WILLIAM E. ROGERS

Associate Professor
Ecosystem Science and Management

Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
Texas A&M University
TAMU 2138
College Station, TX 77843-2138
Office: 305 Animal Industries Bldg. (map)
Phone: 979.845.0317
Fax: 979.845.6430
E-mail: wer@tamu.edu
Department Web page

Keywords: exotic plant invasions, conservation of rare and endemic plant species, plant-animal interactions, population dynamics and community structure of terrestrial ecosystems, demographic processes and species diversity in plant communities, natural disturbance and vegetation regeneration mechanisms, ecological assembly, rehabilitation of damaged ecosystems

Interests:
Research seeks to understand how local environmental factors (e.g., herbivores, fungal pathogens, resources, mycorrhizal symbionts, disturbance regime and recruitment limitation) interact with post-invasion evolutionary adaptations to determine the success of Chinese Tallow Tree (Sapium sebiferum) invasions in forests and grasslands throughout the southeastern United States. Studies have been established in the tree’s native range of China and the Hawaiian islands where Chinese Tallow has been introduced, but is not invasive.

Several current research projects are related to habitat restoration: (1) promoting the conservation of an endangered orchid species, (2) examining the use of hot summer fires to control woody encroachment in rangelands, (3) assessing the impact a non-indigenous animals (e.g., feral hogs, insect outbreaks) on forest regeneration dynamics, and (4) developing control strategies for Chinese Tallow Tree invasions in a variety of Texas ecosystems.

Disciplines: Community Ecology & Population Biology, Conservation Biology, Ecosystem & Landscape Ecology

Selected publications:
Rogers, William E., & Evan Siemann (2005) Herbivory tolerance and compensatory differences in native and invasive ecotypes of Chinese tallow tree (Sapium sebiferum). Plant Ecology 181:57-68.

Bossdorf, Oliver, Harald Auge, Lucile LaFuma, William E. Rogers, Evan Siemann, Daniel Prati (2005) Phenotypic and genetic differentiation in native versus introduced plant populations. Oecologia 144:1-11.

Romañach, Stephanie S.†, Eric W. Seabloom, O. James Reichman, William E. Rogers & Guy N. Cameron (2005) Effects of species, gender, age, and habitat on pocket gopher burrow geometry. Journal of Mammalogy 86:750-756.

Rogers, William E., & Evan Siemann (2004) Invasive ecotypes tolerate herbivory more effectively than native ecotypes of the Chinese tallow tree. Journal of Applied Ecology 41:561-570.

Lankau, Richard A., William E. Rogers & Evan Siemann (2004) Constraints on the utilisation of the invasive Chinese Tallow Tree (Sapium sebiferum) by generalist native herbivores in coastal prairies. Ecological Entomology 29:66-75.