Rate My Professor Dave Hambright

K. David Hambright is Regents' Professor of Biology in the School of Biological Sciences, Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, at the University of Oklahoma. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1991. His research centers on limnology and plankton ecology, with a focus on ecological interactions between freshwater consumer and prey species, spanning organisms from fishes to bacteria. Hambright examines how consumers shape community and ecosystem dynamics via mechanisms such as selective consumption, modification of competitive interactions, and alterations in nutrient cycling. He directs the Plankton Ecology and Limnology (PEL) Laboratory, where investigations address invasive species, harmful algal blooms, microbial diversity, cyanobacterial ecology, and water quality in lakes and reservoirs. His lab has contributed to understanding Microcystis blooms, golden algae effects on Oklahoma lakes, Prymnesium parvum dynamics, and global lake deoxygenation patterns.

Hambright's scholarship is evidenced by over 6,000 citations on Google Scholar. Select publications include 'Widespread deoxygenation of temperate lakes' (Nature, 2021), 'Microcystis pangenome reveals cryptic diversity within and across morphospecies' (The ISME Journal, 2023), 'Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs play important roles in nutrient cycling within cyanobacterial Microcystis bloom microbiomes' (The ISME Journal, 2024), 'Effects of Historical Lake Level and Land Use on Sediment Phosphorus Release' (Environmental Science & Technology, 2005), and 'Dynamics of an experimental microbial invasion' (PNAS, 2015). Serving as Editor-in-Chief of Limnology and Oceanography since 2018, he influences the field through editorial leadership. In 2018, Hambright was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for contributions to freshwater ecology. He has held positions as Director of Environmental Studies and Chair of the OU Faculty Senate, alongside committee roles in faculty governance.