Dr. Janet Morrison

Professor, Department of Biology

Barbara Meyers Pelson ’59 Chair in Faculty-Student Engagement (2015-2018)

The College of New Jersey

B.A., Biology, Oberlin College;

Ph.D., Ecology and Evolution,

State University of New York at Stony Brook

I am a plant ecologist who teaches courses in botany and ecology and conducts research with undergraduate students. My scientific and conservation interests center on biological interactions in nature that can have important ecological/evolutionary effects on plant populations and communities, and most of my work has been on plant-pathogen interactions or the ecology of non-indigenous invasive plants. I am particularly interested in understanding plant ecology in landscapes that are heavily influenced by human activity, and so I have conducted much of my research in the metropolitan region around New York City and Philadelphia, including the urban New York Botanical Garden Forest, the Long Island pine barrens, and the fragmented natural areas in Westchester County, NY and central New Jersey. I also have expanded my work into areas across the eastern states and into California and Hawaii. Recently, I have developed a new research interest in best practices for mentoring undergraduate research. Most of my current research effort centers on an NSF-funded project aimed at understanding the ecological interactions between invasive plant species and white-tailed deer in suburban/exurban forests.

Teaching

• Ecology and Field Biology, BIO 221
• Plants and People, BIO 442
• Biological Seminar on the Ecology and Evolution of Disease, BIO 498
• Biology of Alien Invasions, BIO 172
• Independent Research in Biology (BIO 393/394, BIO 493/494, BIO 495/496, and shadowing)

Research

• (Deer) X (Invasives)² : Interactive Effects in the Herb Layer of Suburban Forests
• Other Research
  • Plant-pathogen interactions
  • Invasive non-indigenous plants
  • The New York Botanical Garden Forest
  • Excellence in mentoring undergraduate research

Opportunities

• Independent Research in Biology (BIO 393/394, BIO 493/494, BIO 495/496, and shadowing)
• Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE)

Contact me at The Department of Biology, The College of New Jersey, P.O. Box 7718, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718, by phone at 609-771-3091, by FAX at 609-637-5118