The Ecological Society of America is pleased to announce its 2026 Fellows. The Society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways in which its members contribute to ecological research, communication, education, management and policy. This year, the ESA Governing Board has confirmed eight new Fellows and ten new Early Career Fellows.
Fellows are members who have made outstanding contributions to a wide range of fields served by ESA, including, but not restricted to, those that advance or apply ecological knowledge in academics, government, non-profit organizations and the broader society. They are elected for life.
Early Career Fellows are members within eight years of completing their doctoral training (or other terminal degree) who have advanced ecological knowledge and applications and show promise of continuing to make outstanding contributions to a wide range of fields served by ESA. They are elected for five years.
ESA established its Fellows program in 2012 with the goal of honoring its members and supporting their competitiveness and advancement to leadership positions in the Society, at their institutions, and in broader society. Past ESA Fellows and Early Career Fellows are listed on the ESA Fellows page .
“These Fellows and Early Career Fellows represent a remarkable group of scientists whose contributions are shaping the direction of ecological research and its application,” said ESA President Peter Groffman. “I am delighted to see their achievements recognized by their peers. Their work is expanding how we understand ecological systems while also informing decisions that affect ecosystems and communities. ESA is proud to count them among its members, and we look forward to the continued impact of their work.”
ESA will formally acknowledge and celebrate its new Fellows for their exceptional achievements during a ceremony July 27, 2026, at ESA’s Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Fellows elected in 2026 in recognition of their contributions to the science of ecology:
Bethany Bradley, Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Environmental Conservation
Bethany Bradley is an ecologist whose research focuses on the biogeography of terrestrial plant invasions, including how invasive plant distributions, abundance and impact are affected by climate change. Through science synthesis and communication, she also works to provide invasive species managers with the information they need to develop proactive strategies to control and prevent invasions in a changing climate. Bradley co-founded the Northeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NE RISCC) Network, which conducts actionable research in partnership with practitioners to support climate-smart invasive species management. She received her Ph.D. from Brown University.
Deron E. Burkepile, Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
Deron Burkepile works at the intersection of community and ecosystem ecology in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. His research group has focused on how consumers and consumer diversity impact ecosystem function, how climate change impacts community dynamics and resilience and how animals, both alive and dead, shape nutrient cycling in ecosystems. These research topics span diverse ecosystems with study locations ranging from coral reefs and kelp forests to African savannas and tallgrass prairies. He received his Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and he was the Brown Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University.
Vanessa Ezenwa, Professor, Yale University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Vanessa Ezenwa integrates perspectives from disease ecology, animal behavior and ecological immunology to study host-parasite interactions in natural populations. Her research has particularly focused on understanding how parasites interact with one another inside hosts and the consequences of these interactions for broadscale patterns of disease. She also studies the complex and often bidirectional links between host behavior and infectious diseases. She received a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University.
Donald Falk, Professor, University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources and Environment, and Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
Don Falk’s research focuses on fire history, fire ecology and ecological resilience as key to adaptation in a rapidly changing world. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and has received the ESA Paleoecology Section’s Deevey Award and the University of Arizona Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension (ALVSCE) Eminent Researcher award. Falk was a delegate to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference and leads degree programs in Global Change Ecology and Management. He was the co-founder and Executive Director of the Center for Plant Conservation, and the first Executive Director of the Society for Ecological Restoration. Falk holds an M.A. from Tufts University and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.
Lianhong Gu, Distinguished Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division
Lianhong Gu works at the intersection of plant biology, ecosystem science and environmental biophysics. His multidisciplinary training was inspired by the book “What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell” by quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger. Following this inspiration, he strives to understand and predict fundamental biological and ecological processes with laws of nature. He conducts multidisciplinary research using theoretical, observational and modeling approaches and innovative sensors. His current projects focus on linking plant genomics to photosynthetic phenomics with multimodal data and artificial intelligence and machine learning models. He received an M.S. in Ecology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia.
Sergio Andrés Navarrete, Professor, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Coastal Marine Research Station
Sergio Navarrete is a marine ecologist who has integrated extensive empirical knowledge of local species interactions with coastal physical oceanography and ecological theory to understand the dynamics of complex marine communities, from small to regional scales. Trained as an experimental ecologist during his graduate studies, he later deepened his expertise in oceanography and physically driven dispersal, developing models of metapopulation and metacommunity dynamics. His work addresses central challenges in the management and conservation of exploited marine ecosystems and advances our understanding of how these systems are being altered by climate change. He has served as director of a world-class marine research station and the first marine protected area in Chile, and has contributed to numerous government boards advancing science and ecology in the country. He received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University.
Nathan G. Swenson, Professor and Gillen Director of the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center, University of Notre Dame, Department of Biological Sciences
Nathan Swenson is a plant biologist by training with a research focus on using phylogenetic and functional information to understand the distribution and dynamics of biodiversity through space and time. Following his Ph.D., he was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in bioinformatics with the Center for Tropical Forest Science at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. His primary research contributions of note have been the integration of phylogenetic, trait and functional genomics data into community ecology with a special focus on tree assemblages. He received an M.S. from New Mexico State University and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona.
Laura Yahdjian, Professor, University of Buenos Aires, Department of Ecology, and Research Scientist, Institute for Agricultural Plant Physiology and Ecology (IFEVA–CONICET)
Laura Yahdjian is a grassland ecologist whose research examines how livestock production and agricultural practices shape ecosystem functioning in grasslands and steppes, with particular emphasis on grazing management, ecosystem sensitivity to drought and the impacts of exotic plant invasions. Her work also advances social-ecological perspectives by linking ecosystem services to decision making. She is an active member of international ecological research networks including the Nutrient Network, the Drought Network, BIODESERT and ILTER, and has helped build collaborations with institutions in North America, Europe and Asia that have expanded opportunities for early-career ecologists from South America. She currently serves as Director of the Master’s Program in Natural Resources at the University of Buenos Aires and as President of the Argentine Association for Ecology. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Buenos Aires.
