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Speaker Bios

Jon Baskin, Ph.D.; Department of Biology, Texas A&M University-Kingsville

How Geology Has Shaped the South Texas Landscape - Plant distributions within a biotic province (e.g., Tamaulipan) or ecological region (e.g., South Texas Plains) are largely controlled by soils. Soils within a restricted geographic region with a similar climate are largely controlled by geology. South Texas geology is largely a product of the events of the Quaternary, the past two million years. Major geologic features of coastal South Texas include the Beaumont fluvial deltaic plain, the South Texas sand sheet, the Rio Grande delta system and the barrier island system.

Jon Baskin is a Professor of Biology at TAMUK, where he has taught for 28 years. His specialty is vertebrate paleontology. He has published 34 refereed journal articles and edited book chapters, mostly dealing with rodent and carnivore evolution. Seven have addressed the paleontology and geology of South Texas.

D. Lynn Drawe, Director; Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation

Response of Gulf Coastal Prairie to Control of Exotic Bluestems For Native Grassland Restoration - Old World bluestems (OWB; Bothriochloa and Dichanthium spp.) are perennial C₄ grasses introduced to the southern Great Plains from Eurasia in the early 1900s.  They have been seeded extensively because of their rapid establishment, drought tolerance, and resilience to intensive grazing for improved livestock forage, soil erosion control, and roadside revegetation.  OWB are aggressive invaders of natural grasslands forming monoculture stands out-competing and displacing native species. A study was conducted at the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation Refuge in San Patricio Co., TX with the objective of quantitating response of a south Texas native coastal prairie to experimental manipulations to control OWB.  Seven herbicide treatments and an untreated control were installed in a randomized complete block design with four replications.  Pre-treatment OWB cover ranged from 80% to 98%, while pre-treatment native grass and forb cover was generally ≤ 10%.  Most herbicide treatments had significantly reduced OWB cover and increased bare ground at three months after treatment (MAT).  At 12 MAT, no differences in OWB or native grass cover were evident among most herbicide treated plots compared to untreated plots.  However, imazapyr (Arsenal®) (5 pts/ac) and imazapyr + glyphosate (Arsenal®+RoundUp Pro®) mixtures had significantly lower OWB cover (= 40% to 60%, respectively) and greater forb cover (= 40%) compared to other treatment plots (OWB cover > 80%; forb cover ≤ 15%).  Despite initial short-term control of OWB, they reinvaded treatment areas to near pre-treatment levels.  An intensive, integrated management strategy appears necessary for long-term control of OWB in south Texas coastal prairies.

D. Lynn Drawe; native Texan; born 1942; ranching background; married Kay Kious; 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren.  B.S. (1964), Texas A&I; M.S. (1967), Texas Tech; Ph.D. (1970); Utah State University.  Assistant Professor, Texas A&I, 1970-74.  Rob & Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation, 1974 as assistant director and director since 1999.  Research interests - wildlife/livestock interactions, plants of south Texas, vegetation change, prescribed fire, rangeland hydrology.  Involved in 20+ consultancies on south Texas ranches, including King Ranch.  Active professional memberships include The Wildlife Society, Society for Range Management, and Conference of SW Foundations.  Currently Chairman, Texas Prescribed Burning Board.  Civic activities - Sinton ISD Trustee, Sinton City Parks Board, Sinton C of C Director, Sinton Rotary Club (President 1989, 2000), Sinton ISD Voc. Ed. Advisory Council, and San Patricio County Range and Livestock Committee.  Currently Chairman, San Patricio County Groundwater Conservation District Directors.  Professional honors: Outstanding Alumnus, Texas Tech University, Department of Range and Wildlife Management; Professional Achievement Award, College of Natural Resources, Utah State University; and Outstanding Alumnus, Texas A&M University, Kingsville.   Hobbies: fishing, bird hunting, weekend ranching, grandchildren.  Author or co-author 100+ scientific articles and articles in popular magazines; 7 books or book chapters, 6 technical bulletins, edited  2 symposium proceedings, and 8 technical reports.  Presented 60+ professional papers.  Holds adjunct professorships at TAMUK, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M.  Has served as major advisor to 10 graduate students and committee member to 36 graduate students.  Currently serving on 2 active graduate committees.

