Faculty

William

McDowell

Academic Title

Associate Professor, Biology

Research Summary

My research focuses on understanding the impacts of global change on all ecological levels — populations, communities and ecosystems. My current research projects include the impacts of earlier ice-out dates on New England lakes, the response of scallop populations to small-scale fishery closures and identifying sources of pharmaceutical and personal-care products in aquatic ecosystems.

Education
  • Ph.D., Ecology, University of Georgia
  • B.A., Biology, Williams College
Areas of Expertise
  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Data Analysis
  • Global Change
  • Invasive Species
Recent Publications

McDowell, W.G.; Sousa, R. (2019). “Mass Mortality Events of Invasive Freshwater Bivalves: Current Understanding and Potential Directions for Future Research.” Frontier Ecology in Evolution, 7:331. https://doi.org10.3389/fevo.00331

McDowell, W. G., & Sousa, R. (2019). Mass Mortality Events of Invasive Freshwater Bivalves: Our Current Understanding and Future Directions for Research. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 331.

McDowell, W. G., & Byers, J. E. (2019). High abundance of an invasive species gives it an outsized ecological role. Freshwater Biology, 64(3), 577-586.

McDowell, W. H., McDowell, W. G., Potter, J. D., & Ramírez, A. (2019). Nutrient export and elemental stoichiometry in an urban tropical river. Ecological Applications, 29(2), e01839.

Burke, R. L., Bernatis, J., Byers, J. E., Carter, J., Martin, C. W., McDowell, W. G., & Van-Dyke, J. (2017). Identity, reproductive potential, distribution, ecology, and management of invasive Pomacea maculata in the southern United States. Biology and Management of Invasive Apple Snails. Philippine Rice Research Institute, Maligaya, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, 3119, 293-333.

McDowell, W. G., McDowell, W. H., & Byers, J. E. (2017). Mass mortality of a dominant invasive species in response to an extreme climate event: Implications for ecosystem function. Limnology and Oceanography, 62(1), 177-188.

McDowell, W. G., Benson, A. J., & Byers, J. E. (2014). Climate controls the distribution of a widespread invasive species: implications for future range expansion. Freshwater biology, 59(4), 847-857.

Byers, J. E., McDowell, W. G., Dodd, S. R., Haynie, R. S., Pintor, L. M., & Wilde, S. B. (2013). Climate and pH predict the potential range of the invasive apple snail (Pomacea insularum) in the southeastern United States. PLoS One, 8(2), e56812.

Honors and Awards
  • Zampell Faculty Fellow