Professor of Biology, Hobart & William Smith Colleges mbrown@hws.edu
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I am an ecologist who studies the fantastic Earth and the critical role humans play in shaping our familiar home.
I focus on understanding how organisms establish within ecosystems and the interactions among species in these communities. Concepts I am currently investigating include:
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how the establishment of non-native species is influenced by and changes recipient environments
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how aquatic ecosystems change over time in response to multiple environmental stressors
​I often explore these questions in lakes but also study terrestrial islands and contribute to fictional worlds with environmental themes.
 Press: Smithsonian MagazineCan Climate Fiction Writers Reach People in Ways That Scientists Can’t? |  Latest ResearchPlant Pirates of the Caribbean: Is Cuba sheltered by its revolutionary economy? |  Latest ResearchOne fish, two fish, but bloody red shrimp can avoid fish, too. |
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 Press: National GeographicUnintended environmental benefits of consequences of isolation |  Latest ResearchIndigenous' views about water quality |  Plankton Key of Seneca LakeRachel Best and Meghan Brown for Science on Seneca |
Watercolors in the banner of this website were generated by Melissa Gaydos Merriam as part of an independent project in my research lab exploring zooplankton taxonomy through art.
All photos are mine or HWS images, except the hummingbird on this page, which is Jeremy Zerfoss's awesome rendering of the species I created for Jeff Vandermeer's novel Hummingbird Salamander, and the caricature, which was a gift from Julie Young when she was a student studying abroad with me in Australia and New Zealand.