Cynthia M. Galloway, Ph.D; Department of Biological and Health Sciences, Texas A&M University-Kingsville South Texas

South Texas Bryophytes - Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are - The term, bryophyte, can be used to describe either a moss, liverwort, or hornwort or all three. All are fairly inconspicuous and can be easily overlooked even if they are present in abundance. Some of the more interesting collections over the years have been made by students or interested lay people who are not really sure what they are supposed to be looking for. The Bryoflora of Texas, South Texas in particular, is a largely unknown subset of the plant kingdom due to the sheer size of the state and the absence of anyone looking for bryophytes in the state. The number of people interested in studying bryophytes has usually been a small but dedicated group but, recent years have seen a reduction in the number of people working to collect, identify and curate bryophytes, not just in South Texas, but nationwide. With the push in recent years to conserve organisms in danger of being forced into extinction, it is difficult to talk about conserving something without first knowing that there's something to be conserved. Some of the work currently being done at TAMUK under the auspices of the South Texas Moss Project is being done to determine the extent of the moss presence in South Texas and what if anything could or should be done to ensure the continued existence of these usually overlooked organisms. Instruction will be given as to how everyone can be involved in determining the diversity of the Bryoflora in South Texas.

Cynthia Galloway is a Professor of Biology at TAMUK in the Department of Biological and Health Sciences, where she has taught classes including Nonflowering Plants, Plant Taxonomy, Bryology, Plant Physiology, Plant Growth and Development, Introductory Botany, Introductory Biology, Cell & Molecular Biology, Genetics, Forensic Botany and Biology of Forensic Science over the last 18 years. Her interest in Bryology started as an undergraduate student at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California, and has continued over the years while working or taking classes in Michigan, Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas. She has published 16 refereed journal articles, split evenly between Plant Physiology and Bryology and has presented talks on both topics at the state, national and international levels.

David J. Grisé, Visiting Assistant Professor; Department of Life Science, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Understanding the Distribution of Two Sunflower Species: One Endemic, One Expanding - Helianthus argophyllus and H. annuus are the main species of sunflowers in Nueces County, Texas.  While H. argophyllus is endemic to the Coastal Bend and H. annuus is native to the state, the latter species is currently increasing its range into South Texas.  Understanding this range expansion and interactions between H. annuus and endemics, such as H. argophyllus, may also provide insight into the distribution of both invasive and endangered species.  These Helianthus species may serve as a good model because it is possible to study their ecology and genetics because molecular tools have been developed to study the economically important H. annus.  In our studies, H. argophyllus was restricted to sandy sites, and H. annuus was nearly restricted to clay sites.  To determine if the germination plays a role in this striking distribution, we investigated germination of locally collected seed on sand and clay soils. We germinated four trays of 128 seeds of each species on each soil type under lights in a growth room. ANOVA indicates that germination does not differ significantly between species (P = 0.58) or with soil type (P = 0.12).  In addition, no interaction between species and soil type (P = 0.84) exists.  In a parallel experiment we compared the percent germination between the two species at different salinities.  We monitored percent germination in sand-filled Petri dishes at four salinity levels (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) over15 days.  We used commercial seeds to avoid dormancy issues. Germination in both species decreased with increasing salinity, but the decrease was more severe in H. argophyllus.  We concluded that the germination phase is not involved in restricting these species to soil types on the Texas Gulf Coast.  Future research will focus on other possible mechanisms, such as competitive interactions and water relations.

Dr. David J. Grisé is a visiting assistant professor of biology at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC).  At TAMU-CC, he is responsible for teaching introductory biology for the first year learning community (freshmen biology majors).  He has included several innovations to this class including the use of a classroom response system, team learning techniques, and the use of case studies.  He facilitates a peer mentoring program for freshman taking introductory biology so that students who have had the course can help students currently in the class understand what is required to be a successful biology major.  He is also a co-PI on an NSF-STEP grant that seeks to improve math abilities of science students so that they can persist and excel as science majors.  Dr. Grisé is a plant physiological ecologist, and his research attempts to determine the physiological traits involved in plant distributions and response to environmental change.  He has worked on studies from the effects of global climate change on plant distributions to the importance of competition in the distribution of hybrid plant species. His current work on sunflowers of the Coastal Bend seeks to understand the physiological mechanisms responsible for their distribution.  As part of this work, he has mentored several undergraduate researchers who have won awards at local, regional, and national meetings.  Dr. Grisé earned his B.S. in Biology at Gannon University, his M.A. in Biological Sciences at Binghamton University, and his Ph.D. in botany at The University of Georgia, and postdoced at the University of Georgia.

