The list below represents several foundational papers in the sciences of ecology and conservation. I’ve also listed a few more recent papers that have helped to shape the discussion surrounding some contemporary topics. This list is undoubtedly biased toward my interests (conservation, community ecology, streams, landscape ecology, and distribution modeling are heavily emphasized, and sub-disciplines like genetics are hardly represented); however, it should give you a good sense of the papers that have shaped my thinking. In some cases, you may find it more informative to skim the foundational papers, and then explore in more detail the wealth of literature spawned by the historical contribution.
If you’re a prospective student, this list will give you an idea of the topics that interest me most. If you’re a current student, this list provides a great study guide for qualifying exams. Papers are grouped by broad categories; however, a few papers that did not obviously fit in only a single category appear more than once.
What's missing? Use the comments section below to proclaim your favorites.
Statistics and hypothesis testing
Anderson, D. R., K. P. Burnham, and W. L. Thompson. 2000. Null hypothesis testing: problems, prevalence, and an alternative. Journal of Wildlife Management 64:912-923.
Hurlbert, S. H. 1984. Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological field experiments. Ecological Monographs 54:187-211.
Hurlbert, S. H. 2004. On misinterpretations of pseudoreplication and related matters: a reply to Oksanen. Oikos 104:591-597.
Legendre, P. 1993. Spatial autocorrelation: trouble or new paradigm? Ecology 74:1659-1673.
Oksanen, L. 2001. Logic of experiments in ecology: is pseudoreplication a pseudoissue? Oikos 94:27-38.
Zuur, A. F., E. N. Ieno, and C. S. Elphick. 2010. A protocol for data exploration to avoid common statistical problems. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 1:3-14.
Global change and conservation
Barnosky, A. D., E. A. Hadly, J. Bascompte, E. L. Berlow, J. H. Brown, M. Fortelius, W. M. Getz, J. Harte, A. Hastings, P. A. Marquet, N. D. Martinez, A. Mooers, P. Roopnarine, G. Vermeij, J. W. Williams, R. Gillespie, J. Kitzes, C. Marshall, N. Matzke, D. P. Mindell, E. Revilla, and A. B. Smith. 2012. Approaching a state shift in Earth's biosphere. Nature 486:52-58.
Berger, L., R. Speare, P. Daszak, D.E. Green, A.A. Cunnignham, C.L. Goggin, R. Slocombe, M.A. Ragan, A.D. Hyatt, K.R. McDonald, H.B. Hines, K.R. Lips, G. Marantelli, and H. Parkes. 1998. Chytridiomycosis causes amphibian mortality associated with population declines in the rain forests of Australia and Central America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95:9031-9036.
Brown, J. H., W. R. Brunside, A. D. Davidson, J. P. DeLong, W. C. Dunn, M. J. Hamilton, N. Mercado-Silva, J. C. Nekola, J. G. Okie, W. H. Woodruff, and W. Zuo. 2011. Energetic limits to economic growth. Bioscience 61:19-.
Dawson, T. P., S. T. Jackson, J. I. House, I. C. Prentice, and G. M. Mace. 2011. Beyond Predictions: Biodiversity Conservation in a Changing Climate. Science 332:53-58.
Grimm, N. B., S. H. Faeth, N. E. Golubiewski, C. L. Redman, J. G. Wu, X. M. Bai, and J. M. Briggs. 2008. Global change and the ecology of cities. Science 319:756-760.
Myers, N., R. A. Mittermeier, C. G. Mittermeier, G. A. B. Da Fonseca, and J. Kent. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853-858.
Parmesan, C. and G. Yohe. 2003. A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change impacts across natural systems. Nature 421:37-42.
Parmesan, C. 2006. Ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 37:637-669.
Prendergast, J. R., R. M. Quinn, and J. H. Lawton. 1999. The gaps between theory and practice in selecting nature reserves. Conservation Biology 13:484-492.
Prendergast, J. R., R. M. Quinn, J. H. Lawton, B. C. Eversham, and D. W. Gibbons. 1993. Rare species, the coincidence of diversity hotspots and conservation strategies. Nature 365:335-337.
Simberloff, D. 1988. The contribution of population and community biology to conservation science. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19:473-511.
Simberloff, D. 2004. Community ecology: is it time to move on? The American Naturalist 163:787-799.
