Jim Speer

JAMES H. SPEER

Assistant Professor of Geography & Geology

Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Phone: 812-237-2257

E-mail: Jim.Speer@indstate.edu

Office: Science 159E

Educational Excellence Teaching Award, Arts & Sciences, 2005

 

Course Instruction:    GEOL 160: Introduction to Earth and Sky, GEOG 111: Physical Geography, GEOL 385: Structural Geology, GEOG 411: Conservation of Natural Resources, GEOG 415/515: Field Geography of the United States, GEOL 418/518: Soil Genesis and Classification, GEOG 465/565: Fundamentals of Tree Ring Research, GEOG 490/590: Biogeography, GEOL 497/597: Quaternary Paleoecology

Research Interests:  Biogeography, Dendrochronology

Research Profile: 

Dr. Speer is a dendrochronologist with experience in reconstructing environmental variables that affect tree growth, such as insect outbreaks, fire, masting, and climate.  He is excited about the many uses and more widespread applications of dendrochronology.  He is presently developing tree-ring chronologies in the tropics where previously researchers had thought that annual rings did not form.  He has developed the first insect outbreak reconstructions on pandora moth, a frequent defoliator of western pine forests and he has developed new methods that enable dendrochronologists to use tree rings to reconstruct past fruiting in oak trees.  Most recently he has been working on an NSF funded grant to explore the effect of cicadas on tree growth.

Curriculum Vitae                Dendrochronology Laboratory:  http://dendrolab.indstate.edu/

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2008     Speer, J.H.  Multiple-Scale Disturbance and Climatic Response Across the Entire Range of Ponderosa Pine in the Western United States.  Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico.  January 29.

2008     Speer, J.H.  Dendroecological Applications in Archaeology.  Museum of Indiana Arts and Culture – Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe New Mexico.  January 28.

2008     Speer, J.H.  New Applications in Dendroecology: Cicadas, Masting, and Ice Storms.  Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona.  January 23.

2007     Speer, J.H.  Fire History and Cicada Outbreaks in Eastern Forests and Spatial Analysis in the West.  Department of Plant Biology. Ohio University.  September 28.

2007     Speer, J.H.  Disturbance Ecology and Spatial Analysis using Tree Rings.  Geography Department.  Ohio University.  September 28.

2007     Speer, J.H.  Sustainability of North American Forests Through Disturbance Ecology.  Hampshire College. May 4. 

2007     Speer, J. H. and Gentry, C.M.  Plenary Talk: Dendrochronological Analysis of Hurricane Rita Damaged Stands In and Around the Big Thicket National Preserve.  Big Thicket Science Conference.  Beaumont, Texas.  March 23.

2007     Speer, J.H.  Applications of Tree-Ring Analysis to Understanding Forest Insect Dynamics.  University of British Columbia, Prince George, Canada.  March 2.

2006     Speer, J.H.  Mast Reconstructions from Dendrochronology: A New Application.  University of Arkansas.  February 27th.

2006     Speer, J.H.  Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Resource Allocation from Tree Rings.  University of Arkansas.  February 28th.

2005     Speer, J.H. Environmental Issues, Their Causes, and Sustainability.  Geography Educators Network of Indiana Workshop, Purdue University, March 12.

2005     Speer, J.H.  Contributions of Dendrochronology to Disturbance Ecology in North America.  Virginia Tech, February 18.

2004     Speer, J.H.  The Application of Dendrochronology to Understanding Pandora Moth and Cicada Outbreaks. Indiana University, November 12.

2004     Speer, J.H. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Insect Outbreaks using GIS and Dendrochronology. West Virginia University, October 22.

2004     Speer, J.H. Examining the Effect of Cicada Root Parasitism Using Dendrochronology. National Science Foundation, Washington D.C.  May 11.

2003     Orvis, K.H., Horn, S.P., Grissino-Mayer, H.D., Kennedy, L.M., League, B.L., and Speer, J.H. Tropical Fire Regimes of the Past.  The 2nd International Wildland Fire Ecology and Fire Management Congress.  Orlando, Florida.  November 16 – 20.

2002     Speer, J.H.  How Tree Rings Can Be Used To Reconstruct Environmental Variables. Invited Talk at Eastern Illinois University for Geographic Awareness Week.  Charleston, IL.  November 18.

2001     Speer, J.H.  Environmental Records from Dendrochronology and Their Use in Archaeology.  Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis MO.  October 26.

2000     Speer, J.H.  Evidence of Climate Change as Recorded by Trees.  Tennessee Geographic Alliance workshop on Climate Change.  Knoxville, TN.  February 24.

1999     Speer, J.H., Swetnam, T.W., Wickman, B.W., and Youngblood, A.  Pandora moth disturbance ecology in central Oregon.  Paper presented at the joint meeting of the Western Forest Insect Work Conference(WFIWC) and the Western Insect and Forest Disease Work Conference(WIFDWC), Breckenridge Colorado.  September 13–17.