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Dr. Stephen K. Hamilton

Ecosystem Ecologist, Biogeochemist | PhD, University of California at Santa Barbara

Expertise
wetlands, streams, rivers and lakes, agricultural ecology, water quality, tropical rivers, floodplains

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Stephen Hamilton’s principal research interests involve ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry, with particular emphasis on water. He has studied wetlands, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds, as well as agricultural cropping systems and their effects on water and climate. His research draws on multiple disciplines to understand and mitigate environmental problems and inform environmental protection and conservation.

Hamilton’s research publications include studies of nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, invasive species, food webs, remote sensing, conservation planning, and hydrology. He has received awards for his engagement with environmental issues from the Michigan Environmental Council and the Society for Freshwater Science, and is a Fellow of that society.

Hamilton has conducted a variety of studies in tropical floodplain and river ecosystems of South America and Australia, and presently works with several research groups in Brazil on hydropower effects on river systems.

As of 2024, Hamilton is retired from both Cary Institute and from his long-time position as a Professor at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station, though he will remain academically active. At Michigan State, Hamilton was a principal investigator for the National Science Foundation’s Long Term Ecological Research site and a Project Leader in the Department of Energy’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. He now lives in northern Michigan.

Wantzen, Karl M., Mario Luis Assine, Ieda Maria Bortolotto, Debora Fernandes Calheiros, Zilca Campos, Agostinho Carlos Catella, Rafael Morais Chiaravalotti, et al. 2024. “The End Of An Entire Biome? World's Largest Wetland, The Pantanal, Is Menaced By The Hidrovia Project Which Is Uncertain To Sustainably Support Large-Scale Navigation”. Science Of The Total Environment 908. Elsevier BV: 167751. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167751.
Girard, Pierre, Fabio de Oliveira Roque, Wilson Cabral de Sousa, and Stephen K. Hamilton. 2024. “Expansion Of Fluvial Transport Of Commodities Through The Pantanal Floodplains Of Brazil: Potential Impacts And Interference By Climate Change”. Conservation Science And Practice. Wiley. doi:10.1111/csp2.13126.
Fleischmann, AS, F Papa, Stephen K. Hamilton, A Fassoni-Andrade, S Wongchuig, JC Espinoza, RCD Paiva, et al. (MAR 1) 2023. “Increased Floodplain Inundation In The Amazon Since 1980”. Environmental Research Letters 18 (3). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/acb9a7.
Milien, EJ, GM Nunes, G Pierre, Stephen K. Hamilton, and CN Da Cunha. (JUN) 2023. “Hydrological Dynamics Of The Pantanal, A Large Tropical Floodplain In Brazil, Revealed By Analysis Of Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery”. Water 15 (12). doi:10.3390/w15122180.
Flecker, AS, QR Shi, Rafael M. Almeida, H Angarita, JM Gomes-Selman, R Garcia-Villacorta, SA Sethi, et al. (FEB 18) 2022. “Reducing Adverse Impacts Of Amazon Hydropower Expansion”. Science 375 (6582): +, 753+. doi:10.1126/science.abj4017.
Hamilton, Stephen K., CA Murphy, SL Johnson, and A Pollock. 2022. “Water Quality Ramifications Of Temporary Drawdown Of Oregon Reservoirs To Facilitate Juvenile Chinook Salmon Passage”. Lake And Reservoir Management. doi:10.1080/10402381.2021.2017082.
Robertson, Philip, Stephen K. Hamilton, Keith Paustian, and Pete Smith. 2022. “Land‐Based Climate Solutions For The United States”. Global Change Biology 28 (16). Wiley: 4912-4919. doi:10.1111/gcb.16267.
