Jessica Ernakovich

Jessica Ernakovich

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Phone: (603) 862-2216
Office: Natural Resources & the Environment, James Hall Room 176, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:

My research interests lie in how microbial communities and soil chemistry interact to affect ecosystem function. I use genomics and stable isotopes as my main tools. I have worked in a variety of ecosystems from the Australian Outback to permafrost-affected Arctic tundra. I am currently developing projects exploring how agricultural management affects microbial diversity and function in New Hampshire.

Courses Taught

  • NR 435: Contemporary Conservatn Issues
  • NR 600: Work Experience
  • NR 706/806: Soil Ecology
  • NR 743: Addressing Arctic Challenges
  • NR 743/843: Arctic Ecology and Society
  • NR 843: Addressing Arctic Challenges I

Education

  • Ph.D., Ecology, Colorado State University
  • B.S., Chemistry, California Polytechnic State University

Research Interests

  • Biogeochemistry
  • Ecology
  • Ecosystem Health
  • Ecosystems
  • Isotope Geochemistry
  • Microbial Degradation
  • Microbial Processes
  • Microbiome

Selected Publications

  • Waldrop, M. P., Ernakovich, J. G., Vishnivetskaya, T. A., Schaefer, S. R., Mackelprang, R., Barta, J., . . . Onstott, T. C. (2025). Microbial Ecology of Permafrost Soils: Populations, Processes, and Perspectives. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 36(2), 245-258. doi:10.1002/ppp.2264

  • Blais, N. D., O’Brien, J. M., Holland-Moritz, H., Farnsworth, L., Barbato, R. A., Douglas, T. A., . . . Ernakovich, J. G. (2025). Permafrost pore structure and its influence on microbial diversity: Insights from X-ray computed tomography. Geoderma, 454, 117192. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117192

  • Freire-Zapata, V., Holland-Moritz, H., Cronin, D. R., Aroney, S., Smith, D. A., Wilson, R. M., . . . Tfaily, M. M. (2024). Microbiome-metabolite linkages drive greenhouse gas dynamics over a permafrost thaw gradient.. Nat Microbiol, 9(11), 2892-2908. doi:10.1038/s41564-024-01800-z

  • O'Brien, J. M., Blais, N., Butler, C., White, N., Bustead, A., Figler, C., . . . Ernakovich, J. G. (2024). Ten "simple" rules for non-Indigenous researchers engaging Indigenous communities in Arctic research.. PLoS Comput Biol, 20(6), e1012093. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012093

  • McGivern, B. B., Cronin, D. R., Ellenbogen, J. B., Borton, M. A., Knutson, E. L., Freire-Zapata, V., . . . Wrighton, K. C. (2024). Microbial polyphenol metabolism is part of the thawing permafrost carbon cycle.. Nat Microbiol, 9(6), 1454-1466. doi:10.1038/s41564-024-01691-0

  • Rocca, J. D., Simonin, M., Blaszczak, J. R., Ernakovich, J. G., Gibbons, S. M., Midani, F. S., & Washburne, A. D. (2019). The Microbiome Stress Project: Toward a Global Meta-Analysis of Environmental Stressors and Their Effects on Microbial Communities. FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY, 9. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.03272

  • Schadel, C., Bader, M. K. -F., Schuur, E. A. G., Biasi, C., Bracho, R., Capek, P., . . . Wickland, K. P. (2016). Potential carbon emissions dominated by carbon dioxide from thawed permafrost soils. NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE, 6(10), 950-+. doi:10.1038/NCLIMATE3054

  • Treat, C. C., Natali, S. M., Ernakovich, J., Iversen, C. M., Lupascu, M., McGuire, A. D., . . . Waldrop, M. P. (2015). A pan-Arctic synthesis of CH4 and CO2 production from anoxic soil incubations. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 21(7), 2787-2803. doi:10.1111/gcb.12875

  • Ernakovich, J. G., Hopping, K. A., Berdanier, A. B., Simpson, R. T., Kachergis, E. J., Steltzer, H., & Wallenstein, M. D. (2014). Predicted responses of arctic and alpine ecosystems to altered seasonality under climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 20(10), 3256-3269. doi:10.1111/gcb.12568

  • Wallenstein, M., Allison, S. D., Ernakovich, J., Steinweg, J. M., & Sinsabaugh, R. (2011). Controls on the Temperature Sensitivity of Soil Enzymes: A Key Driver of In Situ Enzyme Activity Rates. In SOIL ENZYMOLOGY (Vol. 22, pp. 245-258). doi:10.1007/978-3-642-14225-3_13

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  • Most Cited Publications