Research Interests of Bruce Haines
4-00
Development of sustainable life support systems for human civilizations is both desirable and daunting in the face of increasing human numbers on a planet of fixed size. When animal populations grow beyond the carrying capacities of their life support systems, their populations crash. Human populations seem to have crashed repeatedly in the past. From human history it is difficult to identify civilizations which have survived more or less intact for periods of 500 years. From this historical perspective we can ask why various civilizations failed, which of present civilizations are likely to fail, which are likely survive, and what might we do to enhance the sustainability of our civilizations in the future?
Sustainability has many more dimensions than can be studied simultaneously by ones self thus in my career I have studied many separate pieces of sustainability problems. The dimensions studied depended on availability of funding. My efforts address questions about nutrient uptake by plants; root networks as nutrient filters; acid rain: sources, effects and the sulfur cycle; insect stress: nutrients lost; control to population dynamics of leaf-cutting ants, and sustainable land use and biodiversity.
NUTRIENT UPTAKE BY PLANT ROOTS
What are the mechanisms controlling rates of mineral element cycling in terrestrial ecosystems? Although I am working on a number of different aspects of biogeochemical cycling, the major focus of my efforts is upon possible changes in nutrient processing by plant roots during terrestrial succession. The problem is especially important in tropical agriculture and is of both theoretical and practical significance in temperate regions.
The nutrient impoverishment of soils by leaching is frequently cited as a major factor compelling the tropical slash-and-burn-shifting agriculturalist to abandon one farm plot in favor of a new one every few years. Abandoned plots are then taken over by a succession of native woody plants. After ten or more years of this natural fallow, the plots may be re-cleared at which time the soil fertility is found to have improved. What are the properties of the successional root networks which enable them to extract nutrients here the crop plants have failed? My efforts to test hypotheses relating to this question have focused on developing methods in temperate successional sequences which hopefully could be applied in tropical forest successions. My two papers on successional patterns of nutrient uptake at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, South Carolina (1, 2) and the work on successional patterns of nutrient uptake at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina (3, 4) are part of this development effort. Also I am studying long-term element uptake by successional vegetation and associated changes in soil solution chemistry following the clear cutting of a hardwood forest watershed at Coweeta. This work is done in collaboration with other investigators and is supported by the NSF Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. A parallel effort began 1989 at the Luquillo Experimental Forest LTER in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Hugo. Interactions between nutrient and light availability in regulation of growth and gas exchange of annual pioneer species, pioneer tree species, tree fall gap colonizing species and non-pioneer canopy tree species have recently been reported (5). Efforts to measure element uptake by successional plant in the laboratory utilizing colorimetric and atomic absorption techniques did not work because of insufficient sensitivity. Thus, I have used isotope tracers to characterize element transport kinetics of roots from field to forest
successions using 32P and 45Ca. The plants were from successional sequences at Coweeta (6) and at the Venezuelan Amazon rain forest (7). Investigations into nutrient processing by roots might require 5 to 10 more years to answer the questions I am interested in.
ROOT NETWORKS AS NUTRIENT FILTERS
The roles of roots and above ground tree parts of riparian forests in the filtering of nutrients from agricultural run off were reported in Fail et al (8,9). The role of riparian Rhododendron as a nutrient filter is being investigated in the Coweeta LTER project. Root observation boxes are being used to investigate environmental drivers of root demography, root production, and dynamics of associated microorganisms.
ACID RAIN: SOURCES, EFFECTS AND THE SULFUR CYCLE
While working on successional patterns of nutrient uptake in the forests at Coweeta I became interested in possible effects of acid rain on nutrient cycling (10-16). Efforts to answer this question are explained in Haines and Waide (17) while Haines and Swank (18) summarize findings to date. A review of acid rain effects on trees is provided by Haines and Carlson (19). While working with roots of successional plants in the Venezuelan Amazon, I discovered acid rain there (20,21). Questions about sources of acid rain at such a remote location (22) resulted in an National Science Foundation grant titled, "Sources of acid rain in the Amazon Basin: local sulfur recycling or long distance transport of industrial pollutants?" The project was complete using a rain forest in Costa Rica. The strongest sulfur gas source was living trees (23) which mostly emit carbon disulfide (CS2) (24) via the hydrolysis of L-djenkolic acid (25).The magnitude of sulfur gas emissions from the forest was insufficient to account for the sulfuric acid returned in the rain (24) Because CS2 is toxic to root rot fungi, nematodes nitrifying bacteria and to insects, it may serve as a defensive compound for those trees (23-27). I wish to conduct a survey of sulfur emissions from rain forest in Puerto Rico, West Africa, Malaysia, and Australia to characterize the geographic and phylogenetic distribution of this phenomenon.
