Dr. Kurt M. Hartman, Assistant Professor Missouri Western State University Department of Biology Office Location: Agenstein Hall, Room 201 Office Phone: (816) 271-4382 Email: khartman3@missouriwestern.edu

Teaching Links:                                            Groups:
BIO 115 Ecology and Evolution                                  BBB Biological Honors Society at MWSU
BIO 105 Concepts in Organismal Biology                  Wildlife Society at MWSU
BIO 101 Concepts in Biology

Research Program Summary: 
Invasive species research: I am interested in modeling the colonizing behavior of invasive plants including morphological adaptations, performance, and adaptations to abiotic environment.  Plants in early successional environments have ability to disperse to sites, accommodate environmental conditions, grow quickly, and compete with adjacent competitors for above- and below-ground resources.  Some of the invasion process is stochastically based, depending on who gets there first and what proportions of resources that invaders are able to pre-empt from competitors.  Other components of invasion are based on deterministic types of models including individuals as “winners or losers,” and time specific models.  What is interesting is that these types of invasion patterns also incorporate variations in resource allocation and plastic morphology at all levels of organismal development.  Responses include fine and coarse root biomass, root morphology and turnover, branch architecture, leaf stomatal conductance, photosynthetic capacity, and respiration rate.  Overall, these characters translate into the morphological and physiological performance of particular species.  In terms of life history categorizations, asexual performance of any species eventually translates into fecundity, but with sexually reproducing invasive species, we most often stereotype them as initial outcrossers.  Thus when they are transplanted to a new location this most often produces a small population which are facilitated by in-breeding but with high dispersal capacity.  Through the evolution of most species, this transforms into reduced dispersal-ability and greater proportions of outcrossing individuals.  Two final layers to understand invasive species is how they interact intra- and inter-specifically and how they react to environmental conditions.  In herbaceous habitats, these factors come into play in a 2-dimensional scale, but in forests plants which are a relatively more vertical system, interactions are assumed to occur on longer time 3-dimensional scales.  These are some of the immediate and long-term challenges and questions that I am trying to factor into predicting invasive success.  I have used Amur honeysuckle, (Lonicera maackii) as a model species and determining the overall success of this  invasive species will be critical to predicting its success in various environments as well as understand the most effective methods of control.                                                
Restoration ecology research: I am also interested in restoration ecology in that I am trying to understand both how the patterns and processes of both invasive species and native species are influenced by human activity.  Actions such as removal of invasive species, addition of natives, and creation of specific “designer” communities and ecosystems influence both species composition and ecosystem processes within habitats.  The big questions to answer include the following: (1) are restored systems functioning similarly as intact communities that have not had restoration activity?  (2) do these restored habitats have similar species composition as non-restored and how does species diversity or composition influence nutrient and energy flow in these habitats?  (3) how does the addition or removal of specific keystone species alter the interaction of species in communities or other population or ecosystem dynamics?

Selected References
Hartman, K.M. & B.C. McCarthy. 2008. Effects of Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) on forest composition and structure in southwestern Ohio. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 135(2): 245-259. [PDF]

Hartman, K.M. & B.C. McCarthy. 2007. A dendro-ecological study of forest overstorey productivity following the invasion of a non-indigenous shrub, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Applied Vegetation Science 10(1): 3-14. [PDF] 

Hartman, K.M. 2005. The impacts, invasibility, and restoration ecology of an invasive shrub, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Dissertation, Dept of Environmental & Plant Biology, Ohio University. [PDF] 

Hartman, K.M. & B.C. McCarthy. 2004. Restoration of a forest understory after the removal of an invasive shrub, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii). Restoration Ecology 12(2): 154-165. [PDF] 

Suding, K.N., D.E. Goldberg, & K.M. Hartman. 2003.  Relationships among species traits: separating levels of response and identifying linkages to abundance. Ecology 84(1): 1-16. [PDF]

Hartman, K.M. & B.C. McCarthy. Predicting growth and biomass allocation for seedlings of an invasive species, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), in varying light, water, and soil conditions. In Review.