraglia, I.H. MyersSmith, T.M. Munir, A. Michelsen, J.O. Løkken, Q. Li, T. Koike, K. Klanderud, E.H. Karr, I.S. Jónsdóttir, R.D. Hollister, A. Hofgaard, I.A. Hassan, W. Genxu, N. Filippova, T.W. Crowther, K. Clark, C.T. Christiansen, A. CasanovaKatny, M. Carbognani, S. Bokhorst, K. Björnsdóttir, J. Asplund, I. Althuizen, R. Alonso, J. Alatalo, E. Agathokleous, R. Aerts, and J.M. Sarneel. 2025. Environmental conditions modulate warming effects on plant litter decomposition globally. Ecology Letters 28:e70026. 10.1111/ele.70026

Lu, C., K.J. Van Groenigen, M.A.K. Gillespie, R.D. Hollister, E. Post, E.J. Cooper, J.M. Welker, Y. Huang, X. Min, J. Chen, I.S. Jónsdóttir, M. Mauritz, N. Cannone, S.M. Natali, E. Schuur, U. Molau, T. Yan, H. Wang, J. He, and H. Liu. 2025. Diminishing warming effects on plant phenology over time. New Phytologist 245:523–533. 10.1111/nph.20019

2024

Hollister, R.D. 2024. Why we need long-term monitoring to understand ecosystem change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121:e2409666121. 10.1073/pnas.2409666121

Elphinstone, C., F. Hernández, M. Todesco, J. Légaré, W. Cheung, P.C. Sokoloff, A. Hofgaard, C.T. Christiansen, E.R. Frei, E. Lévesque, G.N. Daskalova, H.J.D. Thomas, I.H. MyersSmith, J.A. Harris, J.M. Saarela, J.L. May, J. Obst, J. Boike, K. Clark, K. MacIntosh, K.R. BetwayMay , L. Case, M.P. Björkman, M.L. Moody, N.M. Schmidt, P. Molgaard, R.G. Björk, R.D. Hollister, R.D. Bull, S. Agger, V. Maire, G.H.R. Henry, and L.H. Rieseberg. 2024. Multiple Pleistocene refugia for Arctic BellHeather revealed with genomic analyses of modern and historic plants. Journal of Biogeography 51:1958–1973. 10.1111/jbi.14961

Note: First names are provided for GVSU students; Middle initials denote graduate students; † denotes the presenter

2024

Talk- R Hollister ^†.  Welcome – Highlights of recent work.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.  

Talk- S Elmendorf^† & R Hollister.  Does earlier = more? Exploring the links between phenology and productivity.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.  

Poster- T Fuson^†, R Cody, S Vargas, S Escazarg & R Hollister, S Oberbauer, C Tweedie. Assessing terrestrial Lidar precision in an Arctic tundra setting for use in detecting fine-scale permafrost subsidence.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.  

Poster- S Vargas Zesati^†, K Young, V Villagomez, M Mora, G Ramriez, G Ramirez, D Cruz, T Fuson, J May, S Elmondorf, N Healey, R Hollister, S Oberbauer & C Tweedie. Spatiotemporal variability in plant community phenology revealed from decadal phenocam time series on the north slope of Alaska.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Poster- Taylor A. Doorn ^†, J May, S Vargas & R Hollister. Using seasonal NDVI to predict plant cover in tundra ecosystems.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.  

Poster- Jenna Boelkins ^† & R Hollister.  Documenting mycorrhizal infection of plant species in Atqasuk, Alaska.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Poster- Clair Czadzeck ^† & R Hollister. Changes in the frequency of flowering in forbs over time.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Poster- Justin B. Blough ^† & R Hollister.  Outreach, interactivity, and the Arctic Ecology Program at GVSU.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Poster- K Betway-May^†, W Gould, J May, R Hollister & S Elmendorf. Vegetation community change at Toolik Lake, Alaska.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Poster- Scott Y. Branham ^†, R Hollister & S Vargas. Using ArcGIS Pro Raster Classification Tools to map Salix patches and plant communities.  Resilience in tundra science - International Tundra Experiment Meeting 2024.  April 7-10, 2024.  Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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