INSECT STRESS: NUTRIENTS LOST
My interest in insect-plant nutrient (29-33) cycling interactions, my interest in succession (1, 2, 6, 7), and reports of increased NO3 loss from a successional insect infested watershed at Coweeta have resulted in an NSF grant titled "Mechanisms of NO3 loss from a successional southern Appalachian forest." It was prepared with the help of two graduate students and was funded for a 2.5 year study. Montagnini et al (34-37) Boring et al (38) and White et al (39) provided the first in a series of detailed reports. A synthesis of findings is in preparation (40). Additional studies of nutrient loss from watersheds at Coweeta are reported in Qualls et al (41-45).
CONTROLS TO POPULATION DYNAMICS OF LEAF-CUTTING ANTS
My interest in the controls of leaf-cutting ant population dynamics resulted in surveys of nests in 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997 at the La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. My students and I have more than 600 colonies marked. The goal is to perform a 10-20 year study of this economically important social insect to try to discover some of the natural processes regulating colony abundance.
SUSTAINABLE LAND USE AND BIODIVERSITY.
My newest project is the Haines and Peterson study titled "Research toward sustainable land use and biodiversity in mosaic of agriculture and tropical forest." This NSF funded project is in progress in the Coto Brus region of southern Costa Rica. Guiding philosophy, long term goals and preliminary results are reported in Haines and Peterson (46). More details can be found in Dr. Peterson's Botany Department web page.
FUTURE
For the future I expect to continue with these interests on my own, with faculty collaborators and with graduate student collaborators. I am especially looking for graduate student collaborators to work on research of mutual interests on the Coweeta LTER project, the Luquillo LTER project and on various projects in the tropics.
REFERENCES (THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF PUBLICATIONS)
1. Haines, B. L. 1977. Nitrogen uptake: apparent pattern during oldfield succession in southeastern U. S. Oecologia (Berl.) 26:295-303.
2. Haines, B. L. 1978. Pattern of potassium, magnesium, and calcium uptake during southeastern old-field succession. In Adriano, D.C. and I. C. Brisbin (eds), Environmental Chemistry and Cycling Processes. ERDA Symposium Series. (Conf-760429)pp. 605-621.
3. Haines, B. L., J. B. Waide, R. L. Todd. 1982. Soil solution nutrient concentrations sampled with tension and zero- tension lysimeters: Report of discrepancies. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 46(3): 658-661.
4. Haines, B. L., Waide, R., Todd, and W. Swank. Element dynamics in rainfall throughfall, litter solution, soil solution and streamwater of a southern Appalachian hardwood forest ecosystem.Ecology. (in revision).
5. Fetcher, N., B. L. Haines, R. Cordero, D. J. Lodge, L.R. Walker, D. S. Fernandez, W. T. Lawrence. 1996. Responses of tropical plants to nutrients and light on a landslide in Puerto Rico. Journal of Ecology 84:331-341
6. Haines, B. L. Calcium and phosphorus kinetics of plants from southern Appalachian forest succession. Botanical Gazette (in revision).
7. Haines, B. L., C. Uhl, and D. Abbott. Calcium and phosphorus uptake kinetics for selected Amazonian Successional Species. (in revision).
8. Fail, J. L. Jr., M. B. Hamzah, B. L. Haines, and R. L. Todd. 1986. Above and below ground biomass, production, and element accumulation in riparian forests of an Agricultural Watershed. In Correll, D. L. (ed). Watershed Research Perspectives. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Edgewater, Md.
9. Fail, J. L. Jr, B. L. Haines and R. L. Todd. Riparian forest communities and their role in nutrient conservation in an agricultural watershed. Amer. J. of Alternative Agriculture 2(3):114-121
10. Haines, B. L. 1979. Acid precipitation in southeastern United States: A brief review. Georgia Journal of Science 37:185-191.
11. Haines, B. L., J. V. Nabholz, and S. DuBois. Rainfall element content and acidity, Athens, Georgia. Water Resources Bulletin. (Submitted).
