Kathleen H. Keeler

Prairie Dynamics

I am studying the population dynamics of prairie plant species.  Very few native prairie species have been studied in any detail and for most life history details are unknown.

I permanently marked plants populations and have been following the fate of individuals.  Research sites include  in the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, Boulder, CO, Arapaho Prairie, Arthur Co, NE and  prairie remnants in Lancaster Co, NE, including Nine-Mile Prairie and Pioneers Park.

Species studied include Andropogon gerardii (Poaceae), Artemisia frigida (Asteraceae), Escobaria missouriensis (Cactaceae), Eriogonun alatum (Polygonaceae), Evolvulus nuttallianus (Convolvulaceae), Ipomoea leptophylla (Convolvulaceae), Opuntia macrorhiza (Cactaceae), Pediomelum (Psoralea) esculentum (Fabaceae), Psordalidium (Psoralea) tenuifolium (Fabaceae), Talinum parviflorum (Portulacaceae), and Yucca glauca (Agavaceae).

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for spatial analyses offer exciting applications for tracking plant population dynamics.  GIS maps allow conveniently following population change and by far the best method of measuring the area of odd-shaped clones.

One measure of plant success in grasslands is clonal spread.  The map below represents a population of Andropogon gerardii in the City of Boulder Open Space in 1995 and 1999. Key:  blue = 60 chromosome Andropogon gerardii in 1999, red 90 chromosomes in 1999, purple = hybrids between 60 and 90 chromosome cytotypes in 1999.  Outline = same clone in 1995.

Papers on Prairie Dynamics

• Keeler, K.H. 2004. Impact of intraspecific polyploidy in Andropogon gerardii (Poaceae) populations. American Midland Naturalist. 152:63-74.
• Weller, S. G., K. H. Keeler, and B. A. Thomson. 2000. Clonal growth of Lithospermum caroliniense  (Boraginaceae) in contrasting sand dune habitats. American Journal of Botany. 87: 237-242.
• Keeler, K.H. 2000.  Influence of past interactions on the prairie today : a hypothesis.  Great Plains Research 10: 107-126.
• Keeler, K.H. 1991. Survivorship and recruitment in a long-lived perennial Ipomoea leptophylla (Convolvulaceae). American Midland Naturalist 126:44-60.