Lloyd R. Stark

Associate Professor

Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Bryophyte Ecology: Stress, Reproduction, Conservation

LRS@unlv.nevada.edu

The central theme of my current research revolves around the stress biology of desert mosses. Types of stress responses under study include dessication tolerance (DT), thermotolerance, and exposure to projected climate change stressors such as elevated CO₂, summer precipitation events, nutrient additions, and microsite disturbance. In addition to the theme of stress biology, I am involved in tracking the status of globally rare species of bryophytes in the Mojave Desert and developing a list of bryophytes known from the state of Nevada. Research in progress is funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC), the Clark County (NV) Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, and the National Geographic Society.

Selected Publications

• Stark, L. R. and D. N. McLetchie. 2006. Gender-specific heat-shock tolerance of hydrated leaves in the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis. Physiologia Plantarum. 126: 187-195.
• McLetchie, D. N. and L. R. Stark. 2006. Sporophyte and gametophyte generations differ in their thermotolerance response in the moss Microbryum. Annals of Botany: in press.
• Stark, L. R. 2005. Phenology of patch hydration, patch temperature and sexual reproductive output over a 4-year period in the desert moss Crossidium crassinerve. Journal of Bryology 27: 229-238.
• Barker, D, L. R. Stark, J. Zimpher, D. N. McLetchie, and S. D. Smith. 2005. Evidence of drought-induced stress on biotic crust moss in the Mojave Desert. Plant Cell Environment 28: 939-947.
• Stark, L. R., D. N. McLetchie, and B. D. Mishler. 2005. Sex expression, plant size, and spatial segregation of the sexes across a stress gradient in the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis. Bryologist 108: 183-193.
• Shevock, J. R., J. R. Spence, and L. R. Stark. 2005. Contributions toward a bryoflora of Nevada: bryophytes new for the Silver State. Madroño 52: 66-71.
• Stark, L. R., L. Nichols II, D. N. McLetchie, and M. L. Bonine. 2005. Do the sexes of the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis differ in desiccation tolerance? A leaf regeneration assay. International Journal of Plant Sciences 166: 21-29.
• Thompson, D.B., L. R. Walker, F. H. Landau, and L. R. Stark. 2005. The influence of elevation, shrub species, and biological soil crust on fertile islands in the Mojave Desert,USA. Journal of Arid Environments 61: 609-629.