Dr. Michael W. Palmer

Professor of Botany

Adjunct Professor of Zoology

Laboratory for Innovative Biodiversity Research and Analysis
(L.I.B.R.A.)
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Email: mike.palmer@okstate.edu
Office: 116 Life Sciences East
Phone: 405-744-7717
Fax: 405-744-7074
Mailing Address: 104 Life Sciences East, Stillwater OK 74078-3013

 



TEACHING:

BIOL 3034 General Ecology - Every Semester. See the General Ecology Web Page.

 

 BOT 4023/5023 Community Ecology. Fall semesters of even-numbered years. Prerequisite: BIOL 3034 or equivalent. This class builds upon General Ecology and discusses questions of coexistence, stability, succession, equilibrium, gradient analysis, competition. It a literature and discussion-intensive course.

 

BOT 5533 Advanced Ecology: Multivariate Methods. Fall semesters of odd-numbered years. Prerequisite: coursework in ecology and at least one statistics class. This course is a combination of lectures and computer laboratories, with homework but no examinations. The main project consists of analyzing a large data set of the student's choosing (it can be part of the student's thesis or dissertation work). Several student projects in the past have lead to publications.

 

BOT 5110 Biodiversity Seminar.  Recent issues in the study of biodiversity.

RESEARCH:

Publications

I study the determinants of species richness at all spatial scales, from the microcosm to the continent. I have used a variety of methods, including meta-analysis of floristic data, greenhouse microcosms, computer simulations, permanent plot data, and field experiments. Particular projects include an analysis of North American floras, analysis of ordination methods, studies on microcommunities emerging from soil seed banks, the flora of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, the vegetation of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, the distribution of Costa Rican rain forest trees, analysis of species-area curves, methods for extrapolating biodiversity, applications of fractal geometry, forest dynamics in an old-growth North Carolina forest, succession following catastrophic wind disturbance in Minnesota, and several others. 

My two largest projects currently are the Floras of North America Project and the Plant Virus Biodiversity and Ecology project.  I also maintain the Ecology at OSU page.

I am eager to see applications for new graduate students, both at the Master's and PhD level.  Potential thesis projects include the effects of mowing on tallgrass prairie vegetation, the flora of Payne County (or any other county in Oklahoma), the flora of some of our state's parks, seedling dynamics at forest edges, effects of exotic species on grassland plants, distance decay of vegetation, snail distributions,  experimental studies of biodiversity, and many others.  As an adjunct professor in zoology, I would be happy to advise biodiversity studies with an animal theme.

Publications:

