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Robert K. Booth

Research Interests

I am a broadly trained ecologist interested in patterns, rates, and mechanisms of climate variability and its influence on the structure and function of ecosystems. Much of my research is designed to address current issues in global change, with recent projects focusing on ecological dynamics associated with widespread drought and pluvial events of the past, the reconstruction of past environmental variability from peatland archives, the ecology, biogeography, and paleoenvironmental applications of testate amoebae, and the climatology of severe drought. I pursue questions like:

To what extent are the ecological patterns we observe on the landscape today outcomes of current environmental conditions versus contingent outcomes of historical events? How does variability in climate and other environmental factors affect terrestrial and wetland ecosystems over timescales ranging from decades to millennia?

The source of data that I use to address these and other questions are the environmental archives preserved in the sediments of peatlands and lakes, although when possible I couple these paleoecological studies with studies of contemporary ecology and climatology.

Profile

  • Assistant Professor (2006), Lehigh University
  • Assistant Scientist (2005), University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Post-doctoral Fellow (2003-05), University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • PhD (2003), University of Wyoming
  • MS (1998), Georgia Southern University
  • BS (1995), The Pennsylvania State University

Some Recent and Ongoing Projects

Climate variability and episodic plant invasions in the western Great Lakes region We are exploring the role of centennial to millennial-scale climate variability, particularly wet and dry extremes, in governing the rate and spatial pattern of invasion and expansion of three tree species (yellow birch, hemlock, and beech) near their northwestern range limits in the western Great Lakes region. Evidence to date indicates that these migrations occurred episodically. Our research is assessing the extent to which variability in moisture availability, as opposed to directional temperature change, influenced the migrations. (project web page)

Multiproxy archives of late Holocene climate variability from ombrotrophic peatlands in eastern North America We are conducting multiproxy paleoclimate studies on peatlands in eastern North America. These studies include testate amoebae, humification, macrofossils, pollen, biomarkers, and stable isotopes of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen from specific organic compounds extracted from Sphagnum leaves and sedge leaves. Ombrotrophic peatlands receive all water input directly from precipitation making these systems particularly useful for paleoclimate reconstruction. Our research is pioneering the development of a rich source of paleoclimatic and paleohydrological inference that should be applicable at mid- to high latitudes across North America. (project web page) (pdf of paper describing project and results to date)

 

Spatiotemporal patterns of climate, hydrological, and wetland vegetation change in the western Great Lakes region. We are developing a spatial network of proxy-climate and paleoecological records from peatlands in the western Great Lakes region. Our research is aimed at reconstructing characteristics and spatiotemporal patterns of climate variability associated with sedimentologically documented water-level fluctuations of the Upper Great Lakes during the late Holocene, and assessing coastal wetland responses to past climate and hydrological variability. (project web page)

 

Patterns, mechanisms, and synoptic climatology of historical and late Holocene drought We are currently synthesizing information on the spatial patterning of abrupt climate changes in the mid and late Holocene, particularly widespread multidecadal and centennial-scale drought events such as those experienced by the North American mid-continent and elsewhere 4200 years ago and during the Medieval Warm Period. Studies of instrumental records of hydroclimate variability during the last century are being coupled with late Holocene records to identify potential modern analogues to previous drought events.

 

Ecology, biogeography, and paleoenvironmental applications of testate amoeabe. Multiple studies are focused on improving our understanding of the modern ecology and biogeography of testate amoebae, a group of protozoa that produce decay-resistant and morphologically distinct shells. In peatlands, the composition of testate amoeba communities is primarily controlled by substrate moisture, making them sensitive indicators or past and ongoing hydrological change.

Representative Publications (2001-)

  • Booth, R.K., M.E. Sullivan, & V.A. Sousa. 2008. Ecology of testate amoebae in a North Carolina pocosin and their potential use as environmental and paleoenvironmental indicators. Ecoscience, in press.