Alice Hempel, Ph.D; Texas A&M University- Kingsville Dept of Biological and Health Sciences

South Texas Ambrosia: Lessons From a Demonstration Planting of an Endangered Weed - South Texas Ambrosia (Ambrosia cheiranthifolia Gray) is a perennial, clonal, ragweed in short grass prairie habitats that have largely been plowed and/or invaded with exotic invasive grasses. It is currently known only from a handful of locations in Nueces, Kleberg and Cameron County. A cooperative educational project between Nueces County, TPWD, USF&W, USGS, USDA, the San Antonio Botanical Garden, local schools and universities resulted in 200 endangered South Texas Ambrosia plants being transplanted by high school and college students in 2006 into an artificial Burrowing Owl habitat in the Nueces County park in Robstown, TX. San Antonio Botanical Garden propagated these plants from root material collected from a nearby natural population that is now extirpated. Students from Texas A&M-Kingsville Ecology classes have been gathering data and helping with the maintenance on this demonstration planting for several years. Other undergraduate research students at TAMUK have undertaken the first studies of the reproductive biology of this species. While there was significant mortality of original transplants, within the first year there were over 300 plants and the population has continued to grow exponentially by clonal growth. While clonal propagation succeeds very well, propagation by seed continues to be a largely futile endeavor. Different aspects of sexual reproduction have been investigated and it appears ultimately that very low numbers of burs collected actually contain viable seed for various reasons. As this severely affects the usefulness of seed banks for conservation of this species, investigations are continuing this year on factors affecting seed fill. What we have learned from this demonstration project will be very important in designing and implementing any future reintroductions of this species.

Alice Hempel, Ph.D, is an Associate Professor in the department of Biological and Health Sciences at Texas A&M-Kingsville and the curator of the Texas A&M-Kingsville Herbarium (TAIC). She received her undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Texas –Austin and Sul Ross State University, culminating with a Ph.D in Botany from UT-Austin. Following that she received a NSF sponsored Post-doctoral Fellowship and worked at the University of Georgia, Department of Genetics and The University of Arizona, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, before accepting a position at Texas A&M-Kingsville. As a native south Texan this represented an opportunity for Dr. Hempel to return to the area she grew up in and first became interested in natural history. Her research interests are in the evolution and ecology of arid land plants, plant and animal interactions and science education. In particular, she is interested in the evolution and ecology of edaphic endemics – those plants that occur on only very specific soils or geological formations. This interest in ecology and evolution of endemics led to her current research focus on rare and endangered species of south Texas and the related issues of invasive species.

Bruce Hungate, Director; National Institute for Climatic Change Research, Western Region, Northern Arizona University

Global Climate Change: Impacts and Mitigation - Earth's ecosystems influence climate, and play an important role in climate change. Not only will the systems respond to climate change - with species expansions, migrations, and extinctions, and physiological changes from single-celled organisms to the largest trees - but their responses will influence how climate changes in the future. Plants and soil microorganisms, in particular, produce and consume greenhouse gases, and they produce and consume enough of them to affect the climate. In the first part of my talk, I will discuss how ecosystems respond to climate change, and how their responses feed back to the climate system. Global climate change challenges human systems, as well, and human responses to these challenges are complex and difficult to predict. Rising sea levels, more heat waves in Europe and around the world, melting tundra in the north, and drought in the southwestern US are predicted to become more common over the next century. What can we do? In the second part of my talk, I will discuss ideas about mitigating global climate change, from economic proposals to encourage carbon-free energy system, to engineering nature to cool the planet. Such proposals are difficult scientifically, economically, politically, and ethically, but they raise debates in which we must engage.

