Oklahoma State University
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Gail W. T. Wilson
Associate Professor

Education
BS: Biology, Geology Minor, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA, 1979.
MS: Biology, Slippery Rock State University, Slippery Rock, PA, 1983.
PhD: Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 2003.

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Curriculum Vitae  

Research Interests:
My research interests are in plant community ecology, plant-soil microbe interactions, and plant-animal interactions, utilizing a combination of experimental field and greenhouse studies. The majority of my research focuses on rangeland ecology and management, fire ecology, nutrient dynamics, and grassland restoration, with an emphasis on belowground mechanisms such as mycorrhizal symbiosis and belowground populations of meristems.  Dynamics within the soil community can be a major driver of the plant community. For example, our research indicates that mycorrhizal fungi contribute to community processes and functions through their establishment of linkages and feedbacks between plants and nutrient cycles. Other research I am currently involved with includes invasive species and woody plant expansion in grasslands, restoration of rangelands, and the importance of resource availability (specifically soil P, N, and light) as controllers of the mutualistic function of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Recent Publications (since 2005)

Hajny, K.M.*, D.C. Hartnett, and G.W.T. Wilson. 201-. Season and intensity of fire influences the expansion of a woody invader (Rhus glabra)in grasslands. International Journal of Wildland Fire. In press.

Johnson, N.C., G.W.T. Wilson, M.A. Bowker, J.A. Wilson**, and R.M. Miller. 2010. Resource limitation as a driver of local adaptation in mycorrhizal symbioses.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107: 2093-2098.

Hoeksema J.D., V.B. Chaudhary, C.A. Gehring, N.C. Johnson, J. Karst, R.T. Koide, A. Pringle, C. Zabinski, J.D. Bever, J.C. Moore, G.W.T. Wilson, J.N. Klironomos, and J. Umbanhowar.  2010. Context-dependency in plant response to mycorrhizal fungi: A meta-analysis. Ecology Letters. 13: 394-407.

Chaudhary, V.B., L.L. Walters, J.D. Bever, J.D. Hoeksema, and G.W.T. Wilson. 2010. Advancing synthetic ecology: a data management technique to facilitate complex ecological meta-analyses. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 91: 235-243.

McCain, K.N.S.*, S.G. Baer, J.M. Blair, and G.W.T. Wilson. 2010. Dominant grasses suppress local diversity in restored tallgrass prairie. Restoration Ecology. 18: 40-49.

Wilson, G.W.T., C.W. Rice, M.C. Rillig, A. Springer**, and D.C. Hartnett. 2009. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi control soil aggregation and carbon sequestration. Ecology Letters. 12:452-461.

Johnson, N.C., V.B. Chaudhary, J.D. Hoeksema, J.C. Moore, A. Pringle, J.A. Umbanhower and G.W.T. Wilson. 2009. Mysterious mycorrhizae? A field trip and classroom experiment to demystify symbioses formed between plants and fungi. American Biology Teacher. 71:389-394.

 Wilson, G.W.T. and M.M. Williamson. 2008. Topsin-M: the new benomyl for mycorrhizal suppression experiments. Mycologia. 100: 548-554.

Wilson, J.D., D.B. Bechtel, G.W.T. Wilson, and P.A. Seib. 2008. Bread quality of spelt wheat and its starch. Journal of Cereal Chemistry. 85: 629-638.

Jonas, J.L.*, G.W.T. Wilson, P.M. White, Jr.*, and A. Joern. 2007. Consumption of mycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi by Collembola in grassland soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 39: 2594-2602.

Johnson, N.C., J.D. Hoeksema, L. Abbott, J. Bever, V.B. Chaudhary, C. Gehring, J. Klironomos, R. Koide, R.M. Miller, R.J. Moore, M. Schwartz, S. Simard, W. Swenson, J. Umbanhowar, G.W.T. Wilson, C. Zabinski. 2006. From Lilliput to Brobdingnag: Extending models of mycorrhizal function across scales. Bioscience. 56:889-900.

Wilson, G.W.T., D.C. Hartnett, and C.W. Rice. 2006. Mycorrhizal-mediated phosphorus transfer between the tallgrass prairie plants Sorghastrum nutans and Artemisia ludoviciana. Functional Ecology. 20: 427-435.

Villarreal, M.*, R.C. Cochran, E.G. Towne, G.W.T. Wilson, D.C. Hartnett, and D.G. Gooden. 2006. The use of pasture reflectance characteristics and arbuscular mycorrhizal root colonization to predict pasture characteristics of tallgrass prairie grazed by cattle and bison. Grass and Forage Science. 61: 32-41.

Kula, A.R.*, D.C. Hartnett, and G.W.T. Wilson. 2005. Mycorrhizal symbiosis and insect herbivory in tallgrass prairie microcosms. Ecology Letters. 88: 61-69.
Office: 475 Ag Hall
Address: 008C Ag Hall
Stillwater, OK 74077
Phone: (405) 744-5539
Fax: (405) 744-3530
Email:  
gail.wilson@okstate.edu

 

Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
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