Nicholas Kortessis, Assistant Professor of Biology
Assistant Professor of Biology
B.S. Florida State University (2010)
M.S. Florida State University (2012)
Ph.D. University of Arizona (2019)
004 Winston Hall
(336) 758-3013
email
Lab Website (click here)
Areas of Interest
Ecology and adaptation of species in variable environments; statistical ecology
Research
My lab’s research is about understanding the processes that generate and maintain biological diversity. One of the most remarkable features of life is the vast diversity of ways that species on Earth have come to make a living. A large unsolved problem is understanding how this diversity arises and is maintained. The major theme of my research is the role that environmental variability–both in space and time–plays in the maintenance of biological diversity, both within species and within ecosystems.
My main tool to address the problem is mathematics. I build mathematical models—informed by real species—to run experiments not possible in nature. It is often infeasible to conduct experiments at relevant scales, which are often very large in space and very long in time. But models can be helpful in understanding large scales and making connections between experiments at small scales and short in time and their large scale consequences. I also use these models to find critical processes to test in nature — and the statistical measures important to glean these processes from noisy data.
Selected Publications
Fletcher Jr., R. J., T.A.H. Smith, N. Kortessis, E.M. Bruna, and R.D. Holt. 2023. Landscape experiments unlock relationships among habitat loss, fragmentation, and patch-size effects. Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4037
Lane, B., A. Kendig, C. Wojan, A. Adhikari, M. Jusino, N. Kortessis, M.W. Simon, R.D. Holt, M. Smith, K. Clay, S.L. Flory, P. Harmon, and E. Goss. 2023. Fungicide mediated shifts in the foliar fungal community of an invasive grass. Phytobiomes Journal. 7:2, 198-207 https://doi.org/10.1094/PBIOMES-03-22-0018-R
Kortessis, N., A. Kendig, M. Barfield, S.L. Flory, M.W. Simon, and R.D. Holt. 2022. Litter, plant competition, and ecosystem dynamics: A theoretical perspective. The American Naturalist 200:6. 739-754. https://doi.org/10.1086/721438
Fletcher, R, J. Sefair, N. Kortessis, R. Jaffé, R.D. Holt, E. Robertson, S. Duncan, A. Marx, and J. Austin. 2022. Extending isolation by resistance for interpreting genetic connectivity across landscapes. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 13:2463-2477 https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13975
Kortessis, N. 2021. Digest: The complex interplay of phenotypic variation and diversifying selection*. Evolution, 75:2994-2995. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14344
Kortessis, N. and P. Chesson. 2021. Character displacement in the presence of multiple trait differences: Evolution of the storage effect in germination and growth. Theoretical Population Biology 140:54-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tpb.2021.05.003
Kortessis, N., M.W. Simon, M. Barfield, G. Glass, B.H. Singer, and R.D. Holt. 2020. The interplay of movement and spatiotemporal variation in transmission degrades pandemic control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117:30104-30106. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2018286117
Goss, E.M., A.E. Kendig, A. Adhikari, B. Lane, N. Kortessis, R.D. Holt, K. Clay, P. Harmon, S.L. Flory. 2020. Disease in invasive plant populations. Annual Review of Phytopathology 58:97-117. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-phyto-010820-012757
Kortessis, N. and P. Chesson. 2019. Germination variation facilitates the evolution of seed dormancy when coupled with seedling competition. Theoretical Population Biology 130:60-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tpb.2019.09.010
Hansen, W.D., J.P. Scholl, A.E. Sorenson, K.E. Fisher, J.A. Klassen, L. Calle, G.S. Kandlikar, N. Kortessis, D.C. Kucera, D.E. Marias, D.L. Narango, K. O’Keeffe, W. Recart, E. Ridolfi, M. Shea. 2018. How do we ensure the future of our discipline is vibrant? Student reflections on careers and culture of 21st century ecology. Ecosphere 9(2):e02099. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2099
Kim, T.N., B.J. Spiesman, A.L. Buchanan, A.S. Hakes, S.L. Halpern, B.D. Inouye, A.L. Kilanowski, N. Kortessis, D.W. McNutt, A.C. Merwin, and N. Underwood. 2015. Selective manipulation of a non-dominant plant and its herbivores affects an old-field plant community. Plant Ecology 216:1029-1045. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0487-3