Christine Hawkes

E-mail:
chawkes_at_mail.utexas.edu
Office:
PAT 524,
(512) 471-6049
Lab:
PAT 514/515
(512) 475-6479
Fax:
(512) 471-3878

Education

• B.A. in Environmental Studies, Bucknell University, 1993
• Ph.D. in Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 2000
• Postdoc, University of California - Berkeley and University of York, UK, 2004

Research Interests

Ecology has traditionally been an aboveground field of study, both conceptually and practically. Yet the more we explore belowground, the more evidence we have that soil microorganisms are fundamental to the functioning of aboveground communities and ecosystems. My current research is aimed at a mechanistic understanding of how plant-microbe interactions affect community and ecosystem processes. I am also interested in how these relationships will be influenced by alterations in climate, land-use, and species invasions. Recently I have begun using exotic species invasions as model systems, as they provide both novel interactions and a range of interaction histories. Because my research integrates several areas of ecology, I combine a wide range of techniques, including DNA-based microbial community analyses, stable isotopes, and large-scale plant community manipulations. Current projects include:

• Global change effects on microbial roles in ecosystem processes
• Plant and microbial invasions with climate change
• Biotic interactions and invasion success
• Exotic plant phenology as a driver of mycorrhizal networks
• Legacy effects in soil: plant communities, microbial communities, and biogeochemistry
• Microbial community interactions and ecosystem processes

Instruction

Undergraduate courses:

• BIO 364 Microbial Ecology
• NSC 110 Dean's Scholars Seminar: Science Culture & Communication (Fall 2006)

Graduate Seminars:

• BIO 384K Global Change Ecology (Fall 2006)
• BIO 384k Plant-Microbe Interactions and Ecosystem Processes (Fall 2005)

Awards/Honors

• NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial Biology, 2003
• The Nature Conservancy Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2000
• Dean's Award for Distinguished Scholarship, Univ. Pennsylvania, 2000
• Phi Betta Kappa, 1993
• Sigma Xi, 1993
• Botanical Society of America Young Botanist Award, 1993
• John T. Lowry, Jr., Prize: Outstanding Biology Graduate, Bucknell Univ., 1993

Publications

• Hawkes CV, IF Wren, DH Herman, and MK Firestone. 2005. Plant invasion alters nitrogen cycling by modifying the soil nitifying community. Ecology Letters 8: 976-985. (pdf)
• Hawkes CV, K DeAngelis, and MK Firestone. In press. Root effects on microbial populations, communities, and ecosystem processes. Pages XX-XX in Z. Cardon and J. Whitbeck (Eds). The Rhizosphere - An Ecological Perspective. Academic Press, Inc.
• Hawkes CV. 2004. Effects of biological soil crusts on seed germination of four endangered herbs in a xeric Florida shrubland during drought. Plant Ecology 170: 121-134. (pdf)
• Belnap J, CV Hawkes, and MK Firestone. 2003. Boundaries in miniature: two examples from soil. Bioscience 53: 739-749. (pdf)
• Hawkes CV. 2003. Nitrogen cycling mediated by biological soil crusts and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Ecology 84: 1553-1562. (pdf)
• Hawkes CV. 2003. Microorganisms del suelo, plantas en peligro de extinción y la conservación del Matorral de Florida. Ecosistemas 2003/2. (pdf)
• Hawkes CV and BB Casper. 2002. Lateral root function and root overlap among mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal herbs in a Florida shrubland, measured using rubidium as a nutrient analog. American Journal of Botany 89: 1289-1294. (pdf)
• Hawkes CV and VR Flechtner. 2002. Biological soil crusts in a xeric Florida shrubland: composition, abundance, and spatial heterogeneity of crusts with different disturbance histories. Microbial Ecology 43: 1-12. (pdf)
• Hawkes CV and JJ Sullivan. 2001. The impact of herbivory on plants in different resource conditions: a meta-analysis. Ecology 82: 2045-2058. (pdf)
• Menges ES and CV Hawkes. 1998. Interactive effects of fire and microhabitat on plants of Florida scrub. Ecological Applications 8: 935-946. (pdf)