Early Career Fellows (2026–2030) elected for advancing the science of ecology and showing promise for continuing contributions:
Lillian R. Aoki, Assistant Professor, University of Oregon, Environmental Studies Program
Lillian Aoki is a coastal scientist studying ecosystem dynamics and resilience in nearshore and estuarine habitats. She uses a variety of field, lab and computational methods to build an integrated and cross-scale understanding of coastal ecology in a rapidly changing world. Current projects focus on understanding recovery trajectories of seagrass meadows following marine heatwaves and the role of land management in facilitating carbon sequestration in tidal marshes. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia.
Roxanne Beltran, Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Roxanne Beltran is an interdisciplinary ecologist whose work integrates animal behavior, physiology and environmental change to understand how and why animals survive and die in rapidly changing ecosystems. Her research combines long-term field studies, biologging and demographic data to uncover how individual traits and environmental conditions interact to shape life history strategies in long-lived marine vertebrates, particularly northern elephant seals. Her work emphasizes the importance of linking mechanistic processes such as movement behavior with population-level outcomes including reproduction and mortality. Current projects in her lab focus on identifying the drivers of wildlife mortality, understanding predator-prey dynamics in a changing ocean, integrating biologging with trait-based ecology and developing inclusive field-based training programs that broaden participation in environmental science. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Alaska.
Corey T. Callaghan, Assistant Professor, University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Corey Callaghan is a global ecologist whose work integrates biodiversity science, quantitative ecology and community engagement to understand how species and ecosystems respond to anthropogenic change. His work is defined by the integration of citizen science data — particularly from platforms such as iNaturalist and eBird — with ecological theory to address questions spanning local to global scales. He develops computational and analytical frameworks that enable the use of large, unstructured datasets for ecological inference, prediction and theory testing. His research spans topics including urban biodiversity, species interactions, macroecological patterns and the role of human behavior in shaping biodiversity data, with applications that inform conservation planning and environmental decision-making. He received his M.S. from Florida Atlantic University and his Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales, Sydney.
Christina M. Hernández, Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University, Department of Biological Sciences
Christina (Chrissy) Hernández is a population ecologist with interests spanning biological oceanography, theoretical ecology and mathematical methods. Her research combines empirical data with modeling approaches to investigate population dynamics and life history evolution, with a particular focus on events surrounding reproduction and early life. She has extensive at-sea experience collecting plankton and larval fish, and back on land she writes R packages to make mathematical ecology accessible and reproducible. As the first President of the Society for Women in Marine Science, she guided the young society through non-profit registration and the establishment of an international chapter network and mentorship program. She received her Ph.D. from the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography.
Tess Grainger, Assistant Professor, University of Guelph, Department of Integrative Biology
Tess Grainger is an ecologist whose research investigates the effects of global change on coexistence, eco-evolutionary dynamics and spatially structured communities. To do this, she uses experiments with insects that test fundamental questions in ecology and evolutionary biology. Grainger’s research also aims to forge stronger connections between theoreticians and empiricists, and she has worked to remove barriers associated with mental health and parenting in academia. Grainger received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.
Joseph Hoyt, Assistant Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Biological Sciences
Joseph Hoyt works at the intersection of disease ecology, wildlife biology and conservation to understand the ecological and evolutionary impacts of emerging infectious disease in wildlife communities. His research examines the impacts of emerging infectious diseases and other environmental change factors on wildlife populations across spatial and temporal timescales. Current projects focus on transmission dynamics in multi-host communities, climate effects on disease dynamics, host and pathogen response following introduction and management solutions for imperiled wildlife. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Lin Meng, Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Lin Meng is a global change ecologist who studies how vegetation phenology responds to climate change and human activities, with implications for public health and sustainable cities. Her work has been recognized with the Grand Prize of the Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists awarded by AAAS and Science Magazine, as well as the Green Talents award from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. She has also served as Speaker of the ESA Council and Chair of the ESA Human Ecology Section. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Iowa State University.
Claire E. Willing, Assistant Professor, University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Claire Willing’s research integrates molecular tools, ecological theory, plant physiological ecology and stable isotope approaches to study how fungal communities respond to climate change and mediate plant responses. Her lab focuses on root-associated fungi, particularly mycorrhizal symbioses, and their roles in plant coexistence, stress tolerance and ecosystem resilience. As a Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center Faculty Fellow, she collaborates with federal, state and tribal agencies to integrate fungal communities into climate adaptation planning. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University.
Casey Youngflesh, Assistant Professor, Clemson University, Department of Biological Sciences
Casey Youngflesh works at the intersection of ecology and data science, combining ecological theory with computational approaches to understand the processes that shape patterns of biodiversity across scales. His work integrates large-scale data from multiple taxa, particularly birds and marine mammals, working to identify the principles governing migration, life history and demographic processes. He received his Master’s in Conservation Biology from the University of New South Wales and his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from Stony Brook University.
Yong Zhou, Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
Yong Zhou is an ecosystem ecologist who investigates how ecosystem processes respond to global change, with a particular focus on carbon and nutrient dynamics in fire-prone ecosystems. His current research explores two main themes: plant-soil-microbe feedbacks in response to fire, and the biogeochemistry of ecosystem engineers in tropical savannas. He received an M.S. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.
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The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 8,000 member Society publishes six journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach, and education initiatives. The Society’s Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org .
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