Dr. Kurt Schulz
Professor
Ph.D. University of Wisconsin, 1991
Office: SW 1260
Research Lab: SW 0005
Phone: (618) 650-3005
E-mail: kschulz@siue.edu
Web: http://www.siue.edu/~kschulz/
Courses Taught: Introduction to Biological Sciences II (BIOL 151), Ecology (BIOL 365), Quantitative Methods in Experimental Biology (BIOL 417), Terrestrial Ecosystems (BIOL 466), Plant Ecology (BIOL 469), and Field Biology (BIOL 470).
Research Interests: My research focuses on how forest tree and shrub canopies and disturbance patterns affect ecological processes, especially species demography and community change. Other interests include the phenotypic plasticity of native and invasive understory shrubs and the ecological restoration of regional forests. My research sites are located in northern Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, and the Edwardsville, IL area.
Research Opportunities: I am always seeking students interested in field or blended field and laboratory projects. I encourage students to work with me to develop potentially publishable projects within our lab’s interest areas. Strong candidates for success are typically individuals with a solid work ethic and good to excellent skills in math and basic sciences. We have close working relationships with colleagues in the US Forest Service, the Wisconsin Commissioner of Public Lands, the Watershed Nature Center, the Nature Institute, and Riverlands Sanctuary (Army Corps of Engineers, West Alton, MO). Presently members of my lab group are working on the reproductive biology of the invasive shrub Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), the comparative ecology of two invasive honeysuckle species (L. maackii and L. x bella), below ground competitive mechanisms in Amur honeysuckle and Japanese hops (Humulus japonica), effects of copper contamination on phenotypic plasticity in boxelder (Acer negundo), and the interactions of climate change with forest floor habitats.
Selected Publications
Spagnolo, S., C. Bryant, K. E. Schulz, P. R. Minchin, and E. J., Esselman. (2014). Assessing quality of a regenerated prairie using floral and faunal indices. Phytoneuron 73: 1-15.
Schulz, K. E., J. Wright, and S. Ashbaker. (2012). Comparison of invasive shrub honeysuckle eradication tactics for amateurs: stump treatment versus regrowth spraying of Lonicera maackii. Restoration Ecology 20(6): 788-793.
Schulz, K., A. Vaughan, and E. Remelius. (2009). Physiologically based control of invasive Asiatic shrub honeysuckle. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science 102(1&2): 21-32.
Schulz, K., J. Zasada, and E. Nauertz. (2004). Annual, local, and individual variation in the inflorescence and fruit production of eastern leatherwood (Dirca palustris L. Thymelaeaceae). Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 131: 292-304.
