Mark W. Hester
1980 B.A. (Biology, Magna cum Laude) Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
1985 M.S. (Marine Sciences) Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
1995 Ph.D. (Oceanography and Coastal Sciences) Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
My primary research focus is coastal plant ecology and restoration ecology, particularly as it pertains to the use of vegetation in the restoration of degraded wetland and coastal habitats. My lab (Coastal Plant Ecology Lab) conducts research in a variety of plant communities ranging from barrier island dune and swale communities to coastal salt marshes, interior freshwater wetlands and baldcypress swamps. In all of these environments, I am particularly interested in plant community response to environmental change, plant conservation ecology with emphasis on factors controlling the zonation and distribution of vegetation, and adaptations and responses of plants to natural and anthropogenic environmental stressors. My lab has a strong interest in constraints on plant establishment and ecosystem function in response to environmental change. Plant stress ecophysiology is also a component of my research program, including the ecophysiology of vegetation impacted by multiple environmental stressors such as salinity, flooding, drought, nutrient loading rates, CO2 levels, and oiling.
Graduate student involvement is a critical component of my lab’s success, with graduate student research often being directed towards the goals of funded projects. Presentation of graduate research as professional scientific conferences and publication of project results in peer-reviewed journals are expected. Enthusiastic and hard-working potential graduate students can contact me at Mark W. Hester.
Feel free to contact me at this address:
Mark W. Hester, Department of Biology, PO Box 42451, Lafayette, LA 70504
mhester@louisiana.edu Telephone: (337) 482-5246