  • Palmer, M. W. 1986. Pattern in corticolous bryophyte communities of the North Carolina piedmont: Do mosses see the forest or the trees? Bryologist 89:59-65
  • Rich, P. M., K. Helenerm, D. Kearns, S. R. Morse, M. W. Palmer, and L. Short. 1986. Height and stem diameter relationships for dicotyledonous trees and arborescent palms of Costa Rican tropical wet forest. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 113:241-6  PDF from JSTOR
  • Palmer, M. W. 1987. Diameter distributions and the establishment of tree seedlings in the Henry M. Wright Preserve, Macon County, North Carolina. Castanea 52:87-94 Abstract
  • Palmer, M. W. 1987. Variability in species richness within Minnesota oldfields: a use of the variance test. Vegetatio 70:61-4 Abstract
  • Palmer, M. W.  1988.  Spatial scale and pattern in hardwood forests of the North Carolina Piedmont. PhD, Department of Botany, Duke University, North Carolina USA.
  • Palmer, M. W. 1988. Vegetation and anthropogenic disturbance of a Tongan secondary forest. Micronesica 21:279-81
  • Palmer, M. W. 1988. Fractal Geometry: a tool for describing spatial patterns of plant communities. Vegetatio 75:91-102 Abstract
  • Palmer, M. W. 1990. Vascular flora of the Duke Forest, North Carolina. Castanea 55:229-44 Abstract
  • Palmer, M. W. 1990. Spatial scale and patterns of species-environment relationships in hardwood forests of the North Carolina piedmont. Coenoses 5:79-87 PDF [posted with permission]
  • Palmer, M. W. 1990. Spatial scale and patterns of vegetation, flora and species richness in hardwood forests of the North Carolina piedmont. Coenoses 5:89-96 PDF [posted with permission]
  • Palmer, M. W. 1990. The estimation of species richness by extrapolation. Ecology 71:1195-8 PDF from JSTOR
  • Palmer, M. W., and P. M. Dixon. 1990. Small scale environmental variability and the analysis of species distributions along gradients. J. Veg. Sci. 1:57-65 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W. 1991. Estimating species richness: the second-order jackknife reconsidered. Ecology 72:1512-3 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W. 1991. Patterns of species richness among North Carolina hardwood forests: tests of two hypotheses. J. Veg. Sci. 2:361-6 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W. 1992. The coexistence of species in fractal landscapes. Am. Nat. 139:375-97 PDF from JSTOR
  • Palmer, M. W. 1993. Putting things in even better order: the advantages of canonical correspondence analysis. Ecology 74:2215-30 PDF from JSTOR
  • Palmer, M. W. 1993. Potential biases in site and species selection for ecological monitoring. Environ. Mon. Assess. 26:277-82 Abstract
  • Palmer, M. W. 1993. Vascular plant biodiversity in Oklahoma. Water Resources Res. A-124:1
  • Reed, R. A., M. W. Palmer, R. K. Peet, and P. S. White. 1993. Scale dependence of vegetation-environment correlations: a case study of a North Carolina piedmont woodland. J. Veg. Sci. 4:329-40 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W. 1994. Variation in species richness: towards a unification of hypotheses. Folia Geobot. Phytotax. 29:511-30 PDF [posted with permission]
  • Palmer, M. W., and P. S. White. 1994. Scale dependence and the species-area relationship. Am. Nat. 144:717-40 PDF from JSTOR
  • Palmer, M. W., and P. S. White. 1994. On the existence of communities. J. Veg. Sci. 5:279-82 PDF
  • Zobel, M., M. W. Palmer, K. Kull, and T. Herben, editors.  1994.  Special Features in Vegetation Science, 5: Vegetation structure and species coexistence. Opulus Press, Uppsala, Sweden.
  • Palmer, M. W. 1995. How should one count species? Nat. Areas J. 15:124-35  PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., and E. van der Maarel. 1995. Variance in species richness, species association, and niche limitation. Oikos 73:203-13 PDF [posted with permission]
  • Palmer, M. W., G. L. Wade, and P. R. Neal. 1995. Standards for the writing of floras. BioSci. 45:339-45. Conclusions
  • van der Maarel, E., V. Noest, and M. W. Palmer. 1995. Variation in species richness on small grassland quadrats: niche structure or small-scale plant mobility? J. Veg. Sci. 6:741-52 PDF
  • Harcombe, P. A., M. W. Palmer, and L. Mucina, editors.  1997.  The importance of spatial and temporal perspectives for understanding vegetation pattern and process. Opulus Press, Uppsala, Sweden. PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., and M. Hussain. 1997. The unimodal species richness-biomass relationship in plant communities emerging from soil seed banks. Proc. Okla. Acad. Sci. 77:17-26 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., and T. A. Maurer. 1997. Does diversity beget diversity? A case study of crops and weeds. J. Veg. Sci. 8:235-40 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W.  1998.  Canonical correspondence analysis: some advice and guidelines. Pages 171-187 in E. Kazmierczak, A. Nienartowicz, A. Piernik and J. Wilkon-Michalska, editors. Computer methods in investigation of the structure and functioning of the vegetation cover. Nicholas Copernicus University, Torun, Poland. Intro
