Brian R. Maricle Research (Curriculum Vitae)

 

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Interests

Responses of plants to flooding

o   Environmental factors influencing species zonation in estuaries and wetlands

o   Physiological, biochemical, and anatomical factors influencing flooding tolerance in plants

o   Effects of low oxygen levels on respiration and nitrogen assimilation in plants

o   Roles of flooding tolerance in the success of wetland invasive species

o   Novel capabilities of plants beneficial to agriculture and phytoremediation

Effects of environment on photosynthesis in plants

o   Effects of drought and salinity on stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, and transpiration

o   Physiological, biochemical, and anatomical factors influencing drought and salinity tolerance in plants

o   Roles of latent, sensible, and radiative heat exchange under changing environmental conditions

o   Physiological and biochemical responses to oxidative stress in plants

o   Carbon and hydrogen isotope physiology in photosynthesis and transpiration

o  Effects of chilling on photosynthetic light harvesting, gas exchange, and carbon metabolism

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My research involves investigating physiological, biochemical, anatomical, and biophysical adaptations that enable plants to live under conditions of environmental stress. Much of my work has focused on responses of wetland and estuarine plants to conditions of flooding and salinity. During my graduate research, I studied how estuarine Spartina grasses (Poaceae) tolerate coastal mudflat conditions. I identified several physiological and biochemical features that contribute to flooding tolerance and estuarine zonation, including internal oxygen transport, anaerobic respiration capacity, aerobic demand, and oxygen affinity. Since then, my students and I have expanded my work to investigate processes in other systems. My students are now working on projects to characterize species zonation in freshwater wetlands, mechanisms of flooding tolerance in freshwater plants, effects of drought on prairie grasses, effects of creek drying on riparian plants, effects of oil well brine on plant productivity, and nitrate assimilation in wetland plants. Our work is helping to characterize general mechanisms of drought or waterlogging tolerance across plants, including other economically important crop species or ecologically relevant systems like wetlands.

 

Current Projects in the Lab

1.          Structure-function relationships in Spartina leaves in relation to ecological species distributions

2.          Nitrate reductase activities in wetland plants

3.          Mechanisms of flooding tolerance in freshwater marsh species

4.          Explaining the success of aquatic invasive species by physiological mechanisms

5.          Halophyte water relations, photosynthesis, and energy balances

6.          Effects of oil well brine on plant productivity

7.          Effects of creek drying on photosynthesis and transpiration in riparian trees

8.          Survey of ascorbic acid concentration and osmolality in orange juice and apple juice from a local grocer

9.          Effects of diet and activity on δ13C of hair and breath in humans

10.     Mechanisms of chilling-tolerant C4 photosynthesis in Spartina

11.     Effects of drought on native prairie grasses

12.     Oxidative stress during de-etiolation in seedlings

13.     Factors influencing aerenchyma development in Spartina roots

14.     Nitrogen fixation in barrel medic (Medicago truncatula)

 

Current and Recent Lab Members

 

 

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Kristen A. Polacik, M.S. student

B.S., Marshall University

Hometown: New Martinsville, WV

Lab member since: August 2008

Thesis project: Effects of flooding on competitive success of invasive Tamarix (salt cedar)

 

 

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Elizabeth (Lizz) F. Waring, M.S. student

B.S., University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

Lab member since: August 2008

Thesis project: Effects of flooding on native and non-native grasses

Fleharty Fellowship project: Mechanisms of chilling-tolerant C4 photosynthesis in Spartina

 

 

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Aaron M. Pfeifer, B.S. student

Major: Pre-Med

Hometown: Hays, KS

Lab member: 2007 - 2009

Project: Effects of diet and activity on food usage and storage in FHSU students by stable isotope analyses

Project: Survey of ascorbic acid concentration and osmolality in orange juice and apple juice from a local grocer

 

 

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Cali R. Parker, B.S. student

Major: Accounting

Hometown:

Lab member since: October 2008

Project: Mechanisms of chilling-tolerant C4 photosynthesis in Spartina

 

 

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Jordan J. Brungardt, B.S. student

Major: Biology

Hometown: Hays, KS

Lab member since: June 2007

Project: Effects of oil well brine on soil salinity and plant performance

Project: Nitrogen fixation in barrel medic (Medicago truncatula)

 

 

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Shi He

B.S., Wuhan University

Hometown: Wuhan, China

Lab member: 2007-2008

Project: Nitrate reductase activity and expression in Spartina (Poaceae)

 

 

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S. Rich Zwenger, Lab technician

M.S. and B.S., Fort Hays State University

Hometown: Hays, KS

Lab member: Summer 2007

Project: Effect of creek drying on photosynthesis and transpiration of riparian trees

 

Student Involvement

 

My work is well-suited for student involvement, and I have always involved students in my work. Students can gain valuable lab/field experience and ″hands-on″ learning, and I am happy for the help in the lab or field. If you are a current FHSU student and are interested in work similar to what is described here, feel free to contact me to discuss the possibility of work in my lab. Feel free to get in touch to discuss possibilities.

 

Interested in becoming a graduate student in my lab? Read this.

 

M.S. assistantship available to study physiological ecology in big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) ecotypes

 

 

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Text and photos by Brian R. Maricle, 2008, Fort Hays State University Department of Biological Sciences

 

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last updated 28 August 2009