-
William Rogers
- Professor
- Office:
- WFES 378
- Email:
- wer@tamu.edu
- Phone:
- (979) 845-0317
- Resume/CV
- Website: http://agrilife.org/wrogers/
Education
- Undergraduate Education
- B.A. Biology, Gustavus Adolphus College
- B.A. Chemistry, Gustavus Adolphus College
- Graduate Education
- Ph.D. Biology; Ecology, Kansas State University
- Postdoctoral studies, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University
Areas of Expertise
Exotic plant invasions and post-introduction evolution, Conservation of rare and endemic plant species, Plant-animal interactions, Population dynamics and community structure of terrestrial ecosystems, Demographic processes and species diversity in plant communities, Natural disturbance and vegetation regeneration mechanisms, Ecological assembly rules, Autogenic restoration and rehabilitation of damaged ecosystems, Social-ecological resilience and threshold transitions in managed ecosystems.
Professional Summary
William Rogers joined the Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management as an Assistant Professor in June 2005. He received his B.A. in Chemistry (1991) and Biology (1992) from Gustavus Adolphus College, MN and his Ph.D. in Biology (1998) from Kansas State University. His doctoral research was conducted at the Konza Prairie LTER site and focused on how fire and pocket gopher generated soil disturbances alter resource distribution, plant demography and productivity, and plant community dynamics across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Dr. Rogers was a member of the faculty at Rice University in Houston, Texas as a Huxley Research Instructor (1999-2003) and then as a Faculty Research Fellow (2003-2005) where he worked collaboratively with Dr. Evan Siemann on studies examining exotic plant invasions. Specifically, this ongoing research seeks to understand how local environmental factors (e.g., herbivores, fungal pathogens, resources, mycorrhizal symbionts, disturbance regime and recruitment limitation) interact with post-invasion evolutionary adaptations to determine the success of Chinese Tallow Tree (Sapium sebiferum) invasions in forests and grasslands throughout the southeastern United States. He has also established studies in the tree’s native range of China and the Hawaiian islands where Chinese Tallow has been introduced, but is not invasive.
In addition to advancing our knowledge of exotic species invasions, Dr. Rogers is working on several research projects related to habitat restoration. He is currently involved in studies: (1) promoting the conservation of an endangered orchid species, (2) examining the use of hot summer fires to control woody encroachment in rangelands, (3) assessing the impact a non-indigenous animals (e.g., feral hogs, insect outbreaks) on forest regeneration dynamics, and (4) developing control strategies for Chinese Tallow Tree invasions in a variety of Texas ecosystems.
Dr. Rogers has taught undergraduate courses on Ecological Restoration and a graduate course on Fire and Natural Resource Management.
Publications
- View publications on Google Scholar