Sherry, Becky

Contact Information

Department of Botany and Microbiology
770 Van Vleet Oval, room 135
University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma 73019-6131
Office Phone: (405) 325-2360
Lab Phone: (405) 325-8578
FAX: (405) 325-7619

E-mail Address: rsherry@ou.edu

Member Profile

Education

1994 – Ph.D. Botany, University of California, Riverside.

• Dissertation: Developmental Stability and Floral Ontogeny in Self- and Cross-pollinating Populations of Clarkia tembloriensis (Onagraceae).
• Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth M. Lord

1986 – Bachelor of Arts in English, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. Minor: Botany

Experience

2008 – Present Research Assistant Professor, Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.

• Co-PI on two NSF- and DOE-funded climate experiments in tallgrass prairie.

Oct. 2002 - 2007 – Research Scientist, Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.

• Primary responsibility supervising 5–10 students, postdocs, and visiting scholars gathering field data from two NSF-funded warming experiments in tallgrass prairie. Data gathered include floristics, plant phenology, plant community structure, biomass estimates, and soil moisture, as well as photosynthesis, soil respiration and related measures using a LiCor 6400 portable photosynthesis system. Perform data analysis, prepare oral presentations, and write grant applications and scientific papers for publication.

Aug. 2006 - 2007 – Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.

• Taught Principles of Plant Ecology, Methods in Plant Ecology, and Ecology and Environmental Quality.

Jan. 2000 - June 2002 – Botanist/Environmental Analyst, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.

• Conducted rare plant surveys, biological resource and habitat assessments, and wetland delineations. Prepared habitat management plans and restoration plans for native grasslands, oak woodlands, wetlands, and streambanks. Created a habitat classification system for Contra Costa County Flood Control District to use in defining best management practices.

1999 – Adjunct Assistant Professor, Skyline College, San Mateo Community College District, San Bruno, CA.

• Taught Introductory Biology for non-majors.

1995 - 98 – Postdoctoral Associate, University of Missouri, Columbia.

• Research duties involved studying plant development in relation to ecology. Taught the upper division courses Evolution (3years) and Plant Population Ecology Lab for the Division of Biological Sciences, and Forest Ecology for the Department of Forestry.

1990 - 94 – Teaching Assistant, University of California, Riverside.

• Taught labs for Plant Morphology, General Botany, Plants and Human Affairs, and Spring Wildflowers.

1989 - 94 – Laboratory Research Assistant, University of California, Riverside.


1986 - 88 – Secondary School Teacher, Pakalinding Secondary Technical School, The Gambia, West Africa.

• Qualified to teach: General Biology, General Botany, Spring Wildflowers, Plants and Human Affairs, Oklahoma Wildflowers and Plant Communities, Economic Botany, Plant Anatomy, Plant Morphology, Ecology, Evolution, Plant Ecology, Plant Population Ecology, Plant Ecological Morphology, Plant Reproductive Biology, Terrestrial Impacts of Climate Change.

Research Support

2008 – 2011 – Experimental and Modeling Study of Interactive Effects of Warming and Altered Precipitation on Function and Structure of a Tallgrass Prairie in the Great Plains. Co-PI: Dr. Yiqi Luo. United States Department of Energy National Institute for Climate Change Research (NICCR) $444,008

2008 – 2012 – Interactive Effects of Warming and Clipping on Function and Structure of a Tallgrass Prairie in the Great Plains: Effects on Water Use Efficiency. Co-PI: Dr. Yiqi Luo. National Science Foundation, Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) $ 497,635

1997 – Phototropism and Blue-light receptors. Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia.

1992-93 – Floral Development in Clarkia tembloriensis. Dissertation Research Grant, Graduate Division, University of California, Riverside.

1990 – Development of Spinach flowers. Chancellor’s Patent Fund, University of California, Riverside.

Honors and Awards

1988-89 – Dean’s Fellowship, Graduate Division, University of California, Riverside.

1986 – Honors Program Graduate, Colorado State University.

1983-86 – Annual Colorado State Creative and Performing Arts Scholarships for Creative Writing.

1985 – Phi Beta Kappa

Professional Activities

Current Member: Ecological Society of America, California Native Plant Society, Oklahoma Native Plant Society

Current Reviewer for: Global Change Biology, American Naturalist, Australian Journal of Botany, Functional Ecology, Journal of Range Management, New Phytologist, Soil Science Society of America Journal, Tree Physiology, International Journal of Plant Sciences.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Sherry, R.A, Weng, S., Arnone, J.A., Johnson, D.W., Schimel, D.S., Verburg, P.S., Wallace, L.L., and Luo, Y. 2008. Lagged Effects of Experimental Warming and Doubled Precipitation on Annual and Seasonal Aboveground Biomass Production in a Tallgrass Prairie. Global Change Biology, in press.


• Luo,Y., R.A. Sherry, X. Zhou, and S. Wan. 2008. Plant Regulation of Terrestrial Carbon-cycle feedback to climate warming: A case study in a tallgrass prairie. Global Change Biology, in press.


• Arnone, J.A., Verburg, P.S.J., Johnson, D.W., Larsen, J.D., Jasoni, R.L., Lucchesi, A.J., Batts, C.M., von Nagy, C., Coulombe, W.J., Schorran, D.E., Buck, P.E., Braswell, R.H., Coleman, J.S., Sherry, R.A., Wallace, L.L., Luo, Y., and Schimel, D.S. 2008. Future CO2 Uptake Suppressed by Synchronous and Lagged Ecosystem Responses to Extreme Year. Nature 455-383-386.


• Knapp, A.K., Beier, C., Briske, D.D., Classen, A.T., Luo, Y., Reichstein, M., Smith, M.D., Smith, S.D., Bell J.E., Fay, P.A., Heisler, J.L., Leavitt, S.W., Sherry, R.A., Smith, B., and Weng, E. 2008. Consequences of more extreme precipitation regimes for terrestrial ecosystems. BioScience 58:811-821.


