Kathy Parker

Professor 

Ph.D., 1982, University of Wisconsin-Madison 


Research Interests

Biogeography, arid lands, population dynamics, biogeomorphology

My recent research focuses on three areas:  desert vegetation, scrub communities in Florida, and biogeomorphology.  Research projects dealing with arid environments have emphasized relationships between desert plants and their physical environment, including studies of growth rates, population dynamics, and basic life history characteristics of several columnar cactus species; ecological relationships among columnar cacti; vegetation patterns relative to environmental gradients; and clonal and genetic structure of an asexually reproducing cactus species.   In the realm of biogeomorphology, I am interested in geomorphic influences on population dynamics of plants and vegetation patterns.  A recent research project examined desert vegetation and soil patterns on alluvial fan deposits of different ages (early Pleistocene through late Holocene) in the northern Sonoran Desert.  I am currently working on a project that examines population dynamics and genetic relationships of two varieties of a pine species endemic to Florida.

Recent Publications

Parker, K.C, J.L. Hamrick, A.J. Parker, and E.A. Stacy.  1997.  "Allozyme diversity in Pinus virginiana (Pinaceae):  Intraspecific and interspecific comparisons," American Journal of  Botany 84:1372-1382.

Parker, K.C., A.J. Parker, R.M. Beaty, M.M. Fuller, and T.D. Faust.  1997.  "Population structure and spatial pattern of two coastal populations of Ocala sand pine (Pinus clausa (Chapm. ex Engelm.) Vasey ex Sarg. var. clausa D. B. Ward)," Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 124:22-33.

Parker, K.C., and J. Bendix.  1996.  "Landscape-scale geomorphic influences on vegetation patterns in four selected environments," Physical Geography 17:113-141.

Parker, K. C.  1995.  "Effects of complex geomorphic history on soil and vegetation patterns on arid alluvial fans," Journal of Arid Environments 30:19-39.

Parker, K. C.  1993.  "Climatic effects on regeneration trends for two columnar cacti in the northern Sonoran Desert,"  Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83:452-474.
 

Recent Research Grants

1992-1993 Parker, K. C.  National Geographic Society.  "Vegetation patterns in desert landscapes:  simple-gradient or complex- mosaic model?"  $5315.

1994-1996 Parker, K. C., and A. J. Parker.  National Science Foundation.  "Multi-scale analysis of the biogeography, ecology, and genetic structure of sand pine (Pinus clausa)" (#SBR-9313704).  $170,000.

1996-1997 Parker, K. C., and D. H. McCay.  National Science Foundation.  "Doctoral Dissertation Research:  The Role of Historical and Environmental Factors in the Invasion of Pine Forests in the Florida Panhandle."  (#SBR-9628027).  $8417.

1997-1998 Parker, K. C., and J. C. Rodgers, III.  National Science Foundation.  "Doctoral Dissertation Research: the occurrence of herbaceous alien plant species with respect to environmental stress and anthropogenic influences on the georgia sea islands." (SBR-9701830).  $7776.

1996-1997 Parker, K. C.  UGA Office of Instruction Development, Instructional Improvement Grants.  "World Wide Web-Based Exercises in Physical Geography."  $1980.
 

Courses Taught