12. Haines, B., M. Stefani, and F. Hendrix. 1980. Acid Rain: threshold of leaf damage in eight plant species from a southern Appalachian forest succession. Water, Air and Soil Pollution. 14:403-407.
13. Haines, B. and J. Chapman and Monk. 1985. Rates of mineral elements leaching from leaves of nine southern Appalachian plant species subjected to simulated acid rain. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 112(3): 258-264.
14. Haines, B. Rates of element leaching from litter of a southern Appalachian hardwood forest subjected to simulated acid rain. Pedobiologia. (Submitted).
15. Neufeld, H. S., J. A. Jernstedt, and B. L. Haines. 1985. Direct Foliar Effects of simulated acid rain. I. Damage,growth and gas exchange. New Phytol. 99:389-405.
16. Haines, B. L., J. A. Jernstedt, and H. S. Neufeld. 1985. Direct Foliar Effects of simulated acid rain. II. Leaf surface characteristics. New Phytol. 99:407-416.
17. Haines, B. and J. Waide. 1980. Predicting potential impacts of acid rain on elemental cycling in a southern Appalachian deciduous forest at Coweeta. pp. 335-340. In Hutchinson, T. C. and M. Havas (eds). Effects of acid precipitation on Terrestrial Ecosystems. Plenum Publishing Corp. New York.
18. Haines, B. and W. T. Swank. 1987. Studies of acid precipitation effects on forest processes. In Swank, W. T. and D. A. Crossley, Jr. (eds.). Forest Hydrology and Ecology at Coweeta. Springer-Verlag, New York.
19. Haines, B. L. and C.L. Carlson (1989) Effects of acid precipitation on trees pages 1-27. In Adriano, D. C. and A. H. Johnson (eds.) Advances in Environmental Science. Acid Precipitation, Vol. 2: Biological and Ecological Effects. Springer-Verlag, New York.
20. Clark, H. L., K. E. Clark, and B. L. Haines. 1980. Acid rain in Venezuelan Amazon. pp. 683-685 in Furtado, J. I. (ed). Tropical Ecology and Development. International Society for Tropical Ecology, Kuala Lumpur.
21. Haines, B. L., C. F. Jordan, H. Clark, and K. Clark. 1983. Acid rain in an Amazon rain forest. Tellus. 35b 77-80.18.
22. Haines, B. L. 1983. Forest ecosystem SO4-S input-output discrepancies and acid rain: are they related? OIKOS. 41:139-143.
23. Haines, B., M. Black, J. Fail, L. McHargue and G. Howell. 1987. Potential sulfur emissions from a tropical rain forest and a southern Appalachian deciduous forest. In Hutchinson, T. C. and K. Meema. (eds) Effects of atmospheric pollutants on forests, wetlands, and agricultural ecosystems, Springer-Verlag, New York.
24. Haines, B., M. Black and C. Bayer. Sulfur gas emissions from roots of the rain forest tree Stryphnodendron excelsum Harms in Costa Rica, Central America. In Saltzman, E. and W. Cooper (eds). Biogenic sulfur in the environment. ACS symposium series, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.
25. Piluk, J., P. G. Hartel, and B. L. Haines. 1998. Production of carbon disulfide (CS2) from L-djenkolic acid in the roots of Mimosa pudica. L. Plant and Soil 200:27-32
26. Hartel, P.G. and B. L. Haines. 1992. Effects of potential plant CS2 emissions on bacterial growth in the rhizosphere. Soil Biol. Biochem. 24(3):219-224.
27. Haines, B. L., L. McHargue, and M. Black. Carbon disulfide emissions from tropical forest plants: ecosystem and community implications. Ecology (in revision).
28. Haines, B. L. 1991. Identification and quantification of sulfur gases emitted from soils, leaf litter, and live plant parts. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment 34:437-477.
29. Haines, B. L. 1975. Impact of Leaf-Cutting Ants on Vegetation Development at Barro Colorado Island. In Golley, F. B. & E. Medina, eds. Tropical Ecological System: Trends in Terrestrial and Aquatic Research. Springer-Verlag, N. Y. Volume II Ecological Studies, Analysis and Synthesis.
30. Haines, B. L. 1978. Element and energy flows through colonies of leaf-cutting any, Atta colombica in Panama. Biotropica 19(4):270-277.
31. Patelle, M., B. L. Haines and E. B. Haines. 1979. Insect food preferences analyzed using 13C/12C ratios. Oecologia (Berl.) 38:159-166.
