Biology Faculty

Biology Program Chair, Professor
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:

• 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)
• 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 the 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.

Office: SC 381
Phone: 541.552.6749
E-Mail: parker@sou.edu