Geoffrey Trussell
- Chair and Doherty Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences and Director of Marine Science Center and Coastal Sustainability Institute
Geoffrey Trussell’s research program focuses on several important issues in evolutionary, community, and ecosystem ecology. These interests are being explored in a number of systems including rocky intertidal shores, old fields, and freshwater amphibian communities. Much of his current work emphasizes the evolutionary and ecological significance of predation risk, with an emphasis on the evolution of phenotypic plasticity and inducible defenses, the ecological significance of nonconsumptive predator effects, and the influence of trait-mediated indirect interactions on community dynamic and ecosystem function. Trussell’s research also explores a range of other topics, including the factors influencing invasive and exotic plant diversity in terrestrial systems, the influence of species diversity on ecosystem function, and the impact of climate change on natural food webs.
Trussell’s research is highly collaborative and involves some outstanding colleagues including Oswald Schmitz (Yale University), Barney Luttbeg (Oklahoma State University), Matthew Bracken (Northeastern University), Steve Vollmer (Northeastern University), Lee Smee (Texas A&M), Jeremy Long (San Diego State University) and Osamu Kishida (Hokkaido University).
Publications
- Moving beyond linear food chains: trait-mediated indirect interactions in a rocky intertidal food web.
- Refuge quality impacts the strength of nonconsumptive effects on prey.
- Connecting prey traits and adaptation to communities and ecosystems.
- Parental effects enhance risk tolerance and performance in offspring.
- Climate change enhances the negative effects of predation risk on an intermediate consumer.
- Google Scholar
In The News
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Two Northeastern Leaders Receive Lifetime Fellowships for Exceptional Contributions to Their Fields
Geoffrey Trussell joins university president and COS colleagues in AAAS fellowship honor. -
Geoffrey Trussell Honored as AAAS Fellow
Geoffrey Trussell is a director, chair, and professor at Northeastern who was recently named as a fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. -
Genomics Partnership Gains Traction at CSI-GMGI Summit
Faculty, staff scientists, and students from Northeastern’s Coastal Sustainability Institute recently gathered on the Gloucester waterfront to network and share their science with the team at the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute as part of an ongoing collaboration between the two institutions. -
Research
Scientists identify rapid evolution in marine species under predator invasion
A groundbreaking study by Geoffrey Trussell and James Corbett at Northeastern University, published in Science Advances, outlines one of the first examples of rapid evolution in a marine system in response to an invasive predator and warming oceans. -
Research
Shells of their former selves: How sea snails have adapted to invasive predators
Geoffrey Trussell, a professor at NU's Marine Science Center, has been studying the evolution of two species of sea snails off the coast of Maine since the 1990's. In short: the snails have grown thicker shells!