32. Haines, B. L. 1983. Leaf-cutting ants bleed mineral elements of rain forest in southern Venezuela. Tropical Ecology. 24(1):85-93.
33. Haines, B., D. A. Crossley, Jr., and B. K. Reynolds. Defoliation of a southern Appalachian hardwood forest by fall cankerworm Alsophila pometaria: impact on throughfall, litter, soil and stream solution chemistry. Selbyana (in prep.)
34. Montagnini, F., B. L. Haines, L. Boring, and W. T. Swank. 1986. Nitrification potentials in early successional black locust and in mixed hardwood forest stands in southern Appalachians. USA. Biogeochemistry 2:197-210.
35. Montagnini, F., B. Haines, and W. T. Swank. 1989. Factors controlling nitrification in soils of early successional and oak-hickory forests in the southern Appalachians. Forest Ecology and Management.26:77-94.
36. Montagnini, F., B. L. Haines. and J. B. Waide. 1989. Nitrification in undisturbed mixed hardwoods and manipulated forests in the southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 19:1226-1234.
37. Montagnini, F., B. Haines, and W. T. Swank. 1991. Soil-solution chemistry in black locust, pine/mixed hardwoods, and oak/hickory forest stands in the southern Appalachians. USA. Forest Ecology and Management 40:199-208.
38. Boring, L. R., D. L. White and B. L. Haines. 1987. Litterfall and throughfall nitrogen transfers in black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and pine-hardwood stands. Nitrogen Fixing Tree Research Reports 5:54-56.
39. White, D. L., B. L. Haines, and L. R. Boring. 1988. Litter decomposition in southern Appalachian black locust and pine-hardwood stands: litter quality and nitrogen dynamics. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 18(1): 54-63.
40. Haines, B., L. Boring, F. Montagnini, D. White, A. Harker, and C. Berish. Controls of NO3 loss from a successional southern Appalachian forest (in prep).
41. Qualls, R. G. and B. L. Haines. 1990. The influence of humic substances on the aerobic decomposition of submerged leaf litter. Hydrobiologia. 206:133-138. *
42. Qualls, R. G. and B. L. Haines. 1991. Geochemistry of dissolved organic nutrients in water percolating through a forest ecosystem. Soil Science Society of America Journal 53:1112-1123.
43. Qualls, R. G. B. L. Haines, and W. T. Swank. 1991. Fluxes of dissolved organic nutrients and humic substances in a deciduous forest. Ecology 72:254-266.
44. Qualls, R. G. and Bruce L. Haines. 1992. Biodegradability of dissolved organic matter in forest throughfall, soil solution and stream water. Soil Science Society of America Journal 56 :578-586.
45. Qualls, R. G. and Bruce L. Haines. 1992. Measuring adsorption isotherms using continuous, unsaturated flow through intact cores. Soil Science Society of America Journal 56:456-460. *
46. Haines, B. y C. Peterson. 1998. El desarrollo sustentable en montanas desde la perspectiva de un ecologo: "Proyecto Charral" in Costa Rica. Geografia Aplicada y Desarollo 18(37):33-42 (Numero especial dedicado al III Simposio Internacional "Desarrollo Sustentable de Montanas")
STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS COMPLETED OR IN PROGRESS IN HAINES' LAB, FOLLOWED BY A STATEMENT OF HAINES' PHILOSOPHY OF GRADUATE EDUCATION
A. GRADUATED:
Argo, Barry. M.S. Botany 1998. Macroclimate and microclimate effects on flowering phenology and habitat distribution of Caulophyllum Berberidaceae) in the Southern Appalachian mountains. Presently: in California working for EDAW Services, (Planning and urban design, landscape architecture, resource management).
Brown, Jeff. M.S. Botany, 1985. Growth and nutrient uptake of plants in a deciduous forest succession. Was in U.S. Peace Corps, Somoa, presumably now teaching high school biology.
Cammack, Shannon Elizabeth. M.S. Botany, 1994. Seedling recruitment and growth on hurricane-disturbed plots in a subtropical wet forest in Puerto Rico: The role of abiotic influences in the regeneration niche. Presently: Performing a survey of riparian vegetation for The Georgia Conservancy Ga.
