Skidmore Biology Faculty- Josh Ness

Josh Ness

Associate Professor
@ Skidmore since 2005

Biology Department & Environmental Studies Program

Office: Dana Science Center 319

(518) 580-5080 or jnessATskidmoreDOTedu

My teaching and research is focused on exploring the intersection of interactions among species, invasion ecology and landscape science. I currently teach portions of the foundation sequences in Biology and Environmental Science (BIO 106: the Diversity of Life and ES205: Conservation & Use of Forested Landscapes), two upper level courses (Plant-Animal Interactions (BIO 339) and Biological Invasions (BIO 351)) and a seminar for first year students called Life in the North Woods. Where appropriate, I try to blend teaching and research. I've co-authored three articles and nine conference presentations with undergraduates in the past five years, and we've also incrementally built a wiki site focused on the organisms and biotic interactions within Skidmore College's North Woods.

Research Concentrations:
Plant - Animal Mutualisms. How do the dynamics of reciprocally beneficial interactions between plants and animals 'work' and what are the consequences as these interactions are disrupted? How do partners, and partner identity, matter? Our work focuses on interactions between ants and plants that rely on the insects for 1) protection against natural enemies (herbivores or seed-eating mice) and 2) dispersal to new habitats. Study systems include Sonoran Desert cacti and the ant-dispersed flora of the New England forests.

Landscape Ecology. How does landscape history, habitat boundaries and dispersal networks shape the distribution of influential species and/or interactions? This focus on historical and current distributions helps us visualize what the future could hold. We've focused on non-native invasive species and hotspots for mutualistic interactions. Study systems include the 400 acre forest adjacent to Skidmore College's campus and the river network of the Upper Hudson watershed.

Food as a motivation tool. How does the composition, production rate and presentation of food alter the behavior and performance of consumers? This work has focused on animals consuming plant-produced food rewards that either mimic meat (to encourage collection by omnivores) or elicit greater preference for meat (to encourage omnivores to turn their attention towards attacking herbivores).

Ness J.H., E.J. Rollinson* and K.D. Whitney. (2011) Phylogenetic distance can predict susceptibility to attacj by natural enemies. Oikos (pdf)

Ness J.H., K. Mooney and L. Lach (2010) Ants as mutualists. Ch 6 in (Lach L, CL Parr and K Abbott, eds.) Ant Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford. (pdf)

Ness, J.H., W.F. Morris and J.L. Bronstein (2009) For ant-protected plants, the best defense is a hungry offense. Ecology 90: 2823-2831 (pdf)

Ness, J.H ., D.F. Morin* and I. Giladi (2009) Uncommon specialization in a mutualism between a temperate herbaceous plant guild and an ant: Are Aphaenogaster ants keystone mutualists? Oikos 118: 1793-1804 (pdf)

Ness, J.H . and D. Morin* (2008) Forest edges and landscape history shape interactions between plants, seed-dispersing ants and seed predators. Biological Conservation 141: 838-847 (pdf)

Bronstein, J.L. and J.H. Ness (2007) 'Friends of Friends? Barrel cactus and its interacting mutualists'. The Arizona Native Plant Society's Plant Press 31: 8-10

Ness, J.H ., W.F. Morris & J.L. Bronstein. (2006) Variation in mutualistic potential among ant species tending extrafloral nectaries of Ferocactus wislizeni . Ecology 87: 912-921 (pdf)

Ness, J.H . (2006) A mutualism's indirect costs: The most aggressive plant bodyguards also deter pollinators. Oikos 113: 506-514 (pdf)

Morris, W.F., W.G. Wilson, J.L. Bronstein & J.H. Ness . (2005) Environmental forcing and the temporal dynamics of a competitive guild of cactus-tending ants. Ecology 86: 3190-3199 (pdf)

Ness, J.H . & K. Bressmer* (2005) Abiotic influences on the behavior of rodents, ants, and plants affect an ant-seed mutualism. Ecoscience 12: 76-81 (pdf)

Holland, J.N., J.H. Ness, A. Boyle & J.L. Bronstein (2005) Mutualisms as consumer-resource interactions. Pp 17-33 In (P. Barbosa and I. Castellanos, eds.) Ecology of Predator - Prey Interactions . Oxford University Press, New York

Ness, J.H., J.L. Bronstein, A.N. Andersen & J.N. Holland (2004) Ant body size predicts dispersal distance of ant-adapted seeds: implications of small-ant invasions. Ecology 85: 1244-1250 (pdf)

Ness, J.H. (2004) Forest edges and fire ants alter the seed shadow of an ant-dispersed plant. Oecologia 138: 228-454 (pdf)

Ness, J.H. & J.L. Bronstein (2004) The effects of invasive ants on prospective ant mutualists. Biological Invasions 6: 445-461

Holland, J.N., R. Wyatt, J.L. Bronstein & J.H. Ness (2004) Relating the biology of flower-to-fruit survivorship to the ecology and evolution of fruit-to-flower ratios. Recent Research Developments in Plant Science 1: 75-84

Ness, J.H. (2003) Catalpa bignonioides alters extrafloral nectar production after herbivory and attracts ant bodyguards. Oecologia 134: 210-218 (pdf)

Ness, J.H . (2003) Contrasting exotic Solenopsis invicta and native Forelius pruinosus ants as mutualists with Catalpa bignonioides , a native plant. Ecological Entomology 28: 247-251 (pdf)

Ness, J.H. & S. A. Foster. (1999) Parasite mediated phenotype modifications in the threespine stickleback. Oikos 85: 127-134 (pdf)

Windsor, D., J. Ness , L.D. Gomez & P.H. Jolivet. (1999) Species of Aulacoscelis Duponchel and Chevrolat (Chrysomelidae) and Nomotus Gorham (Languriidae) feed on fronds of Central American cycads. The Coleopterist Bulletin 53: 217-231.