Dr. Bruce A Hungate is a Professor of Ecosystem Ecology at Northern Arizona University, and the Director of the US Department of Energy's Western Regional Center of the National Institute for Climatic Change Research. He has bachelor's degrees in Music, English, and Biology from Stanford University and a PhD in Integrative Biology from the University of California at Berkeley. He has published over 70 scientific articles on environmental issues. Dr. Hungate's research focuses on the ecology of global warming, including human contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and how these emissions might be offset or mitigated. He also studies responses of natural ecosystems to environmental change, and how ecosystems affect the climate system. His research spans grasslands, woodlands, forests, and rivers in the temperate zone, boreal forests in Siberia, and tropical forests of the Amazon basin. Through teaching, research and outreach, Dr. Hungate hopes to raise awareness of the role of earth system science for managing global environmental change.

Gena K. Janssen; Janssen Biological

Laws?  We don't need no stinkin' laws!  How Voluntary Conservation Agreements Can Protect Endangered Plants on Private Lands better than the ESA. - The first Voluntary Conservation Agreements ever to be signed by private landowners were in the State of Texas with Texas Parks and Wildlife in the late 90's.  Ten landowners with the largest complexes of the endangered Johnston's frankenia on their ranches, pledged their commitment to the preservation of this endangered plant on their land.  With this pledge, came an new way of achieving conservation-a friendly way.  Continuing with this trend, Texas Parks and Wildlife again initiated another project in the early 2000's to continue to reach out to new landowners and secure more Voluntary Conservation Agreements for not only endangered plants, but non-listed rare plants as well.  There are currently 19 active Voluntary Conservation Agreements protecting five listed endangered plants and seven additional rare plants.  Seven on the original "Frankenia 10" have expired; three have been renewed.  Landowners with agreements have been able to convince gas companies move new pad sites, transplant plants; avoid impacts of seismics, pipelines and new roads.  These activities would have continued full-force and untouchable by the ESA had the landowners not said that their pledge of protection would not allow for any impacts.  How did they do this?  What makes these agreements work?  Do they all work?  Who takes care of these agreements and these landowners?  Is there a down-side to these agreements?  What have we learned?  What can we do better?

A former Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist, Gena Janssen is now a part-time consultant continuing her passion for landowner outreach and surveying for rare plants and rare plant conservation while also doing clearance surveys and linear projects to pay the bills.  She is a full time mom to nine year old Sammy (who was almost born in the field!) and six year old Summer (Dr. wouldn't let her go out in the field with that one!).  During the school year she is a very active volunteer up at her kid's school where she is the chair of fundraising and the newsletter editor and publisher; and, during the summer it is all about swimming and camping trips.  In her spare time she enjoys her gardens and cooking.  She keeps little quotes on her bulletin board to inspire her, such as:  Stop banging your head into that brick wall trying to turn it into a door; If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten; and of course, If you can't be a good example, you'll just have to be a horrible warning!

Linda C. Langlitz; Texas A & M University

Navasota Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes parksii Correll), the Enigma - Extensive surveys and persistent monitoring on the Navasota Ladies' Tresses conservation easement in College Station yielded useful data and documented observations of the endangered orchid.  Flowering seasons in the falls of 2006 and 2007 enabled surveyors to locate 118 plants on the 38 acres.  Physical characteristics such as plant height, inflorescence length and number of flowers were measured.  Each flowering season was different in terms of plant numbers and locations and general robustness of spikes and rosettes.  However, a few patterns emerged.  For example, flowering plants have a consistent annual cycle whereas, to date, apparently the plants in general do not.  Some sites harbor sufficient plants so that reproduction in the population is somewhat consistent in those locations.  Many plants displayed open flowers and fragrance was detected from a few.  Fragrant, open flowers are characteristics associated with sexual reproduction through pollination.  Basic morphological characteristics of S. parksii flowers and rosettes growing on the easement are consistent and different from sympatric Spiranthes species.  The orchids grow well in several microhabitats.  Managed by the Texas Department of Transportation Bryan District, in coordination with the City of College Station, the habitat on the easement has been protected from most major anthropogenic disturbances despite the development of peripheral residential, commercial and servicing infrastructures.  Successive seasons promise further enlightenment of the nature of the orchid, habitat and ecological management.