Davis, Jon Paul. M.S. Botany. 1997. Fine root dynamics along an elevational gradient in the Southern Appalachian Mountains,USA. Presently: technician, School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC
Fail, Joe. Ph.D. Botany, 1983. Structure, biomass, production, and element accumulation in riparian forests of an agricul-tural Watershed.Assistant Professor of Biology, Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, NC
Gibb, Dorothy. Ph. D. Botany, 1988. Aluminum distribution in a southern appalachian forested watershed. Presently: Law Environmental Inc. Washington, DC
Griffith, C. M.S. Botany. 1993. Relations between leaf nutrient concentrations and mineralization rates along an elevational gradient in the Southeastern Appalachians, USA. Presently: Ph.D. Student, Univ. of Kentucky
Hammond, Elizabeth. MS. Botany, 1996. Regeneration of understory shrubs in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Presently: technician measuring carbon fluxes and storages at Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA
Hamzah, Muhamad Nasir. Ph.D. Ecology, 1983. Root biomass, production and decomposition in the riparian forests of an agricultural watershed. Presently President, IQRA Institute, Sereben, Negri Sembilan, West Malaysia
Howell, Ginger Page. M.S. Botany, 1986. Comparative photosynthesis and nutrient uptake of plants in a southern Appalachian succession. Presently: with environmental consulting company, Redman & Johnson Assoc. LTD, Easton, Maryland.
Kimber, Anne. M.S. Botany, 1980. Effects of mycorrhizae and nitrogen source on growth and nutrient retention in Pinus virginiana seedlings. Recently competed a Ph.D. in Botany at Iowa State University.
Klockeman, Donna. 1987. Effect of soil acidification on soil chemistry and the growth, biomass and nutrient allocation patterns of four species of forest tree seedlings. Recently completed a Ph.D. in Food Science, U. of GA.
May, Georgiana. M.S. Botany, 1980. Effects of nitrogen source and mycorrhizae on photosynthesis of seedling of virginia and loblolly pine. Presently Asst. Professor., Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul.
Neufeld, Howard, Ph.D. Botany, 1984. Comparative ecophysiology of pondcypress (Taxodium ascendens Brongn.) and baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich). Presently: Associate Professor, Biology Department, Appalachian State, Boone, North Carolina
Qualls, Gerald. Ph.D. 1989. Ecology. Formation, translocation, and loss of dissolved organic nitrogen in forest ecosystems. Presently: Assistant Professor, Wetlands Ecology, University of Nevada.
Reilly, Anne Elizabeth. Ph. D. Ecology. 1994. Natural disturbance and short-term forest dynamics in three caribbean forests on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Presently: West Palm Beach, Fla., job hunting near where her husband works.
Schmidt, John Paul. M.S. Botany. 1994. Diversity of mesic forest floor herbs within forests on the blue ridge plateau (USA): the role of the blue ridge escarpment as a refugium for disturbance sensitive species. Presently: Institute for Community Development, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. working as a GIS technician.
Sutcliffe, Michael. M.S. Botany. 1987. Mortality factors for the locust stem borer, Megacyllene robiniae (Forster) (Coleoptera: Cerambycideae), and interaction with its host black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia L. (Fabaceae). Presently: somewhere in England.
Weiss, Edward. Ph.D. Botany, 1980. The effects of fire and nutrient availability on the pitcher plant Sarracenia flava. Presently: Associate Professor of Biology, Christopher Newport College, Newport News, Virginia.
White, David. M.S. Botany, 1986. Litter decomposition in Black Locust and in pine mixed hardwood stands in the southern Appalachians.Presently: Research scientist, U.S.F.S. Clemson, S. C..
B. CURRENT STUDENTS:
Bailey, Debra. Goal, Environmental Ethics program. Environmental Ethics Certificate. Ethical considerations in land use planning.
Boonito, Gergory. Goal MS Botany. Entered Fall of 1999. Spatial relations between roots and fungi along temperature and moisture gradients. Coweeta Hydrologic Lab., Coweeta LTER.
Heaton, Andrew. Goal Ph.D. Ecology. Entered Spring 1997. Transgenic plants for bioremediation of mercury contaminated field sites. (Haines as co-major professor with Dr. Richard Meagher, Head, Genetics Dept.)
Piluk, Jason. Goal Ph.D. Botany. Entered Fall 1996. Changes in sulfur gas emissions from pine and hardwood trees in relation to changes in nitrogen inputs.
Ruderfer, Isidor (Dory). Goal MS Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development. Entered Fall 1995. Sustainable land use and shifting agriculture in the tropics.
