RESEARCH/TEACHING INTERESTS

Transcription

1 ROBERT T. STRAHAN, PH.D. P.O. Box 15017, Flagstaff, AZ Building 82, Office 027, Southwest Forest Science Complex (928) (928) RESEARCH/TEACHING INTERESTS Forest ecology Plant ecology, trait-based community assembly Disturbance ecology, impacts of grazing, fire, and land-use change Ecological restoration Ecological inventory and analysis techniques Applied statistics and quantitative ecology Demography Applications of R and ecological modeling EDUCATION Doctor of Philosophy, Forest Science: December 2013 Northern Arizona University (NAU), Flagstaff, AZ Advisors: Margaret M. Moore and Daniel C. Laughlin Master of Science, Range Science: May 2008 New Mexico State University (NMSU), Las Cruces, NM Advisor: Kelly W. Allred Bachelor of Science, Wildlife Science: May 2005 New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Postdoctoral Scholar, Ecological Restoration Institute, NAU, Flagstaff, AZ January present As a postdoctoral scholar I am responsible for the analyses of ecological datasets and production of manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. In coordination with my supervisor and other ERI staff, I develop projects, design research, and refine sampling methodologies and strategies for restoration and monitoring studies. I collaborate on a variety of scientific studies to restore forest plant communities, rehabilitate wildfire sites, and understand vegetation response to fuels reduction and prescribed burning. Through this position I also assist in science translation and technology transfer to collaborative groups and other public audiences through technical and nontechnical publications. Graduate Research Assistant (PhD), School of Forestry, NAU, Flagstaff, AZ. July July

2 My doctoral dissertation centered on the use of plant functional traits to understand population and community level dynamics. I have presented my research at numerous conferences throughout my doctoral degree, including the Ecological Society of America, Society for Range Management, Society of American Foresters, and the 12th Biennial Conference of Science and Management on the Colorado Plateau. My dissertation research provided me with diverse training in research design as well as managing and analyzing large ecological datasets. During this time, I initiated, designed and perform complex ecological studies. Along with training and supervising seasonal employees, I was project manager for three separate studies. I am proficient with parametric and non-parametric statistical methods, including the statistical language software R and ArcGIS systems for data management and analysis. Field Botanist, Ecological Restoration Institute, NAU, Flagstaff, AZ. May Sept 2008 As a field botanist I assisted with research projects on forest restoration and ecosystem health. I added to my extensive experience in plant taxonomy and field-based plant identification. I was responsible for applying various techniques to quantify plant community and forest characteristics including but not limited to the following: - Belt transects for species richness - Point-line intercept transects for plant cover - Modified Whitaker plots for plant and substrate cover Tree diameter at breast height (dbh), diameter at stump height (dsh) - Trees per acre Tree height Canopy base height Graduate Teaching Assistant (M.S.), Department of Range Science, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM. Jan May 2008 As part of my master s research I conducted a floristic inventory of The Nature Conservancy s Milnesand Prairie Preserve, in eastern New Mexico. During this research I made and identified over 1,300 plant collections and discovered five species that were previously unknown to the flora of New Mexico. I classified habitats throughout the 18,500 acre preserve based on species assemblages ranging from Shinnery oak shrublands to wetlands and grasslands. I also instructed two undergraduate field based labs at NMSU; Rangeland grasses and Rangeland plants. I taught basic botany, dealing with the morphology of vegetative and flowering parts in vascular plants as well as plant identification. Contractor, The Nature Conservancy, Las Cruces NM. May Sept 2005 My primary responsibility was to collect data to assess the restoration potential of degraded perennial grasslands in New Mexico. I used ArcGis to locate potential restoration sites. I used NRCS soil and ecological site descriptions to verify site locations with NRCS soil survey maps. I collected plot level data for various site attributes including but not limited to the following - Percent-slope and aspect - Percent grass cover - Canopy and basal cover of dominant plant species - Percent bare ground including gravel/rock - Presence of litter and cryptograms - Sampled surface soil texture - Identified dominant perennial plants - Collected unidentified dominant plant specimens as needed 2

