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Thomas N. Kaye
Assistant Professor (Courtesy) |
Plant Conservation Biology, Invasive Species
My major areas of research are population dynamics of endangered plants and invasive species. This area provides opportunities for experiments with rare species reintroduction, seed germination studies, population viability analysis with matrix models, and evaluation of habitat management techniques. Most of the projects I am involved with use ecological theory to approach applied problems in plant ecology.
I use matrix population models to examine the stochastic population dynamics of wild populations, and to compare the viability of populations of endangered species under different management practices such as grazing, timber harvest, or controlled burning. These models can also be used to pose "what if" questions to develop hypotheses for a population's response to various changes in its environment, such as decreased seed predation, grazing, reproductive failure, global warming, or even wild harvest (which occurs in medicinal plant populations). In working with matrix models, I have also used empirical data to compare different methods of stochastic modeling and examined the importance of correlations among vital rates.
My research in restoration ecology examines habitat improvement methods, invasive species control, and species reintroduction. I study habitat improvement methods such as controlled burning, mowing, herbicide applications, and livestock exclusion in various ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest, from the coast to the Willamette Valley to the arid east-side. Although my background is in endangered species management, I am also investigating noxious weeds such as Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor) and false brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) and their impacts on native ecosystems. I am actively involved in reintroduction studies with seven endangered species of the Willamette Valley, as well as three other species elsewhere in the state. This research focuses on all aspects of reintroduction, from propagation through establishment, including germination and cultivation studies, comparisons of direct seeding vs. transplanting, importance of biotic and abiotic interactions, and broader issues related to inbreeding and outbreeding depression in created populations as well as strategies for successfully maintaining genetic diversity.
Ian Pfingsten
Christa von Behren
Kaye, T.N., M. Blakeley-Smith, and W. Thies. In press (2008). Long term effects of post-harvest stump removal and N-fertilization on understory vegetation in western USA forests. Forest Ecology and Management.
Kaye, T.N. In press (2008). Vital steps for success of endangered plant reintroductions. Native Plants Journal.
Lawrence, B.A. and T.N. Kaye. In press (2008). Direct and indirect effects of host plants: Implications for reintroduction of an endangered hemiparasitic plant ( Castilleja levisecta ). Madroño.
Meinke, R.J. and T.N. Kaye. 2007. Kalmiopsis fragrans (Ericaceae), a new distylous species from the southern Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (formerly SIDA). Volume 1, No.1.
Guerrant, E.O. and T.N. Kaye. 2007. Reintroduction of rare and endangered plants: Common factors, questions and approaches. Australian Journal of Botany 55:362-270.
Lawrence, B.A. and T.N. Kaye. 2006. Habitat variation throughout the historic range of golden paintbrush, a Pacific Northwest prairie endemic: Implications for reintroduction. Northwest Science 80:140-152.
Kaye, T.N. and M. Blakeley-Smith. 2006. False-brome ( Brachypodium sylvaticum ). In, Invasive Species in the Pacific Northwest. P.D. Boersma, S.E. Reichard, and A.N. van Buren, editors. University of Washington Press, Seattle. Pages 80-81.
Wilson, B.L., V.D. Hipkins, E. Rey-Vizgirdas, and T.N. Kaye. 2005. Variation in Lewisia kelloggii (Portulacaceae) with description of a new species endemic to Idaho. Madrono.
Wilson, M.V, T. Erhart, P.C. Hammond, T.N. Kaye, K. Kuykendall, A. Liston, A.F. Robinson, Jr., C.B. Schultz, and P.M. Severns. 2003. Biology of Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii [Smith] Phillips), a threatened species of western Oregon native prairies. Natural Areas Journal 23:72-83.
Kaye, T.N. and D.A. Pyke. 2003. The effect of stochastic technique on estimates of population viability from transition matrix models. Ecology 1464-1476.
McGlaughlin, M., K. Karoly, and T.N. Kaye. 2002. Genetic variation and its relationship to population size in reintroduced populations of the pink sand verbena, Abronia umbellata subsp. breviflora. Conservation Genetics 3:411-420.
Kaye, T.N. 2001. Common ground and controversy in native plant restoration: the SOMS debate, source distance, plant selections, and a restoration-oriented definition of native. In, Native Plant Propagation and Restoration Strategies. R. Rose and D. Haase, editors. Nursery Technology Cooperative and Western Forestry and Conservation Association, Corvallis, Oregon.
Kaye, T.N. and K. Kuykendall. 2001. Germination and propagation techniques for restoring rare Pacific Northwest prairie plants. In, Reichard, S.H., P.W. Dunwiddie, J.G. Gamon, A.R. Kruckeberg, D.L. Salstrom, editors. Conservation of Washington's Native Plants and Ecosystems. Washington Native Plant Society, Seattle, Washington.
Kaye, T.N, K. Pendergrass, K. Findley and J.B. Kauffman. 2001. The effect of fire on the population viability of an endangered prairie plant. Ecological Applications 11:1366-1380.
Caswell, H. and T.N. Kaye. 2001. Stochastic demography and conservation of an endangered perennial plant (Lomatium bradshawii) in a dynamic fire regime. Advances in Ecological Research 32:1-51.
Kaye, T.N. and K. Kuykendall. 2001. Effects of scarification and cold stratification on germination of Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii. Seed Science and Technology 29:663-668.
Kaye, T.N. and M. Kirkland. 1999. Effect of timber harvest on Cimicifuga elata, a rare plant of western forests. Northwest Science 73:159-167.
Kaye, T.N. 1999. Obligate insect pollination of a rare plant: Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii. Northwest Science 73:50-52.
Kaye, T.N. 1999. Propagation of endangered species: Variable germination of pink sandverbena from Pacific Coast beaches. Combined Proceedings of the International Plant Propagators Society 49:617-621.
Kaye, T.N., M. Kirkland, and N. Testa. 1999. Growing endangered plants to save them: germinating, propagating and restoring pink sandverbena. In, Native plants: propagating and planting. R. Rose and D. Haase, editors. Forest Research Lab, Oregon State University. Pp. 100-107.
Kaye, T.N. 1999. From flowering to dispersal: reproductive ecology of an endemic plant, Astragalus australis var. olympicus (Fabaceae). American Journal of Botany 86:1248-1256.
Pendergrass, K.L., P.M. Miller, J.B. Kauffman, and T.N. Kaye. 1999. The role of prescribed burning in maintenance of an endangered plant species, Lomatium bradshawii. Ecological Applications 9:1420-1429.
Kaye, T.N., A. Liston, R.M. Love, D. Luoma, R.J. Meinke, and M.V. Wilson [editors]. 1997. Conservation and management of native plants and fungi. Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon.
