Bruce E. Hall
Miami University
Department of Botany
Oxford,
OH, 45056
Office: Pearson
Hall 333, 513-529-4200
Email:
hallbe2@muohio.edu
M.S. Botany Miami University (in progress)
B.S. Biololgy University of Tampa, 2004
Curriculum Vitae (coming soon)
I
originally hail from the great state of Maine, where I was born and
raised in a small fishing community east of Bar Harbor (or downeast as
the locals call it). Currently I am a graduate student in the
Department
of Botany at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Areas of Interest
- Global
climate change effects on biodiversity, range shifts, and subsequent
land use/management prescriptions associated with changing environments
- Mycorrhizal ecology and their influence on plant community biodiversity
- Plant & Macrofungal Identification & habitat specificity
Current Research
My graduate research has taken me back to downeast Maine. I am working with Acadia National Park, Maine Coastal Island National Wildlife Refuge, and The Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy to study rare disjunct jack pine communities.
Community Dynamics of Disjunct Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.)
Jack pine is
the most widespread pine species in North America. It ranges from
the MacKenzie River Valley, Northwest Territories, Canada east to Nova
Scotia, Canada and south to the northern Great Lake States and northern
New England, USA. Jack pine is a shade intolerant species that
bears serotinous cones (requires fire to open cones/release seeds).
Without fire, jack pine populations will exhibit a mono-specific
age structure without continuous recruitment and will eventually be
replaced (80-100 yrs.) by more shade tolerant spruce-fir forests.
In
contrast, the southeastern extent of jack pine is represented by a few
(>30) small isolated disjunct populations that are restriced to
granite rock outcrops on the downeast coast of Maine. These
disjunct populations exhibit a multi-aged structure with continuous
recruiument in the absence of fire or any other large scale
disturbances in recent time (>300 yrs.).
The
state of Maine recognizes jack pine communities as a rare community
type. However, there is little scientific understanding (ie.,
quantitative data) of the composition of these communities. In
other words we are not sure exactly what we are protecting! Going
forward, it is vital for land managers to have a baseline understanding
of the composition of these communities, especially not knowing what
effects global climate change may have at local scales to most
effectively manage these communities.
Coastal Plateau Bogs
Coastal
pleateau bogs are a globally rare bog community that occupy a
narrow band of coastlline from Maine to
Newfoundland and can also be found in the Baltic region of Europe.
Coastal plateau bogs are ombrotrophic, meaning they depend on
atmospheric nutrient inputs. They are characterized by a by a
well-raised
flattened expanse bordered by an abrupt marginal slope and contain
predominently coastal floristics not found in surrounding bogs.
Ombrotrophic bogs, as a result of their nutrient input source,
provide an excellent system to
study biodiversity and community composition changes as a result of
global climate change, increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and other
air
pollutants.
Recently (>100 yrs.) jack pine has
expaned into a number of coastal plateau bogs on the coast of Maine.
This expansion has occurred without fire or other disturbances.
Where jack pine occurs in bogs it is the most dominant tree
species present with intermittent black spruce (Picea mariana) and larch (Larix larcina). Whereas, in bogs with no jack pine present black spruce and
larch are co-dominant. I seek to identify what abiotic factors
might be contributing/driving the expansion of jack pine from dry
granite rock outcrops sites to moist coastal plateau bogs.
Fungal Matters
Some have said that I am most passionate about
hunting wild mushrooms (my close
friends and
students could vouch for this). An enthusiasm with which I am forever indebted
to Matt Greer and Cedar.
If you have any information
you would like to share regarding
the where abouts of some of the
most wanted
delectable fungi (morels,
oysters, chantrelles, etc.) please feel free to
contact me. I would be more than happy to
dispose of them at no inconvenience to yourself!!
And for those of you who might have noticed, the answer is yes, this is a
photo of a
black morel (Morchella elata)
fruiting in a riparian area
at 4500 ft. with horstails (Equisetum spp.).
This unusual occurrence was photographged in
Idaho. Unfortunatley, as with all avid mushroom
hunters, the exact location will remain undiscolosed.
Fungi/gal Links
MushroomExpert.com
Mycological Society of America
Tom Volk's Fungi - be sure to check out the Fungus of the Month!!
Tree of Life
Friends
Below
I have posted a few links to websites of some very good friends of
mine. Please feel free to check out what they are up to!!
Melanie Link-Perez
Fellow botanist & MU graduate student, Melanie is FERNTASTIC!!
Molly Barger Steinwald
Well
versed in many fields of wildlife ecology but with particular affinity
for those rascally rodentia. Molly is also an AMAZING self
trained photographer. Check out her work. She recently had
an exhibit at the Sundance Film Festival. Way to go Molly!!
Links
Botanical Sites
Arthur Haines Web Page - Up to date nomenclatural systems and keys for flora of New England.
Carex Interactive Identification Key Ver. 9.2 - Absolutely amazing interactive key for Carex created by the patient Tim Jones.
Silvics of North America - Silvical characteristics of about 200 forest tree species and varieties are described.
Herbaria
W.S. Turrell Herbarium - Largest herbarium in the state of Ohio!!
University of Maine Herbaria
Freeware
NeoOffice
- full-featured set of office applications (including word
processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and database programs)
for Mac OS X. Based on the OpenOffice.org office suite.
R-Project - a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics.
R-Listserv - help with R for beginners and intermediate level users.
MU Field Botany Club Listserv - keep up to date with botanizing/forays and other naturalist activities in the Oxford area.