As a Graduate Research Assistant in the Ecosystem Science & Management Department, Texas A & M University, Langlitz has the opportunity to study an endangered orchid on a conservation easement established for the plant's benefit.  Professor Fred E. Smeins, Texas Transportation Institute and Texas Department of Transportation Bryan District provide guidance, resources and wisdom.  Tutelage by academic icons at the University and experience in business, politics and community provide her a solid basis for developing broad perspectives and understanding of issues, resources and stakeholders involved in conservation ecology. Langlitz's grandfather taught her water conservation and land management; her grandmother, the values of plants and animals; both conveyed their love, appreciation and knowledge of the natural world.  She was a successful small business owner in an oil, farming and ranching community, dabbled in politics and held the elected office of precinct chairman and positions in various campaigns.  After working through the ranks to become vice president of a prominent community bank, she decided exponential growth in the financial world was too rapid a pace.  Continuing as part time banker, she completed an Associate of Science Degree at Houston Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Bioenvironmental Science at TAMU.  She is grateful for support from husband Joe and family.

Patrick Larkin, Ph.D.; Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Dept. of Physical and Environmental Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Texas Seagrasses: Issues, Conservation and Research - Seagrasses comprise a diverse array of marine angiosperms that reside along the coastal fringes of all continents except Antarctica. Seagrasses perform a variety of important ecological roles, such as serving as food and habitat for a number of marine species, stabilizing shorelines, improving water quality, recycling nutrients, and sequestering atmospheric CO2. One of the critical issues facing coastal ecosystems around the world is the decline in the quantity and quality of seagrass beds. In virtually all instances these declines have been closely linked to human activity. Threats to the integrity of seagrass ecosystems have led to the creation of conservation and monitoring plans that require an in-depth knowledge of seagrass biology and ecology. This talk will provide an overview of these aspects and review some of the current research taking place with species from the Texas Gulf Coast.

Patrick Larkin is an associate professor of biochemistry in the department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, where he has been on the faculty since 2000. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University in 1999, studying the biochemistry and genetics of carbohydrate synthesis in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Originally from the Midwest, he received his BS in Biochemistry from the University of Iowa in 1989 and spent several years working in the plant biotechnology division of Dupont. His research interests include the biochemistry and conservation genetics of native plants. His most recent efforts have focused on seagrasses (Halodule wrightii Asherson, Thalassia testudinum), a native legume (Desmanthus virgatus) and the Old World Bluestems Dichanthium annulatum (Kleberg Bluestem) and Bothriochloa ischaemum (King Ranch Bluestem).

Roy L. Lehman, Director; Laguna Madre Field Station, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Seagrasses:  Important Communities at Risk - The need for conservation and management of coastal seagrass communities is unmistakable when their wide-ranging ecological roles are taken into consideration.  The Texas Coastal Bend has five species of seagrasses that are found in the clear, shallow waters of the estuarine environment.  The plants are not true grasses but are flowering plants with unique adaptations that allow them to flourish in the coastal waters.  These beds are important primary producers, a food source (direct and indirect) for a diverse fauna, aid in the stabilization of the substrate, and serve as both habitats and nurseries.  In addition, these plants are used to monitor the health of the coastal communities.  Yet, the loss of seagrass meadows due to both anthropogenic (turbidity from dredging, runoff, boat prop scarring) and natural activities (hurricanes, phytoplankton blooms, diseases) is paramount.  Seagrass survival will depend upon the adequate understanding of their importance and sustainable management.  The seminar will include identification of the common seagrasses of the Texas Coastal Bend, an evaluation of ecological adaptations, descriptions of their importance and ecological roles, and discussion on conservation and management efforts.

Roy Lehman is Professor of Biology and Director of the Laguna Madre Field Station at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.  He is co-author of the books "Plants of the Texas Coastal Bend," "Plants of Webb County, Texas" and penned the chapter on Coral Reef Algae (seaweeds) in the book, "Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico" (Texas A&M Press, 2007).  His passions include the study of the seaweeds of the Texas and Caribbean coasts, coastal marine plants and freshwater algae.  Current student projects include:

• Studies of the algal flora on the jetties at Packery Channel, Texas,
• Black Mangrove community structure along the South Texas coast,
• Bacteria (E. coli) source tracking in the Copano Bay watershed (Aransas & Mission Rivers) using Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis DNA fingerprinting,
• Use of mycorrhizal inoculum to restore, protect and enhance the coastal barrier islands of Texas,
• Seagrass interactions in the Texas coastal bend,
• Groundwater flow, nitrogen fluxes and Cyanobacteria in coastal aquifers,
• Seasonal Recruitment Strategies of Macro- and Micro-algae Influenced by Estuarine Dredging

Shelly D. Maher; Soil Conservationist, USDA-NRCS, E. "Kika" de la Garza Plant Materials Center

Echeandia - Echeandia texensis and Echeandia chandleri are rare South Texas endemics.  Additional populations of both species have been located and mapped since 2002, due to cooperation between Texas A&M University-Kingsville, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Service.  A self-compatibility study was conducted on Echeandia texensis and showed that the species was self compatible and in absence of pollinators no fruit was set.  This study also revealed the species to be andromonoecious, but it did not fit typical spatial, temporal, or resource allocation patterns.  Complete floral maps were made of fifty-seven inflorescences, and fifty-three showed an unusual andromonoecious pattern.

Shelly D. Maher is a Soil Conservationist for the United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service.  A native of East Texas, she traded red oaks for mesquites when she moved to South Texas to attend college.  Shelly received a B.S. in Plant and Soil Science in 2000 and a M.S. in Biology in 2008 from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.  For the past six years, she has assisted with research at the E. "Kika" de la Garza Plant Materials Center (PMC) in Kingsville, Texas.  The purpose of the PMC is to select native species for commercialization and develop plant technology to help meet conservation needs.

Ruth O'Brien; Retired Adjunct Professor, Herbarium Curator, Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi

History of Botany in the Texas Coastal Bend - The first botanists to the Coastal Bend were the Native Americans who lived here. They were dependent upon the plants for their very existence, for food, medicine, clothing, dye, tools, etc. The first trained botanist to come here was A.A. Heller, who collected from the brushy bluffs of downtown Corpus Christi and here at the Blind Oso. In 1930, the Waelder Wildlife Refuge started an inventory and that grew into the first Flora of the area by Fred Jones, published in 1975. Dr. Bogusch, professor at A & M-Kingsville, was another active botanist. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 listed 23 local species. Three endemics, the Rush Pea, Mathis Spiderling, and the Black Lace Cactus are discussed in this paper. State and local botanists were busy. We found new populations, measured, counted, and wrote Recovery Programs. I believe this Act changed the nature of botany as a profession. We became field biologists and watch-dogs of our environment.

Ruth O'Brien was born in Sioux City, Iowa in 1921. She graduated with A B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1945. She received her M.S. in Biology from Texas A & M-Corpus Christi in 1980. Mrs. O'Brien established the Herbarium at TAMU-CC and has been the Curator since 1983. She has been an Adjunct Professor of Plant Taxonomy at TAMU-CC since 1991. Mrs. O'Brien co-authored Recovery Plans for two local endangered species published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She has been involved with the Texas Organization of Endangered Species and received their Howard Beaty Award in 1993. Her most recent publications include Plants of Webb County in 2002 and Plants of the Texas Coastal Bend in 2005, both co-authored with Dr. Lehman and Tammy White of TAMU-CC. Additional activities include serving as Honorary Curator of the Herbarium at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History and writing a Field Guide for the Corpus Christi Botanical Garden.

R. Deborah Overath, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor of Biology, Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi

Population Genetics Informs Invasive Species Management: Old World Bluestems as a Case Study - Recent invasive species theory suggests that invasiveness develops via one of three scenarios: changes in migration allowing species to reach an area for which they are pre-adapted, changes in the environment allowing a naturalized species to become invasive, and evolutionary changes promoting invasiveness after reaching a new area. Many invasive species show a lag in the time between introduction and invasiveness, indicating that environmental or evolutionary changes are more likely explanations for invasiveness. Thus, knowledge of evolutionary processes is crucial to understanding abundance and distribution, developing effective controls, and preventing future invasions. Evolutionary changes that could account for such a lag include changes in mating system and hybridization forming new gene complexes. Old World Bluestems were introduced from Eurasia for range forage and erosion control in the last 50-80 years. Although both apomixis (the asexual production of seeds) and hybridization have been documented in the native range of some of these species, we know nothing about how either may have contributed to their current invasiveness. We will discuss how molecular markers and population genetics can address these issues with illustrations from our current work on King Ranch bluestem and our plans for Old World Bluestems.