  • Sparks, J. C., R. E. Masters, D. M. Engle, M. W. Palmer, and G. A. Bukenhofer. 1998. Effects of late growing-season and late dormant-season prescribed fire on herbaceous vegetation in restored pine-grassland communities. J. Veg. Sci. 9:133-42 PDF
  • Withers, M. A., M. W. Palmer, G. L. Wade, P. S. White, and P. R. Neal.  1998.  Changing patterns in the number of species in North American floras. Pages 23-32 in T. D. Sisk, editor. Perspectives on the Land-Use History of North America: A Context for Understanding our Changing Environment. USGS, Biological Resources Division, BSR/BDR-1998-0003 Link to online version
  • Arévalo, J. R., J.-M. Fernández-Palacios, and M. W. Palmer. 1999. Tree regeneration and predicted future dynamics in a laurel forest. J. Veg. Sci. 10:861-8 PDF
  • Boren, J. C., D. M. Engle, M. W. Palmer, R. E. Masters, and T. Criner. 1999. Land use change effects on breeding bird community composition. J. Range Manage. 52:420-30 Abstract
  • Clark, D. B., M. W. Palmer, and D. A. Clark. 1999. Edaphic factors and the landscape-scale distributions of tropical rain forest trees. Ecology 80:2662-75 PDF
  • Hallgren, E., M. W. Palmer, and P. Milberg. 1999. Data diving with cross validation: an investigation of broad-scale gradients in Swedish weed communities. J. Ecol. 87:1037-51 PDF
  • Lepš, J., D. E. Goldberg, T. Herben, and M. W. Palmer. 1999. Mechanistic explanations for community patterns: Introduction. J. Veg. Sci. 10:145-50 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., D. E. Goldberg, T. Herben, M. Rejmánek, and J. Lepš, editors.  1999.  Journal of Vegetation Science, 10:145-230: Mechanistic explanations of community structure. Opulus Press, Uppsala.
  • Arévalo, J. R., J. M. DeCoster, S. D. McAlister, and M. W. Palmer. 2000. Changes in two Minnesota forests during fourteen years following catastrophic windthrow. J. Veg. Sci. 11:833-40 PDF
  • Engle, D. M., M. W. Palmer, J. S. Crockett, R. L. Mitchell, and R. Stevens. 2000. Influence of Late Season Fire on Early Successional Vegetation of an Oklahoma Prairie. J. Veg. Sci. 11:135-44 PDF
  • McAlister, S. D., M. W. Palmer, J. K. DeCoster, and J. R. Arévalo. 2000. Species composition on tipup mounds and pits created by catastrophic windthrow in a Minnesota forest. Proc. IAVS Symp. 2000:104-7  PDF
  • Milberg, P. E. Hallgren, and M.W. Palmer. 2000. Interannual variation in annual weeds on arable lands in Sweden. Weed Research 40:311-321.PDF [posted with permission from Blackwell Publishers]
  • Palmer, M. W., D. A. Clark, and D. B. Clark. 2000. Is the number of tree species in small tropical forest plots nonrandom? Community Ecology 1:95-101 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., S. D. McAlister, J. A. Arévalo, and J. K. DeCoster. 2000. Changes in the understory during 14 years following catastrophic windthrow in two Minnesota forests. J. Veg. Sci. 11:841-54 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., T. Wohlgemuth, P. Earls, J. R. Arévalo, and S. D. Thompson.  2000.  Opportunities for Long-Term Ecological Research at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Oklahoma. Pages 123-128 in K. Lajtha and K. Vanderbilt, editors. Cooperation in Long Term Ecological Research in Central and Eastern Europe: Proceedings of the ILTER Regional Workshop, 22-25 June 1999, Budapest, Hungary. Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Online version w/o figures
  • Barko, V. A., M. W. Palmer, J. G. Stewart, and D. M. Engle. 2001. Vascular plant communities associated with black-tailed prairie dog colonies in southern shortgrass prairie. Proc. Okla. Acad. Sci. 81:11-19  PDF
  • Milberg, P., E. Hallgren, and M. W. Palmer. 2001. Timing of disturbance and vegetation development: how sowing date affects the weed flora in spring-sown crops. J. Veg. Sci. 12: 93-98 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W. 2001. Extending the quasi-neutral concept. Folia Geobot. 36:25-33 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., and K. A. Chandler-Ezell. 2001. Effects of initial plant species richness in microcosms: preliminary results. Community Ecology 2:41-50 PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., and G. Rusch. 2001. How fast is the carousel?  Direct indices of species mobility in an Oklahoma grassland. J. Veg. Sci. 12:305-18 PDF
  • Cogalniceanu, D., M. W. Palmer, and C. Ciubuc. 2001. Feeding in anuran communities on islands in the Danube floodplain. Amphibia - Reptilia 22:1-19.PDF
  • Palmer, M. W.  2002.  Scale detection using semivariograms and autocorrelograms. Pages 129-144 in S. E. Gergel and M. G. Turner, editors. Learning Landscape Ecology: A Practical Guide to Concepts and Techniques. Springer, New York. Link to seller
  • Palmer, M. W., P.G. Earls, B. W. Hoagland, P. S. White, and T. M. Wohlgemuth. 2002. Quantitative tools for perfecting species lists. Environmetrics 13:121-37 PDF
  • Olano, J. M., and M. W. Palmer. 2003. Response of an Appalachian old-growth forest to a severe drought episode. For. Ecol. Manage. 174: 139-148  DOC
  • Palmer, M. W., J. R. Arévalo, M.C. Cobo, and P.G. Earls. 2003. Species richness and soil reaction in a northeastern Oklahoma Landscape.  Folia Geobotanica 38: 381-389  PDF [NOTE: this material may not be copied or reposted without the explicit permission of the Folia Geobotanica. ] 