• Sherry, R.A., X. Zhou, S. Gu, J.A. Arnone III, D.S. Schimel, P.S. Verburg, L.L. Wallace, and Y. Luo. 2007. Divergence of Reproductive Phenology under Climate Warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 104:198-202.


• Zhou X., R.A. Sherry, Y. An, L.L. Wallace, and Y. Luo,. 2006. Main and interactive effects of warming, clipping, and doubled precipitation on soil CO2 efflux in a grassland ecosystem. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 20, GB1003, doi:10.1029/2005GB002526.


• Sherry, R.A. and E.M. Lord. 2000. A comparative developmental study of the selfing and outcrossing flowers of Clarkia tembloriensis (Onagraceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 161:563-574.


• Galen, C., R.A. Sherry, and A.B. Carroll. 1999. Are flowers physiological sinks or faucets? Costs and correlates of water use by flowers of Polemonium viscosum. Oecologia 118:461-470.


• Sherry, R.A. and C. Galen. 1998. Mechanism of floral heliotropism in the snow buttercup, Ranunculus adoneus. Plant Cell and Environment 21:983-993.


• Galen, C., M.L. Stanton, J.S. Shore, and R.A. Sherry. 1997. Source-sink dynamics along environmental gradients: environmental effects on gene flow and substructure in a population of the alpine buttercup Ranunculus adoneus. Opera Botanica 132: 179-188.


• Sherry, R.A. and E.M. Lord. 1996. Developmental stability in leaves of Clarkia tembloriensis (Onagraceae) as related to population outcrossing rates and heterozygosity. Evolution 50:80-91.


• Sherry, R.A. and E.M. Lord. 1996. Developmental stability in flowers of Clarkia tembloriensis (Onagraceae). Journal of Evolutionary Biology 9(6):911-930.


• Sherry, R.A., E.M. Lord, and K.J. Eckard. 1993. Flower development in dioecious Spinacia oleracea (Chenopodiaceae). American Journal of Botany 80(3):283-291.

Manublahs in Review or Preparation

• Hui, D., Y. Luo, S. Wan, T. Xu, S.R. Saleska, X. Zhou, R.A. Sherry and L.L. Wallace. Evidence of decreased soil moisture sensitivity of soil respiration under warming in a tallgrass prairie. In Revision.


• Sherry, R.A., L.L. Wallace, J.A. Arnone III, D.S. Schimel, P.S. Verburg, and Y. Luo. Changes in Plant Community Structure and Species Abundance due to Interannual Variation in Temperature and Precipitation in a Tallgrass Prairie Experiment. In Preparation.

Reports and Planning Documents (Selected)

• LSA Associates, Inc. 2002. Sausal Canyon Rock-Fall Protection, Biological Report, Geysers Recharge Project. Report to the City of Santa Rosa Utilities Department, Santa Rosa, CA. Prepared by Tim Lacy, Sean Lohmann, Eva Buxton and Rebecca Sherry, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2002. Congdon’s Tarplant Mitigation, First Annual Report, Parkridge Subdivision, Salinas, CA. Report to Award Homes, Santa Clara, CA. Prepared by Rebecca Sherry and Clint Kellner, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2002. Special-Status Botanical Resources, Third Annual Report, Geysers Recharge Project, Pipeline Alignments and Pump Station Locations, Sonoma County, CA. Report to the City of Santa Rosa Utilities Department, Santa Rosa, CA. Prepared by Eva Buxton and Rebecca Sherry. LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2002. Rockville Hills Regional Park Management Plan, Recommended Draft. Submitted to the City of Fairfield Community Services Department, Fairfield, CA. Prepared by George Molnar, Rachel Budelsky and Rebecca Sherry, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2002. Conceptual Wetland Mitigation and Monitoring Plan, Applied Biosystems, Pleasanton Campus. Submitted to Applied Biosystems, Pleasanton, CA. Prepared by Sean Lohmann and Rebecca Sherry, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2001. Contra Costa County Flood Control Habitat Classification and Inventory System, Contra Costa County, Flood Control and Water Conservation District. Submitted to Contra Costa County Department of Public Works, Martinez, CA. Prepared by Rebecca Sherry, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2001. Special-Status Botanical Resources, Geysers Recharge Project, Pipeline Alignments and Pump Station Locations, Sonoma County, CA. Report to the City of Santa Rosa Utilities Department, Santa Rosa, CA. Prepared by Clint Kellner, Eva Buxton and Rebecca Sherry. LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2001. Native Grassland Restoration and Enhancement Plan, Anderson-Rowe Ranch Project Areas B, C and D. Submitted to Pell Development Company, San Rafael, CA. Prepared by Rebecca Sherry, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2001. Native Grassland Restoration and Enhancement at Hartzell Park, San Rafael, CA. Submitted to, San Rafael, CA. Prepared by Rebecca Sherry, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.


• LSA Associates, Inc. 2001. Cliff Swallow Biology and Nuisance Abatement Recommendations, A Report to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Report to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Water Quality Bureau, Burlingame, CA. Prepared by Rebecca Sherry, LSA Associates, Inc., Point Richmond, CA.

Book Reviews

• Sherry, R. and T. Wyka. 1996. Review of Rock Garden Plants of North America: An Anthology from the Bulletin of the North American Rock Garden Society, J. McGary, ed., 1996, Timber Press, Inc., Portland, OR. In The Plant Science Bulletin Vol.42(3):88-89.


• Sherry, R. 1997. Review of The Biology of Grasses by G.P. Chapman, 1996. CAB International, NY. In The Plant Science Bulletin 43(3):79.