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Southern Oregon University

Biology

    Dr. Michael S. Parker, Professor

    Department Chair

    Sciences 207

    1250 Siskiyou Blvd.

    Ashland, OR  97520

    (541) 552-6796

    email: parker@sou.edu

     

     

    Education

    PhD, Ecology, University of California, Davis (Emphasis in Limnology and Aquatic Ecology).  1992

    MS, Biological Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Emphasis in Aquatic Biology).  1985

    BS, Biology, Southern Oregon State College (Emphasis in Vertebrate Biology and Natural History).  1981

     

    Teaching 
    (courses taught on a regular basis): 
    Vertebrate Natural History (Bi 317)
    Fish and Fisheries (Bi 450/550)
    Herpetology (Bi 470/570)
    Aquatic Ecology (Bi 475/575)
    Trends in Environmental Education (EE 526)
    (Other courses)
    Principles of Biology
    General Biology
    Natural History of the Pacific Northwest

     

    Research Interests

    My primary research focus is on  the structure and dynamics of aquatic food webs, with emphasis on the effects of human impacts and introduced species.  Much of my work is involved with conservation of aquatic organisms and the environments that sustain them.  Studies I am currently involved in include (1) a long-term study of the ecology and conservation of endemic aquatic invertebrates inhabiting thermal springs within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife, with special emphasis on the creeping water bugs (family Naucoridae);  (2) a study of the effects of landscape heterogeneity and wetland succession on spatial distribution, seasonal movements and long-term viability of an Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) population within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument;  and (3) distribution of non-native crayfish their impacts on stream food webs and the native biota.       

     

    Publications

    • Parker, M. S. and E. R. Parker, In Press.  Thamnophis atratus hydrophilus (Oregon Garter Snake) diet.  Herpetological Review. 
    • Parker, M. S.,  D. Sarr, and H. H. Welsh, Jr.  2010.  Distribution of introduced fishes and their effects on high elevation lake communities in Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA.  Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol.  30(9): 1397-1401. 
    • Power, M. E., M. S. Parker, and W. E. Dietrich.   2008.  Seasonal reassembly of a river food web:  floods, droughts, and impacts of fish.  Ecological Monographs.  78(2): 263-283. 
    • Power, M. E., W. E. Rainey, M. S. Parker, J. L. Sabo, S. Khandwala, J. C. Finlay, F. C. McNeely, K. Marsee, and C. Anderson.  2004.  River to watershed subsidies in an old-growth conifer forest.  Pp. 217-240.  In: G. A. Polis, M. E. Power, and G. Huxel (eds.).  Food Webs in Landscapes. University of Chicago Press. 
    • Wootton, J. T., M. S. Parker, and M. E. Power.  1996.  Effects of disturbance on river food webs.  Science.  273: 1558-1561.