3 PUBLICATIONS and PRESENTATIONS Moore, M. M., R. T. Strahan, and H. E. Dowling Direct effects of climate on herbaceous plant demography in southwestern pine-bunchgrass ecosystems. Oral presentation at the USFS RMRS Fort Valley Experimental Forest Research Symposium; Flagstaff, AZ; August Strahan, R.T., Moore, M.M., and Dowling, H.E Demography of perennial herbaceous plant species in northern Arizona s ponderosa pine-bunchgrass ecosystem. Oral presentation at the 12th Biennial Conference of Science and Management on the Colorado Plateau, Flagstaff, AZ, September, Strahan, R.T., Bakker, J.D., Laughlin, D.C., and Moore, M.M A retrospective analysis of vegetation recovery following grazing in a ponderosa pine-bunchgrass forest. Oral presentation at the Society for Range Management, 65th Annual Meeting, Spokane, WA, February, Strahan, R.T., Laughlin, D.C., and Moore, M.M Using functional traits to predict demographic parameters of herbaceous perennial plant species. Poster presentation at the Ecological Society of America, Austin TX, August, Strahan, R.T., Bakker, J.D., Laughlin, D.C., and Moore, M.M A retrospective analysis of vegetation recovery following grazing in a ponderosa pine-bunchgrass forest. Poster presentation at the Society of American Foresters, Albuquerque NM, October, Strahan, R., and Allred, K.W Aristideae Eludendae II: A re-evaluation of the Aristida gibbosa (Nees) Kunth complex (Poaceae: Aristideae), including A. marginalis Ekman, A. orizabensis Fournier, and A. sorzogonensis Presl. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 2(1): Strahan, R., and Allred, K.W A re-evaluation of the Aristida gibbosa (Nees) Kunth complex (Poaceae: Aristideae) including A. marginalis Ekman, A. orizabensis Fournier, and A. sorzogonensis Presl. Poster presentation at the Plant Biology and Botany Conference, Chicago IL, July Reports and Other Publications Springer, J. and Strahan, R.T Are exotics/invasive species present at landings and burn piles (WMSP monitoring question 11)? In: White Mountain Stewardship Program Monitoring Report. Prepared for the Ecological Restoration Institute, NAU, Flagstaff, AZ. 33 pp. Strahan, R.T A functional trait perspective on demography, community assembly, and response to long-term grazing. Ph.D. dissertation. School of Forestry, NAU, Flagstaff, AZ. 119 pp. Strahan, R.T A floristic survey of the vascular plants of the Milnesand Prairie Preserve, Roosevelt county, New Mexico. M.S. thesis. Department of Animal and Range Sciences, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM. 296 pp. Strahan, R., Plant distribution reports. The New Mexico Botanist.40: 16. 3

4 Strahan, R., Plant distribution reports. The New Mexico Botanist. 37: 7. Publications in Review or In Preparation Strahan, R.T., Bakker, J.D., Laughlin, D.C., and Moore, M.M. In revision. Long-term grazing effects on understory composition and functional strategies in a ponderosa pine forest. Range Ecology and Management. Strahan, R.T., Laughlin, D.C., Adler, P.B., and Moore, M.M. In preparation. Predicting vital rates from functional traits for herbaceous perennial plants. Ecology (will be submitted fall, 2014). Strahan, R.T., Laughlin, D.C., and Moore, M.M. In preparation. An experimental test of the maximum entropy model of community assembly. Journal of vegetation Science (will be submitted, 2014). Strahan, R.T., Stoddard, M.T. and Springer, J.D. In preparation. Selecting targets for the restoration of understory vegetation in southwestern ponderosa pine forests. Forest Ecology and Management (will be submitted spring, 2014). RESEARCH GRANT ACTIVITY In Review O Donnell, F.C., R.T. Strahan, D. Nunley, and S.M. Lopez Identifying the forest openness tipping points that lead to ecosystem change and escalated fire hazard: an interdisciplinary modeling approach. Joint Fire Science Program $232,050. Moore, M.M., D.W. Huffman, P.Z. Fulé, R.T. Strahan, A.J. Sanchez Meador, and W.K. Moser Restoration experiments in ponderosa pine at Ft Valley Experimental Forest: Twenty years post-fire. Joint Fire Science Program $300,376. Huffman, D.W., P.Z. Fulé, R.T. Strahan, A.J. Sanchez Meador Effects of prescribed fire on long-term dynamics of ponderosa pine forest understory communities $292,174. Unsuccessful Butterfield, B., P. Dijkstra, D. Laughlin, M. Moore, and R. Strahan Preliminary Proposal. Biotic Interactions: The missing Link between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning? National Science Foundation. $Unknown. TEACHING /MENTORING EXPERIENCE Instructor: FOR Forest and Range Plants, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ Lecturer: FOR Introduction to forest ecology, biomes, and forest types, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 4

5 Teaching Assistant: RGSC 307, Rangeland Grasses, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM Teaching Assistant: RGSC 316, Rangeland Plants, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM Students Graduate Committee Member Helen E. Dowling (M.S.) Ecological Restoration Institute Undergraduate Research Program Fleischman, J. ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES President, Northern Arizona University, Forestry Graduate Student Association Seminar coordinator, Northern Arizona University, Forestry Graduate Student Association (Hosted speakers such as Peter Adler, Utah State; and Peter Chesson, Univ. AZ) Scientific Journal Reviews Plant Ecology, PLOS ONE AWARDS ARCS Scholar, Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, ($7,000) ARCS Scholar, Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, ($7,000) CR Krimminger Scholarship for Forestry, ($1,800) 5