Research Interests

Fire ecology: Proper management of the Archbold landscape is necessary to meet a variety of needs. Many research projects depend on aspects of land management. Activities such as fire management, exotic species removal, and restoration of disturbed sites provide opportunities for both short term and long term research. For example, changes in species populations over time as a result of disturbance (generally fire) are an important aspect of many of the research projects on the Station. The property is maintained to provide habitat suitable for the many threatened and endangered species found here. The land area of many Florida ecosystems, such as scrub, has been greatly reduced, with only a fraction of the original area undisturbed. It is vital to maintain these sites as refugia for the many plants and animals endemic to these ecosystems. While fire shapes the landscape in dramatic ways, exotic, invasive species shape it over time. Invasive plant species such as Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium microphyllum) and Cogon Grass (Imperata cylindrical) are difficult to eradicate and can destroy large areas of native habitat if left unchecked. It is necessary to monitor the effects management treatments, whether it be the result of prescribed fires or invasive species treatments. Monitoring of these activities will help direct future efforts at keeping the Archbold property an example of the pristine scrub ecosystem that it is today.

Publications

Main, K.S., and E.S. Menges. 1997. Archbold Biological Station, Station Fire Management Plan. Archbold Biological Station, Land Management Publication 97-1, 95 pp. html link

Responsibilities at Archbold:

• Oversee all aspects of fire management, including planning and conducting prescribed fires, coordinating response to wildfires, fire monitoring (GIS mapping), fire training, burn unit site preparation, and providing researchers and interns with information on fire history and proposed burn plans.
• Oversee all exotic species eradication on the property. Includes locating populations, herbicide or mechanical treatment, marking locations with GPS, supervising assistance by staff and volunteers, safety training, and equipment maintenance
• Assist Restoration Ecology Program with land management activities necessary to aid restoration projects
• Collect data for several monitoring projects: seasonal pond depth (monthly), groundwater wells depth and water quality (monthly), staff gauges (monthly), Lake Annie limnology (monthly), photopoints (yearly), live fuel moisture (monthly), and weather data (daily)
• Administrative tasks: budgeting, program development, grant writing