Nelson Hairston Sr. (16 October 1917 – 31 July 2008) was an American

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

. Hairston is well known for his work in

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

and human disease. In the field of ecology he is famous for championing the idea of the

trophic cascade Trophic cascades are powerful indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems, occurring when a trophic level in a food web is suppressed. For example, a top-down cascade will occur if predators are effective enough in predation to reduce t ...

, on which he published the provocative “Green World Hypothesis” with colleagues Frederick E. Smith and

Lawrence B. Slobodkin Lawrence Basil Slobodkin (June 22, 1928 – September 12, 2009) was an American ecologist and Professor Emeritus at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, State University of New York. He was one of the leading pioneer ...

. Nelson was also deeply interested in the factors that control human disease and was an adviser to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

for many years.

Early life

Nelson was born on October 16, 1917 in the

Cooleemee Cooleemee (),
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

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area of

Davie County, North Carolina Davie County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,712. Its county seat is Mocksville. Davie County is included in the Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a ...

. He was the second of two boys to Margaret George Hairston (1885-1963) and Peter Hairston (1871-1943). The Hairstons owned plantations all around

Henry County, Virginia Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,948. The county seat is usually identified as Martinsville; however, the administration building (where county offices are located an ...

Pittsylvania County, Virginia Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,501. Chatham is the county seat. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, Franklin County, Virginia, North Carolina, and

Lowndes County, Mississippi Lowndes County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 59,779. Its county seat is Columbus. The county is named for U.S. Congressman and slave owner William Jone ...

. He was born on the

Cooleemee Cooleemee (),
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

< ...

Plantation, which was built by his grandfather, Peter Wilson Hairston (1819-1886).

Early career

Nelson was interested in ecology from an early age. He graduated from the department of Zoology at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

with both a BS and MS. Hairston continued his studies at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

under the supervision of Dr. Orlando Park. His PhD was interrupted by World War II, where he served his country by helping treat and prevent the transmission of malaria in the South Pacific. After the war, Nelson returned to his PhD, which was on the distribution of salamanders in Appalachia. These early experiences with studying the ecology of salamanders and the treatment of disease began his lifelong interest in the ecology and prevention of disease.

Academic work

Professor of Zoology

Hairston spent most of his career (27 years) as a professor of Zoology at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and director of their Museum of Zoology. During this time Nelson helped to make the

one of the United States preeminent graduate programs in ecology. Afterwards he spent 12 years as a professor at the University of North Carolina as a Kenan Professor of Biology, where he advised students including

evolutionary biologist Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life for ...

Richard Lenski Richard Eimer Lenski (born August 13, 1956) is an American evolutionary biologist, a Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a MacArthur fellow. ...

. Throughout Hairston’s career, he focused most of his work on the role trophic interactions, such as the

, has on determining the species composition of communities of co-existing organisms.

Adviser to the UN’s World Health Organization

Hairston’s work on human disease was equally controversial. Nelson, along with a handful of other colleagues, championed the idea that disease was an ecological problem that could be solved by understanding the ecology of germs and how we interact with our ecosystems. This once controversial view is now well accepted by

epidemiologists Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

and others in the health profession. Hairston’s views on disease treatment and management were applied through the UN’s World Health Organization, where he served as an adviser on

schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...

in countries throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and the South Pacific.

Retirement

Hairston retired at the age of 69. Despite retiring, Hairston remained an active and engaged scientist. Post retirement he published three books, including, “Ecological Experiments”, which was translated into several different languages. During this time Hairston was also nominated to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was given the Eminent Ecologist Award by the Ecological Society of America. His son Nelson Hairston Jr is professor of Environmental Science at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

.Resolution of Respect: Nelson George Hairston, Sr. 1917–2008. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hairston, Nelson Sr. 1917 births People from Cooleemee, North Carolina University of Michigan faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty American ecologists University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni 2008 deaths Human ecologists