  • Booth, R.K. 2007. Testate amoebae as proxies for mean annual water-table depth in Sphagnum-dominated peatlands of North America. Journal of Quaternary Science 23:43-57. (pdf reprint)

  • Jackson , S.T. & R.K. Booth . 2007. Validation of pollen studies. Pages 2413-2422 in Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science , S.A. Elias (ed.), Elsevier Scientific Publishing, Inc. (pdf reprint)

  • Wilcox, D.A., T.A. Thompson, R.K. Booth, & J.R. Nicholas. 2007. Lake-level variability and water availability in the Great Lakes. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1311, 25 p. (pdf reprint)

  • Capps, D.K., T.A. Thompson, & R.K. Booth. 2007. A post-Calumet shoreline along southern Lake Michigan. Journal of Paleolimnology 37:395–409. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K. , M. Notaro, S.T. Jackson, & J.E. Kutzbach.  2006. Widespread drought episodes in the western Great Lakes region during the past 2000 years: geographic extent and potential mechanisms.   Earth and Planetary Science Letters 242: 415-427. (pdf reprint )

  • Nichols, J.E., R.K. Booth, S.T. Jackson, E.G. Pendall, and Y. Huang. 2006. Paleohydrologic reconstruction based on n-alkane distributions in ombrotrophic peat. Organic Geochemistry 37: 1505-1513. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K. , J.E. Kutzbach , S.C. Hotchkiss, & R.A. Bryson. 2006. A reanalysis of the relationship between strong westerlies and precipitation in the Great Plains and Midwest regions of North America . Climatic Change 76: 427-441. (pdf reprint)

  • Jackson, S.T., R.K. Booth, Y. Huang, E.G. Pendall, J.E. Nichols, T.A. Minckley, & M. Taylor. 2006. Late Holocene hydrological variability in ombrotrophic peatlands of eastern North America. PAGES news 14(2): 26-28. (link to PAGES site to download)

  • Booth, R.K. , S.C. Hotchkiss, & D.A. Wilcox. 2005. Discoloration of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tape as a proxy for water-table depth in peatlands: validation and assessment of seasonal variability. Functional Ecology 19:1040-1047. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K & J.R. Zygmunt. 2005. Biogeography and comparative ecology of testate amoebae inhabiting Sphagnum -dominated peatlands in the Great Lakes and Rocky Mountain regions of North America . Diversity and Distributions 11: 577-590. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K. , S.T. Jackson, S.L. Forman, J.E. Kutzbach, E.A. Bettis, III, J. Kreig, and D.K. Wright. 2005. A severe centennial-scale drought in continental North America 4200 years ago and apparent global linkages. The Holocene 15: 321-328. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K. , S.T. Jackson, & C.E.D. Gray. 2004. Paleoecology and high-resolution paleohydrology of a kettle peatland in Upper Michigan . Quaternary Research 61: 1-13. (pdf reprint)

  • Johnston , J.W., S.J. Baedke, R.K. Booth , D.A. Wilcox, & T.A. Thompson. 2004. Late Holocene lake-level variation in southeastern Lake Superior: Tahquamenon Bay , Michigan . Journal of Great Lakes Research 30 (Supplement 1): 1-19. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K. & S.T. Jackson. 2003. A high-resolution record of late Holocene moisture variability from a Michigan raised bog. The Holocene 13: 865-878. (pdf reprint) (link to data at NOAA paleoclimatology)

  • Booth, R.K. , F.J. Rich, & S.T. Jackson. 2003. Paleoecology of mid-Wisconsinan peat clasts from Skidaway Island , Georgia . Palaios 18: 63-68. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K. 2002. Testate amoebae as paleoindicators of surface-moisture changes on Michigan peatlands: modern ecology and hydrological calibration . Journal of Paleolimnology 28: 329-348. (pdf reprint)

  • Jackson , S.T. & R.K. Booth . 2002. The role of late Holocene climate variability in the expansion of yellow birch in the western Great Lakes region. Diversity and Distributions 8: 275-284. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K. , S.T. Jackson, & T.A. Thompson. 2002. Paleoecology of a northern Michigan lake and the relationship among climate, vegetation, and Great Lakes water-levels. Quaternary Research 57: 120-130. (pdf reprint)

  • Booth, R.K. 2001. Ecology of testate amoebae in two Lake Superior coastal wetlands: implications for paleoecology and environmental monitoring. Wetlands 21: 564-576. (pdf reprint)

 

 

 

20-Apr-2006 rkb