  • Nansen, C, Phillips, T.W. and M.W. Palmer. 2004. Analysis of the insect community in a stored-maize facility. Ecological Research 19: 197-207. PDF [posted with permission from Blackwell Publishers]
  • Barko, V. A., M. W. Palmer, D. P. Herzog, and B. S. Ickes. 2004. Influential environmental gradients and spatiotemporal patterns of fish assemblages in the unimpounded upper Missippi River. American Midland Naturalist 152:369-385. PDF
  • Palmer, M. W. 2005. Distance decay in an old-growth neotropical forest. Journal of Vegetation Science 16:161-166. PDF
  • Palmer, M. W. 2005. Temporal trends of exotic species richness in North American floras: An overview.  EcoScience 12:336-390.  [The journal did not grant permission to post the article online, but a reprint is available upon request.]
  • Sasaki, K., M.W. Palmer, and T. Hayashi. 2005. Influence of climate, elevation, and land use in regional herpetofaunal distribution in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Community Ecology 6(2):219-227. PDF
  • Chiarucci, A., and M. W. Palmer. 2005. The inventory and estimation of plant species richness. Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) [http://www.eolss.net]. Developed under the Auspices of the UNESCO, EOLSS Publishers, Oxford, UK.
  • Potter, A. T., M. W. Palmer, and W. J. Henley. 2006. Diatom genus diversity and assemblage structure in relation to salinity at the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. American Midland Naturalist 156:65-74. PDF
  • Shirakura, F., K. Sasaki, J. R. Arévalo, and M. W. Palmer. 2006. Tornado Damage of Quercus stellata and Quercus marilandica in the Cross Timbers, Oklahoma, USA. Journal of Vegetation Science 17:347-352. PDF
  • Wren, J. D., M. J. Roossinck, R. S. Nelson, K. M. Scheets, M. W. Palmer, and U. Melcher. 2006. Plant Virus Biodiversity and Ecology. Public Library of Science Biology 4:e80. PDF
  • Linneman, J. S. and M. W. Palmer. 2006. The Effect of Juniperus virginiana L. on Plant Species Composition in an Oklahoma Grassland. Community Ecology 7: 235-244. PDF
  • Palmer, M. W. 2006. Scale dependence of native and exotic species richness in North American Floras. Preslia 78: 427-436 PDF
  • Fridley, J.D., H. Qian, P.S. White, and M.W. Palmer. 2006. Plant species invasions along the latitudinal gradient in the United States: Comment. Ecology 87:3209-3213. PDF
  • Hussain, M., and M. W. Palmer. 2006. Effect of clipping, fertilization and water stress on species composition of experimental plant communities along a simulated soil gradient. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences 86:53-63. PDF
  • Palmer, Michael W. 2007. Species-area curves and the geometry of nature. pp. 15-31 In: Storch, D., P.L. Marquet, and J.H. Brown (eds.) Scaling Biodiversity. Cambridge University Press. PDF (CUP requires I write the following: Species–area curves and the geometry of nature" by Michael W. Palmer, from Scaling Biodiversity, edited by David Storch, Pablo Marquet and James BrownCopyright © Cambridge University Press 2007. Reproduced with permission. http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521876025)
  • Wallace, L. L., and M. W. Palmer. 2007. LIHD biofuels: toward a sustainable future. Frontiers in Ecology 5:115. PDF
  • Thomas, S. M., and M. W. Palmer. 2007. The montane grasslands of the Western Ghats, India: Community Ecology and Conservation Community Ecology 8:67-74. PDF
  • Qian, H., J. D. Fridley and M. W. Palmer. 2007. A latitudinal gradient in species-area relationships for vascular plants of North America. American Naturalist 170: 690-701. PDF
  • Palmer, M. W., R. K. Peet, R. A. Reed, W. Xi, and P. S. White. 2007. Scaling biodiversity: vascular plants in a multiscale grid of plots in the Oosting Natural History Area, North Carolina. Ecology 88:2674. PDF.  This is a data paper, and the bulk of the description of the data can be found here.
  • Palmer, M. W. 2007. Vascular Plant Checklists from Oklahoma. Oklahoma Native Plant Record.  Doc file posted with permission.
  • Stotts, C., M. Palmer, and K. Kindscher. 2007. The need for savanna restoration in the Cross Timbers. Oklahoma Native Plant Record 7:78-90  Doc file posted with permission.
  • Palmer, M. W. 2007. Vascular flora of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Osage County, Oklahoma. Castanea 72:235-246. PDF posted with permission
  • Palmer, M. W., D. J. McGlinn, L. Westerberg, , and P. Milberg. in press. Indices for detecting changes in species composition: some simplifications. Ecology
    • .
  • Rosas, C. A., M. W. Palmer, D. M. Engle, and J. H. Shaw. in press. Seed dispersal by bison (Bison bison) in a tallgrass prairie. Journal of Vegetation Science.
  • Palmer, M. W., J. D. Fridley, and D. J. McGlinn. accepted. Artifacts and Artifictions in Biodiversity Research. Folia Geobotanica.
  • Palmer, M. W., and P. Milberg. in revision. Biofuels for grassland biodiversity: choosing the right path.
  • Shirakura, F., and M. W. Palmer. in revision. Fire History and Seasonality of Fire in a Cross Timbers Forest, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Oklahoma. Natural Areas Journal.