Kim O'Keefe - Department of Biology

2015 Weston Hall
Office Phone: (906) 227-2157
kiokeefe@nmu.edu

Lab website

• 2016 - PhD, Biology, Kansas State University
• 2012 - MS, Biology, St. Joseph's University
• 2010 - BS, Biology, The College of New Jersey

Terrestrial ecosystems are undergoing rapid and extensive transformations as a result of human activity (e.g., anthropogenic climate change, shifts in land-use practices). As a plant ecophysiologist, my goal is to better understand the physiological processes that structure dynamic ecosystems. By providing mechanistic insight into how plants respond to their environment, I aim to understand both the fundamental processes that maintain plant communities and ecosystem function, as well as to make predictions about how these dynamics will change in the future. For more info, check out my research website: kimokeefe.weebly.com

• BI 111 - Introductory Biology: Principles

• O’Keefe K, Nippert JB, Keen RM, McCulloh KA (2024) Contrasting shrub and grass hydraulic responses to experimental drought. Oecologia 204, 931-941. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05543-w
• O’Keefe K, Smith DD, McCulloh KA (2023) Linking stem rehydration kinetics to hydraulic traits using a novel method and mechanistic model. Annals of Botany. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad066
• McCulloh KA, Augustine SP, Goke A, Jordan R, Krieg CP, O’Keefe K, Smith DD (2022) At least it is a dry cold: the global distribution of freeze–thaw and drought stress and the traits that may impart poly-tolerance in conifers. Tree Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpac102
• Keen RM, Nippert JB, Sullivan PL, Ratajczak Z, Ritchey B, O’Keefe K, Dodds WK (2022) Impacts of Riparian and Non-riparian Woody Encroachment on Tallgrass Prairie Ecohydrology. Ecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-022-00756-7
• O’Keefe K, Bachle S, Keen R, Tooley EG, Nippert JB (2021) Root traits reveal safety and efficiency differences in grasses and shrubs exposed to different fire regimes. Functional Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13972
• O’Keefe K, Bell DM, McCulloh KA, Nippert JB. (2020) Bridging the flux gap: sap flow measurements reveal species-specific patterns of water-use in a tallgrass prairie. JGR Biogeosciences. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005446