Peter Morrison Vitousek (born January 24, 1949 ) is an American

ecologist Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

, particularly known for his work on the

nitrogen cycle The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmosphere, atmospheric, terrestrial ecosystem, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can ...

. Born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, Vitousek graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1971 and received his Ph.D. in biology from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1975. Since then, he has worked as an Assistant Professor of Zoology and Biology at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

(1975–79), an Associate Professor of Botany and Biology at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

(1980–83), and a Professor in the Department of Biology at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

since 1984. He is married to fellow Stanford professor and ecologist Pamela Matson. He was elected a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1992. In 1993, he was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. Vitousek was awarded the 2006

NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing The NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing is awarded by the United States National Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) "to recognize authors whose reviews have synthesized extensive and difficult material, rendering a signific ...

"for his scholarly and inspirational book and reviews on nitrogen cycling and its role in the evolving patterns of ecosystem productivity and diversity." In 2010, he was awarded the

Japan Prize is awarded to individuals whose original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind. As of 2024, the Japan Prize h ...

. Vitousek is the son of Betty and Roy Vitousek Jr of Hawaii. He is the grandson of Roy A. Vitousek who was a three-term Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives.

Selected publications

*Peter M. Vitousek (1982) Nutrient Cycling and Nutrient Use Efficiency. Am Nat. 119, pp. 553. *Peter M. Vitousek, Paul R. Ehrlich, Anne H. Ehrlich and Pamela A. Matson (1986
Human Appropriation of the Products of Photosynthesis
BioScience 36: 368-373 *Peter M. Vitousek & L.R. Walker (1989) Biological invasion by Myrica faya in Hawai'i: plant demography, nitrogen fixation, and ecosystem effects. Ecological Monographs 59: 247–265. *Peter M. Vitousek & R W. Howarth (1991) Nitrogen limitation on land and in the sea: How can it occur? Biogeochemistry 13: 87-115 *Peter M. Vitousek, John D. Aber, Robert W. Howarth, Gene E. Likens, Pamela A. Matson, David W. Schindler, William H. Schlesinger, David G. Tilman (1997) Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: Sources and consequences. Ecological Applications: 7, 737-750. *Peter M. Vitousek, Harold A. Mooney, Jane Lubchenco, Jerry M. Melillo. (1997) Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems. Science 277: 494 – 499. *Peter M. Vitousek (2004) Nutrient Cycling and Limitation: Hawai‘i as a Model System. Princeton University Press. *Peter M. Vitousek, T.L. Ladefoged, P.V. Kirch, A.S. Hartshorn, M.W. Graves, S.C. Hotchkiss, S. Tuljapurkar, and O.A. Chadwick (2004) Agriculture, soils, and society in precontact Hawai’i. Science 304: 1665–1669 *Peter M. Vitousek, R. Naylor, T. Crews, M. B. David, L.E. Drinkwater, E. Holland, P. J. Johnes, J. Katzenberger, L. A. Martinelli, P. A. Matson, G. Nziguheba, D. Ojima, C. A. Palm, G. P. Robertson, P. A. Sanchez, A. R. Townsend, F. S. Zhang (2009) Nutrient Imbalances in Agricultural Development: Science 324: 1519-1520.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitousek, Peter M. 1949 births American ecologists Amherst College alumni Dartmouth College alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Indiana University faculty Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Scientists from Hawaii Stanford University Department of Biology faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Fellows of the Ecological Society of America