DAVID J. GIBSON
I'm Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. I'm interested in all aspects of plant population and community ecology, seeking to understand the how and why of plants, especially in grassland ecosystems. I'm a former Executive Editor of Journal of Ecology, and am currently Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Bibliographies in Ecology, and Ecology Series Editor with HS Talks.
I've recently published my first fiction novels, Shanya's Saga, Elite Memories, and Damon's Journey, available to order below. An independent video review of Elite Memories is here.
Cuckfield BookFest 2026. I'm on a local authors panel on October 3rd. Tickets now available.
SIU Learning in Retirement Book Study Group. October 19. I'm attending a discussion of Planting Clues.
Missouri Prairie Foundation. Grow Native Webinar Program. October 21.
I'm scheduling book signings for 2027 - get in touch with me if you're a bookstore owner, running a seminar series, or a book club.
Full cv (pdf) here:
BOOKS
The Memory Transfers series
"Two deaths. One life."
In a dystopian near-future world, human memory transfers are developed as a medical procedure to ensure eternal life for the ruling class. Follow young scientist Shanya Tourni in Shanya's Saga as society collapses while she develops the memory transfer procedure. How can scientific progress and moral compromises be balanced? What can be done when memory transfers co-opted for political ends go wrong?
In Elite Memories, Damon Najor, the privileged son of an authoritarian leader, finds himself unexpectedly transferred into the body of a sheepdog after a mysterious transfer gone awry. Can Damon transform from a self-centered elite into a leader of a new sentient animal society? With the apocalypse looming, he becomes an unlikely hero in a desperate fight to expose the truth and challenge the brutal system that once kept his father in power.
In Damon's Journey, Damon leads a band of sentient animals across a hostile landscape to protect humanity’s survivors. Pursued by rogue security forces and a plot to restore authoritarian rule, Damon must choose whether to kill his tyrant father or spare him and risk the return of oppression.
Part biological thrillers, part revolution, these three gripping novels explore the thin line between humanity and survival when the powerful are challenged in the most unexpected places.
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Explores the fascinating true crime cases involving plants, algae, and fungi
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Analyses the role botanical evidence has played in high profiles cases such as those of Ted Bundy and Ian Huntley
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Considers plant related crimes where botanicals are themselves trafficked or illegally traded.
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Polish and Italian translations now available - see below.
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State-of-the-art overview of grasslands from multiple, interdisciplinary and global perspectives.
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The only grassland-oriented text to include social, economic, policy, and cultural value dimensions of grasslands, as well as an up-to-date coverage of the agronomy and ecology of these environments.
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Essential reading for students and scholars of grassland ecology, management and conservation as well as policy and management practitioners involved in grassland management and governance
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An International team of scientists review the effects of climate change on grasslands
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Part I Grassland dynamics and climate change
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Part II Species traits, functional groups, and evolutionary change
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Dealing with climate change effects
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The only ecologically orientated introduction to grasslands available
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An ecologically orientated introduction to this influential group of plants, summarizing the most recent scientific research in ecology and agriculture in the context of the older, classic literature.
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Ten chapters cover the morphology, anatomy, physiology and systematics of grasses, their population, community and ecosystem ecology, their global distribution, and the effects of disturbance and grassland management.
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Unites a scattered literature, providing a comprehensive, accessible and affordable synthesis
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A user-friendly introduction to the methodology of plant population ecology research
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Incorporates both temperate and tropical examples; tree and herbaceous
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Provides expanded coverage of key topics such as interspecific competition, pollination, and seed predation
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Includes links to internet-based sources, especially computer programs and analysis code
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Italian language translation of Planting Clues.
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Polish language translation of Planting Clues
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The title 'Dowody Zbrodni' means 'Evidence of the Crime'.
