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Stella Cousins
Research Scientist; Lecturer
Ecosystem Science and Management
Conservation + Restoration
Office
Dana 4032
About
Dr. Stella Cousins is an ecologist interested in understanding how and why forests change. She uses patterns measured in trees and forests such as growth, mortality, and community dynamics to reveal how ecosystems respond to changing demands and disturbances. Her current research focuses on change in Great Lakes forests driven by beech leaf disease (BLD) and other novel species that have the potential to quickly transform ecosystem structure and function. In earlier research, she has examined forest mortality and carbon storage dynamics in the Sierra Nevada, air pollution impacts to montane forests, provision of watershed services, and the management of vegetated cultural landscapes. Her work leverages comprehensive surveys conducted by the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program, long-term monitoring, and measurements ranging from individual tree rings to whole forest structures. Dr. Cousins is broadly interested in how landscapes can be sustainably managed for multiple benefits, which often involves collaborating on multi-disciplinary teams and investing in place-based data collection. Prior to joining SEAS, Dr. Cousins was an Assistant Professor at California Polytechnic State University and a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley. She completed her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley and was a graduate fellow at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC).
Teaching in 2025-2026
- Climate Solutions from Nature (ENVIRON 243-005; Fall, lecture)
- Forest Ecosystems (EEB 348; with Inés Ibañez, Summer course @ UMBS with field labs)
- Forest Ecology and Management (EAS/ENVIRON 447; Fall course in Ann Arbor with field labs)
- Ecology: Concepts and Applications (EAS 509; Winter, lecture/lab)
Publications
Wilson, E.C. Cousins, S., Etter, D.R., Humphreys, J.M., Roloff G.J., and Carter, N.H. 2023. Habitat and Climatic Associations of Climate-Sensitive Species along a Southern Range Boundary. Ecology and Evolution 13, e10083 doi:10.1002/ece3.10083
Mitchell, J. C., Kashian, D. M., Chen, X., Cousins, S., Flaspohler, D., Gruner, D., Johnson, J., Surasinghe, T., Zambrano, J., and Buma, B. 2022. Forest ecosystem properties emerge from interactions of structure and disturbance. Frontiers in Ecology and Environment 2023; 21(1): 14– 23, doi:10.1002/fee.2589
Reed, S. E., Volk, D., Martin, D. K. H., Hausman, C. E., Macy, T., Tomon, T., and Cousins, S. 2022. The distribution of beech leaf disease and the causal agents of beech bark disease (Cryptoccocus fagisuga, Neonectria faginata, N. ditissima) in forests surrounding Lake Erie and future implications. Forest Ecology and Management 503: 119753 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119753)
Romulo, C. R., Posner, S., Cousins, S., Fair, J., Bennett, D., Huber-Stearns, H., Richards, R. and McDonald, R. R. Global State and Potential Scope of Investments in Watershed Services for Large Cities. 2018. Nature Communications 9, 4375. (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06538-x)
Cousins, S., Battles, J., Sanders, J., and York, R. 2015. Decay patterns and carbon dynamics of standing dead trees in mixed conifer forests. Forest Ecology and Management 353: 136-147. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.05.030)
Education
Ph.D., 2016. University of California Berkeley, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
Master of Forest Science, 2010. Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Bachelor of Science, 2004. Stanford University, Department of Biological Sciences
