Laura F. Huennecke

Dr. Laura Huenneke is an American ecologist and former President of the Ecological Society of America. She is known for her research in public health in Arizona's Native American community, focusing on cancer prevention, invasive species, and desert ecosystems. Huenneke is the former Vice President for Research at Northern Arizona University where she continues her research studying the impact of biological diversity on ecosystems and teaching classes in Environmental Sciences. She has served on a variety of boards and review panels for ecological research journals and has received a number of awards and honors during her career as an ecologist.

Career After attending the University of Missouri-Columbia for her undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences, Huenneke attended Cornell University and received a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. From 1987 to 2003, she served as both a Regents Professor and the Biology Department Chair at New Mexico State University. In July 2003, she took on the position of Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Northern Arizona University where she has also served as Dean of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Vice President for Research, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and a Professor of Environmental Science. This desert in New Mexico, USA which was once a flourishing grassland is now dominated by desert and shrubbery. This study found that desertification has ultimately altered the seasonality of primary productivity of this region. Huenneke and her colleagues determined that the peak of primary productivity in the Chihuahuan desert ecosystem had shifted from summer to early spring over many years as the result of desertification.

Legacy

"Desertification alters patterns of aboveground net primary production in Chihuahuan ecosystems" (2002-2003)