Sinervo, B., F. Mendez-de-la-Cruz, D. B. Miles, B. Heulin, E. Bastiaans, M. V. S. Cruz, R. Lara-Resendiz, N. Martinez-Mendez, M. L. Calderon-Espinosa, R. N. Meza-Lazaro, H. Gadsden, L. J. Avila, M. Morando, I. J. De la Riva, P. V. Sepulveda, C. F. D. Rocha, N. Ibarguengoytia, C. A. Puntriano, M. Massot, V. Lepetz, T. A. Oksanen, D. G. Chapple, A. M. Bauer, W. R. Branch, J. Clobert, and J. W. Sites. 2010. Erosion of Lizard Diversity by Climate Change and Altered Thermal Niches. Science 328:894-899.
Vitousek, P. M. 1994. Beyond global warming: ecology and global climate change. Ecology 75:1861-1876.
Vitousek, P. M., H. A. Mooney, J. Lubchenco, and J. M. Melillo. 1997. Human domination of Earth's ecosystems. Science 277:494-499.
Wilcox, B. A. and D. D. Murphy. 1985. Conservation strategy: the effects of fragmentation on extinction. The American Naturalist 125:879-887.
Landscape ecology
Legendre, P. 1993. Spatial autocorrelation: trouble or new paradigm? Ecology 74:1659-1673.
Turner, M. G. 1989. Landscape ecology: the effect of pattern on process. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 20:171-197.
Wiens, J. A., N. C. Stenseth, B. V. Horne, and R. A. Ims. 1993. Ecological mechanisms and landscape ecology. Oikos 66:369-380.
Wilcox, B. A. and D. D. Murphy. 1985. Conservation strategy: the effects of fragmentation on extinction. The American Naturalist 125:879-887.
Amphibians
Berger, L., R. Speare, P. Daszak, D.E. Green, A.A. Cunnignham, C.L. Goggin, R. Slocombe, M.A. Ragan, A.D. Hyatt, K.R. McDonald, H.B. Hines, K.R. Lips, G. Marantelli, and H. Parkes. 1998. Chytridiomycosis causes amphibian mortality associated with population declines in the rain forests of Australia and Central America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95:9031-9036.
Burton, T. M. and G. E. Likens. 1975. Energy flow and nutrient cycling in salamander populations in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. Ecology 56:1068-1080.
Kozak, K. H. and J. J. Wiens. 2010. Niche Conservatism Drives Elevational Diversity Patterns in Appalachian Salamanders. American Naturalist 176:40-54.
Werner, E. E. 1986. Amphibian metamorphosis: growth rate, predation risk, and the optimal size at transformation. The American Naturalist 128:319-341.
Wilbur, H. M. 1980. Complex life cycles. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11:67-93.
Wilbur, H. M. 1997. Experimental ecology of food webs: complex systems in temporary ponds. Ecology 78:2279-2302.
Wilbur, H. M. and J. P. Collins. 1973. Ecological aspects of amphibian metamorphosis. Science 182:1305-1314.
Biodiversity, communities, and ecosystems
Colwell, R. K., C. Rahbek, and N. J. Gotelli. 2004. The mid-domain effect and species richness patterns: what have we learned so far? The American Naturalist 163:E1-E23.
Connell, J. H. 1978. Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Science 199:1302-1309.
Connell, J. H. and W. P. Sousa. 1983. On the evidence needed to judge ecological stability or persistence. The American Naturalist 121:789-824.
Cummins, K. W. 1974. Structure and function of stream ecosystems. Bioscience 24:631-641.
Gotelli, N. J. and R. K. Colwell. 2001. Quantifying biodiversity: procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness. Ecology Letters 4:379-391.
Hairston, N. G., F. E. Smith, and L. B. Slobodkin. 1960. Community structure, population control, and competition. The American Naturalist 94:421-425.
Hubbell, S. P. 2001. The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Hunter, M. D. and P. W. Price. 1992. Playing chutes and ladders: heterogeneity and the relative roles of bottom-up and top-down forces in natural communities. Ecology 73:724-732.
Jones, C. G., J. H. Lawton, and M. Shachak. 1994. Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69:373-386.
Kozak, K. H. and J. J. Wiens. 2010. Niche Conservatism Drives Elevational Diversity Patterns in Appalachian Salamanders. American Naturalist 176:40-54.