Totin, Elissa. Goal MS Botany, Entered Fall 1999. Rainforest regeneration following Hurricane Georges, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Luquillo LTER, Puerto Rico.
Wells, Heather. Goal. MS, Botany. Entered Winter 1996. Ecology of the leaf cutting ant Atta cephalotes in Costa Rica.
C. POST DOCTORAL STUDENTS:
Boring, Lindsay. 1983-1984. Mechanisms of NO3 loss from a successional southern Appalachian forest. Presently: Director, J. J. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, Ga.
Chapman, James. 1979-1980. Element leaching from leaves of 9 successional species from a deciduous forest. Assistant Professor, School of Agriculture. West Texas State University, Canyon, Texas.
Haines philosophy of graduate education.
The students listed above picked their own projects. For better or worse they have to live with that decision. My guiding philosophy is that the most important thing in graduate education is to learn how to:
1. Ask the critical questions about how biology and the universe operate.
2. Design an investigation to answer those questions.
3. Write grant proposals or research contracts to get the investigation paid for.
4. Get the results published so that the information becomes available to the citizens who paid for the research.
5. Recycle the whole process back to step 1.
A:\RESIN.DOS
The University of Georgia
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Botany
Haines' office phone 706-542-1837
E-mail: haines@dogwood.botany.uga.edu
April 2000
Mr./ Ms. Applicant;
Any Street/Town/ Country
RE: Graduate Study at University of Georgia
Dear Applicant:
I am recruiting student applicants for the a) Botany Department MS and Ph.D. programs, b) Institute of Ecology Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development MS program, c) Institute of Ecology MS program, and d) Institute of Ecology Ph.D. program. You may also be interested in the Environmental Ethics Program.
I am enclosing a copy of my research interests, a list of graduate student research projects completed or in progress in my lab group and a statement of my philosophy of graduate education.
The plant ecology group in Botany has greatly changed in the past five years. Dr. Christopher Peterson joined us in April of 1994 as our plant community ecologist. Dr. Lisa Donovan joined us in January 1995 as our plant ecophysiologist. Dr. Steve Hubbell joined us in August 1999. I am usually labeled as the ecosystem ecologist, but I am interested in nearly all aspects of ecology. We faculty find that we have many shared research interests. We have been discussing research projects which no one of us could possibly do alone. In fact Peterson and I have obtained NSF funds to study forest regeneration and conservation in a montane forest in Costa Rica. Dr. Donovan may join in this venture in later funding periods after the ecophysiology questions have been identified at the field site. When Drs. Peterson, Donovan, Hubbell and I are together, I sense an eagerness to lend our different experiences to help each others graduate students and to help each other.Another Botany Faculty member, Dr. Rebecca Sharitz, based at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), South Carolina has several students working with wetlands ecology. She comes to Athens several times each month.
These 4 faculty members, Donovan, Haines, Peterson, and Sharitz, are major professors for 22 MS and Ph.D. plant ecology students in the Botany and Ecology graduate programs.
If you wish to learn more about the Botany Department faculty research programs, teaching programs, and facilities, you may wish to visit our web site at http://dogwood.botany.uga.edu
Further information about faculty, programs, and facilities in the Institute of Ecology, visit the web site at http://www.ecology.uga.edu.
Other University of Georgia plant ecologists, both faculty and students are found in the Departments of Geography, Crop and Soil Science, Institute of Ecology and School of Forest Resources
Botany graduate students are an unusually interactive and cooperative group. Notable are regularly scheduled student lead discussion seminars of students' past research and current research. This Plant Ecology Group (PEG) meets each Friday during the school year from 4:00 pm to whenever. Regularly scheduled student organized 4:00 pm Friday seminars were unheard of in my experience in this department before 1994. I do not know of similar student organized seminars in the Institute of Ecology
If you or your friends wish to receive application materials from Botany, visit our web site. Alternatively you may request these materials by telephone at 706-542-1809, or by US Mail or by FAX (706-542-1805) addressed to Elizabeth Williams, Secretary to the Graduate Coordinator, or by e-mail (admit@dogwood.botany.uga.edu). You may also apply electronically to the Graduate School by visiting http://www.gradsch.uga.edu
If you or your friends wish to receive application materials from the Institute of Ecology you can contact Ms. Patsy Pittman, Secretary to the Graduate Coordinator, telephone at 706-542-3404 or by e-mail at ppittman@arches.uga.edu
Some words of advice about applications for graduate school: The readers of applications are busy people with their own research, graduate students, teaching, families etc. and they often must evaluate between 50 and 200 application files each year. Other factors being equal, the more "reader friendly" your application is, the better your chances of gaining admission and financial support. The information should be neatly typed. Ask writers of letters to reference to have them typed. Give particular attention to your personal statement of career goals. A rambling statement of your life history (where you have been) will not work. Write a clear statement of where you are going. Get advisors and friends to help you sharpen this statement to make it both clear and memorable Career goals might include one of the following: research for a governmental agency, non-governmental agency, teaching only perhaps at a small college, teaching and research at a research university. List some of the research ideas you want to pursue for your MS thesis, for your Ph. D. dissertation and after graduate school. Explain why thee ideas are significant in terms of changing paradigms. If you are interested in teaching, list topic areas you want to teach. Examples might be introductory botany, ecology, conservation biology etc. Explain why you want to teach these courses.