Dr. R. Deborah Overath is an assistant professor of biology at Texas A&M University  - Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC).  Her research focuses on using population genetics to inform the management of threatened, exploited, and invasive species.  Her lab is working on several projects including developing microsatellite markers to study the evolutionary genetics of the invasive Old World Bluestems.  She currently has funding from NOAA to develop methods to estimate the contribution of hatchery-reared fish to exploited fish populations.  She has mentored students in several TAMU-CC undergraduate research programs as a way to live her long-time dream of encouraging women and minorities to pursue scientific careers.  Through her mentoring, her students have had the opportunity to conduct research on a variety of projects and have earned presentation awards at local, regional, and national meetings.  She is also faculty mentor for her campus chapter of the Association of Women in Science, chair of the Plant Population Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America, member of the Steering Committee and Interim Board of Directors for the newly formed Texas Invasive Plants and Pests Council, and a member of several other groups including the Native Plant Society of Texas,  the South Texas Botanical Garden, and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  She was recently awarded the 2008 Distinguished Undergraduate Mentor Award by the Society of the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.  Dr. Overath earned her B.A. in Biology/Chemistry at Wells College, her M.A. in Biological Sciences at Binghamton University, and her Ph.D. in Genetics at The University of Georgia, and postdoced at the University of Texas.

Jackie Poole; botanist, Texqas Parks & Wildlife, Wildflife Diversity Program

Texas Native Plant Action Plan Workshop - The Texas Wildlife Action Plan was developed to keep common species from becoming rare and to keep rare species from becoming extinct. Several million dollars of funding per year are provided for this purpose. Unfortunately this federal funding is not supposed to go directly to plants. However, botanists across the nation are writing Plant Action Plans to go along with the animal-based Wildlife Action Plans in the hope of future funding. Work has begun in Texas on developing a Native Plant and Plant Community Action Plan. At the meeting we will work on fleshing out the species' forms as well as a comprehensive table.

A native Texan, Jackie Poole was born and raised in the Texas Hill Country in Kerrville. She obtained her B.A. and M.A. in botany from the University of Texas at Austin. Her early jobs involved curatorial positions at the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University and at the Plant Resources Center at the University of Texas at Austin. She joined the Texas Natural Heritage Program when it started in 1983, and has worked for the program through its various name changes (now Wildlife Diversity Program at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) until the present except for a brief six months when she worked as a botanist for the Montana Natural Heritage Program. She has worked with rare plants across the state, and is currently conducting long-term monitoring projects on Texas wild-rice, Texas snowbells, and Tobusch fishhook cactus. She is the co-author of two books on the rare plants of Texas as well as numerous reports, recovery plans, and articles. She is the South Central US regional coordinator for the Flora of North America project and on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for Plant Conservation.

Tom Shirley; Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Keynote: Invasive Species: Analogs From the Marine Realm

Dr. Tom Shirley became the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) second Endowed Chair in July, 2005. Dr. Shirley has had a productive career conducting research and participating in graduate education in the marine sciences. Dr. Shirley has published extensively and more than 20 graduate students have received their degrees with him as their advisor. Dr. Shirley has described new species of invertebrates from different phyla from around the world, including the Arctic, Antarctic, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean, Philippines, and Alaska. He has been the principal investigator on 11 manned submersible research projects, has participated in more than 40 research cruises, and has extensive scuba, sub and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) experience. Most recently Dr. Shirley has been exploring assemblages of animals on deep sea corals and seamounts in the Gulf of Alaska and Hawaiian Islands using the DSV PISCES V and DSV Alvin to depths of more than 3000 m. Dr. Shirley is a boating and fishing enthusiast, and enjoys birding, hiking and exploring remote wildernesses.

Fred Smeins; Professor of Ecology, Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, Texas A & M University

Dr. Fred Smeins is a professor of Rangeland Ecology at Texas A & M University. He is an expert in the plant ecology of vegetation communities in Texas, including tall grass prairies, coastal marshes, the Edwards Plateau, and many more.