MacArthur, R. H. and E. O. Wilson. 1967. The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, NJ.
McGill, B. J. 2010. Towards a unification of unified theories of biodiversity. Ecology Letters 13:627-642.
Nakano, S., H. Miyasaka, and N. Kuhara. 1999. Terrestrial-aquatic linkages: riparian arthropod inputs alter trophic cascades in a stream food web. Ecology 80:2435-2441.
Paine, R. T. 1974. Intertidal community structure. experimental studies on the relationship between a dominant competitor and Its principal predator. Oecologia 15:93-120.
Polis, G. A. 1991. Complex trophic interactions in deserts: an empirical critique of food web theory. The American Naturalist 138:123-155.
Polis, G. A. and D. A. Strong. 1996. Food web complexity and community dynamics. The American Naturalist 47:813-846.
Power, M. E. 1990. Effects of fish in river food webs. Science 250:811-814.
Power, M. E. 1992. Top-down and bottom-up forces in food webs: do plants have primacy? Ecology 73:733-746.
Pulliam, H. R. 1988. Sources, sinks, and population regulation. The American Naturalist 132:652-661.
Rosenzweig, M. L. 1971. Paradox of Enrichment: Destabilization of Exploitation Ecosystems in Ecological Time. Science 171:385-387.
Schmitz, O. J. 2010. Resolving Ecosystem Complexity. Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, NJ.
Simberloff, D. 1974. Equilibrium theory of island biogeography and ecology. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 5:161-182.
Simberloff, D. 1988. The contribution of population and community biology to conservation science. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19:473-511.
Simberloff, D. 2004. Community ecology: is it time to move on? The American Naturalist 163:787-799.
Tilman, D. 1996. Biodiversity: population versus ecosystem stability. Ecology 77:350-363.
Tilman, D. 2004. Niche tradeoffs, neutrality, and community structure: a stochastic theory of resource competition, invasion, and community assembly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101:10854-10861.
Wilbur, H. M. 1997. Experimental ecology of food webs: complex systems in temporary ponds. Ecology 78:2279-2302.
Distribution models
Elith, J. and C. H. Graham. 2009. Do they? How do they? WHY do they differ? On finding reasons for differing performances of species distribution models. Ecography 32:66-77.
Elith, J., C. H. Graham, R. P. Anderson, M. Dudik, S. Ferrier, A. Guisan, R. J. Hijmans, F. Huettmann, J. R. Leathwick, A. Lehmann, J. Li, L. G. Lohmann, B. A. Loiselle, G. Manion, C. Moritz, M. Nakamura, Y. Nakazawa, J. M. Overton, A. T. Peterson, S. J. Phillips, K. Richardson, R. Scachetti-Pereira, R. E. Schapire, J. Soberon, S. Williams, M. S. Wisz, and N. E. Zimmermann. 2006. Novel methods improve prediction of species' distributions from occurrence data. Ecography 29:129-151.
Elith, J., S. J. Phillips, T. Hastie, M. Dudik, Y. E. Chee, and C. J. Yates. 2011. A statistical explanation of MaxEnt for ecologists. Diversity and Distributions 17:43-57.
Miscellaneous
Brown, J. H. 1999. Macroecology: Progress and Prospect. Oikos 87:3-14.
Lindenmayer, D. B. and G. E. Likens. 2011. Losing the Culture of Ecology. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 92:245-246.
Peterson, B. J. and B. Fry. 1987. Stable Isotopes in Ecosystem Studies. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 18:293-320.
Thorpe, J. P. 1982. The Molecular Clock Hypothesis: Biochemical Evolution, Genetic Differentiation and Systematics. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 13:139-168.
West, G. B., J. H. Brown, and B. J. Enquist. 1997. A general model for the origin of allometric scaling laws in biology. Science 276:122-126.
Wetland/stream ecology
Townsend, C. R. 1989. The patch dynamcis concept of stream community ecology. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 8:36-50.
Vanni, M. J. 2002. Nutrient cycling by animals in freshwater ecosystems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33:341-370.
Vannote, R. L., G. W. Minshall, K. W. Cummins, J. R. Sedell, and C. E. Cusing. 1980. The river continuum concept. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 37:130-137.