You may wish to apply to several University of Georgia graduate programs simultaneously. See item 4 at the bottom of Page 9 in the booklet "Application for Admission." Then, look at page 7 and find Botany MS Code 117, Botany Ph.D. Code 117a, Conservation and Sustainable Development MS Code 167, Ecology Ph.D. Code 224. "Major" names and "codes" are entered into line 4. This form goes to the graduate school. Letters of reference go to graduate coordinators of each of the programs you are applying for.
The Botany Department has a "recruitment weekend" in the early part of each calendar year. The most promising 10 to 15 applicants are invited to 3 days of interviews, tours, and social events.
A check list of enclosures is given below. This general letter is being sent to several students. Not all students will receive all enclosures. For example, if you already have an MS degree, I did not send you information about MS degree programs.
If you wish to learn more about the Haines and Peterson forest regeneration project in Southern Costa Rica, look at the description and color photos provided on Dr. Peterson's web page.
If you wish to learn more about Haines research as part of the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in the Southern Appalachian deciduous forest visit the web site at http://coweeta.ecology.uga.edu. Information about Haines research as part of the Luquillo LTER project in the rain forest in Puerto Rico can be found at http://sunceer.upr.clu.edu
The courses I teach are Botany 8850 Terrestrial Biogeochemical Cycling during fall semesters of odd numbered years, Botany 8877 Communities and Ecosystems of the World during the spring semesters of even numbered years and Bot 8840 Plant Ecology Seminar during the same semesters that I offer Bot 8850 and Botany 8877. More detailed descriptions of the courses are found at the Botany Department web site as follows: http://www.botany.uga.edu/Courses.html
If you are interested in further communication with me (I hope you are interested) please understand that I work for the University of Georgia on a 9 month contract from September to May only thus I may be difficult to contact during June-July-August. My office and laboratory are in the Botany Department in the Miller Plant Science building. I work in the Institute of Ecology facility on an irregular basis thus letters from you that are addressed to me at the Institute of Ecology could sit in my mail box there for days, weeks, or months. Often I am doing field work in Costa Rica and in Puerto Rico.
Feel free to write again to telephone, to e-mail, or to visit or all of the above. If you decide to visit, please let me and my students help you in making local arrangements for interviews with relevant graduate coordinators, graduate coordinator's secretaries, faculty, other graduate students, a place to stay, and tours of various facilities
Sincerely,
Bruce Haines
Associate Professor of Botany
Copy: Dr. Steve Hubbell, Graduate Coordinator, Botany & Dr. William Fitt, Graduate Coordinator, Ecology
Enclosure check list
__1. Application for admission, The University of Georgia
__2. Botany Department Information, MS. and h.D. programs
__ a. Faculty Research pamphlet
__ b. Important Application Directions, Department of Botany
__ c. Background and Interest Form, Department of Botany
__ d. Letter from Dr. Kochert, Graduate Coordinator
__ e. BGSA (Botany Graduate Student Association) letter to prospective applicants.
__3. Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development MS, Institute of Ecology.
__ a. Descriptive Booklet
__ b. Letter from Dr. Carol Hoffman, Program Coordinator
__4. Institute of Ecology Ph.D. Program
__ a. Descriptive Booklet
__ b. Ph.D. Program in Ecology, Background & Interest Form
__ c. Letter from Dr. William Fitt, Graduate Coordinator
__ d. Ecology Course List
__5. Environmental Ethics
__ a. Handbook
__ b. Graduate Certificate Program
__6. Research interests, graduate students, and philosophy of B. Haines.