Cruz, Rúbia Fantin, Stephen K. Hamilton, Hans M. Tritico, Ibraim Fantin‐Cruz, Daniela Maimoni Figueiredo, and Peter Zeilhofer. 2021. “Water Quality Impacts Of Small Hydroelectric Power Plants In A Tributary To The Pantanal Floodplain, Brazil”. River Research And Applications. Wiley. doi:10.1002/rra.3766.
Frauendorf, TC, Amanda L. Subalusky, CL Dutton, Stephen K. Hamilton, FO Masese, Emma J. Rosi, GA Singer, and DM Post. (NOV) 2021. “Animal Legacies Lost And Found In River Ecosystems”. Environmental Research Letters 16 (11). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac2cb0.
de Figueiredo, Juliane Stella M. C., Ibraim Fantin-Cruz, Geovanna Mikaelle S. Silva, Renato Leandro Beregula, Pierre Girard, Peter Zeilhofer, Eduardo Morgan Uliana, Eduardo Beraldo de Morais, Hans M. Tritico, and Stephen K. Hamilton. 2021. “Hydropeaking By Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes On Tributaries To The Pantanal Wetland Of Brazil”. Frontiers In Environmental Science 9. Frontiers Media SA. doi:10.3389/fenvs.2021.577286.
Hussain, MZ, Stephen K. Hamilton, GP Robertson, and B Basso. (OCT 13) 2021. “Phosphorus Availability And Leaching Losses In Annual And Perennial Cropping Systems In An Upper Us Midwest Landscape”. Scientific Reports 11 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99877-7.
Kuhl, Alexandria S., Anthony D. Kendall, Remke L. van Dam, Stephen K. Hamilton, and David W. Hyndman. 2021. “Root Water Uptake Of Biofuel Crops Revealed By Coupled Electrical Resistivity And Soil Water Content Measurements”. Vadose Zone Journal 20 (4). Wiley. doi:10.1002/vzj2.20124.
Almeida, Rafael M., AS Fleischmann, JPF Breda, DS Cardoso, H Angarita, W Collischonn, B Forsberg, et al. (NOV) 2021. “Climate Change May Impair Electricity Generation And Economic Viability Of Future Amazon Hydropower”. Global Environmental Change-Human And Policy Dimensions 71. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102383.
Strayer, David L., Stephen K. Hamilton, and Heather M. Malcom. 2021. “Long‐Term Increases In Shell Thickness In Elliptio Complanata (Bivalvia: Unionidae) In The Freshwater Tidal Hudson River”. Freshwater Biology 66 (7). Wiley: 1375-1381. doi:10.1111/fwb.13723.
Bahlai, Christie A., Clarisse Hart, Maria T. Kavanaugh, Jeffrey D. White, Roger W. Ruess, Todd J. Brinkman, Hugh W. Ducklow, et al. 2021. “Cascading Effects: Insights From The U.s. Long Term Ecological Research Network”. Ecosphere 12 (5). Wiley. doi:10.1002/ecs2.3430.
Abraha, Michael, Jiquan Chen, Stephen K. Hamilton, Pietro Sciusco, Cheyenne Lei, Gabriela Shirkey, Jing Yuan, and Philip Robertson. 2021. “Albedo-Induced Global Warming Impact Of Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands Converted To Annual And Perennial Bioenergy Crops”. Environmental Research Letters 16 (8). IOP Publishing: 084059. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac1815.
Jones, C.D., A.D. Reddy, J. Jeong, J.R. Williams, Stephen K. Hamilton, M.Z. Hussain, V. Bandaru, and R.C. Izaurralde. 2021. “Improved Hydrological Modeling With Apex And Epic: Model Description, Testing, And Assessment Of Bioenergy Producing Landscape Scenarios”. Environmental Modelling & Software 143. Elsevier BV: 105111. doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.105111.
Plum, Cami, Stephen K. Hamilton, Rebekah Henry, David McCarthy, Emma J. Rosi, and Michael Grace. (2019) 2021. “Pharmaceutical Transport And Transformation In Trapa Natans Beds”. Final Reports Of The Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program, 2019. https://www.hudsonriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/polgar-plum-tp-06-19.pdf.
Dutton, Christopher L., Amanda L. Subalusky, Alvaro Sanchez, Sylvie Estrela, Nanxi Lu, Stephen K. Hamilton, Laban Njoroge, Emma J. Rosi, and David M. Post. 2021. “The Meta-Gut: Community Coalescence Of Animal Gut And Environmental Microbiomes”. Scientific Reports 11 (1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02349-1.
Celi, J. E., and Stephen K. Hamilton. (Nov) 2020. “Measuring Floodplain Inundation Using Diel Amplitude Of Temperature”. Sensors 20 (21).

Projects