Dr. David K. Oline

Associate Professor of Biology, Southern Oregon University

1250 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520

(541) 552-6799 olined@sou.edu

Teaching:

Winter 2009: The New Sciences of Complexity (Bi381) An upper division General Education course (Synthesis and Applications/Integrations)

Winter 2009: Principles of Biology: Evolution and Diversity (Bi212)

Spring 2009: Molecular Biology (Bi425)

Spring 2009: Senior Research Seminar (Bi489)

Research Interests:

Population genetics of conifers

Phylogeography of Garry oak

Microbial biogeography

Microbial communities of serpentine soils

The development of educational laboratory exercises investigating mutation

Geographic variation, hybridization, and taxonomy of the California red fir-noble fir species complex

I am currently using molecular methods to identify chloroplast haplotypes and observe their geographic distribution across the entire range of California red fir (Abies magnifica) and its overlap with noble fir (Abies procera). Current results have shown that the type locality of Shasta red fir contains haplotypes from both red and noble fir, which questions its status as a subspecies. Future work will include sampling more populations in the area of overlap and developing mitochondrial markers for the two species.

0710_October008

Population genetics of isolated stands of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis)

I am currently investigating the use of both mitochondrial and chloroplast markers for use in understanding the origin and history of isolated stands of Whitebark Pine in Oregon, California, and Nevada

Partners in dispersal: the phylogeography of Garry oak (Quercus garryana) and the biogeography of its mycorrhizal communities

I have begun a collaboration with emeritus professor Darlene Southworth, who has done extensive work on the mycorrhizal communities of Garry oak in southern Oregon. Our goal is to expand this work to take in a range-wide view of this symbiosis in order to test hypotheses about how the obligate partners disperse across the landscape.

0803_March_ScatterCreekQG006

Microbial biogeography in an ultrahomogenous terrestrial environment

Do microbial species have biogeographic patterns of distribution, or is “everything everywhere”? I am currently investigating the use of dry playas as simple model systems which represent ultrahomogenous terrestrial environements. I am using both molecular and cultivation based approaches to investigate fine-scale distribution of microbial lineages at both small (10 cm) and large (10 km) spatial scales.

0710_October065

Microbial communities of serpentine (ultramafic) soils.

I am interested in using phylogenetic approaches to compare microbial communities and determine what if any differences there are between the microbial communities in serpentine soils and immediately adjacent comparator soils. By replicating 16S clone libraries across a landscape scale (100 km) differences can be observed at a fine phylogenetic scale that indicate the soil types have separate communities.

Education:

B.S. (Physics), Stanford University, 1985
Ph.D. (Biology), University of Colorado, 2001
Santa Fe Institute Complex Systems Summer, 1997

Publications:

Oline, D.K. 2008. Geographic variation in chloroplast haplotypes in the California red fir-noble fir species complex and the status of Shasta red fir. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, in press.

Oline, D.K. 2006. Phylogenetic comparisons of microbial communities from serpentine soils. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72(11):6965-6971.

Oline, D.K., S.K. Schmidt, and M.C. Grant. 2006. Biogeography and landscape-scale diversity of the dominant Crenarchaeaota of soil. Microbial Ecology 52(3):480-490.

Oline, D.K., and M.C. Grant. 2002. Scaling properties of biomass and soil properties: an empirical analysis. Landscape Ecology 17:13-26.

Oline, D.K., J.B. Mitton, and M.C. Grant. 2000. Population and subspecific genetic differentiation in the Foxtail Pine (Pinus balfouriana). Evolution 54(5):1813:1816.

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