Tom Kaye

Executive Director, Senior Ecologist
[email protected]
(541) 753-3099 ext. 777

Tom Kaye, PhD, is Executive Director and Senior Ecologist at the Institute for Applied Ecology. Tom manages the day-to-day operations of IAE and supervises IAE’s programs. He specializes in habitat restoration, invasive species control, endangered species reintroduction, population dynamics of plants, population viability analysis, monitoring and conservation planning. Sourcing native plants for restoration is a key area of interest, research and publication for Tom. In addition, his interests include plant-pollinator interactions and plant systematics.

Tom graduated with a B.S. from The Evergreen State College (1984) and worked for the US Forest Service and National Park Service until 1987. He received a master’s degree (1989) and PhD (2001) from Oregon State University. After working for Olympic National Park (1984-1987), he joined the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Plant Conservation Biology Program where he conducted research and contributed to policy on management of threatened and endangered plant species.  He serves on the board of directors of the Society for Ecological Restoration as the North American representative and co-chairs the North American Chapter Committee. He serves as a Commission Member on the IUCN SSC Seed Conservation Specialist Group.

As Associate Professor (courtesy, 2001-present) in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University, Tom supervises graduate students, serves on graduate student committees, presents guest lectures, and leads discussion groups in a variety of ecological topics.

Thomas Kaye on ResearchGate

Thomas Kaye academic CV

Tom Kaye

Selected Publications

Wojcik, V., L. Smith, W. Carromero, L.D. Adams, S. Davis, S.J. DeBano, C. Fallon, R. Hatfield, S.H. Black, T.N. Kaye, S. Jepsen, S. McKnight, L. Morandin, E. Pelton, P. Rhoades, K. Rourke, M. Rowland, and W. Tinkham. 2018. New Research and BMPs in Natural Areas: A Synthesis of the Pollinator Management Symposium from the 44th Natural Areas Conference, October 2017. Natural Areas Journal 38:334-346.

Petix, M.I. M.A. Bahm, and T.N. Kaye. 2018. Development of Techniques to Improve Coastal Prairie Restoration on the Clatsop Plains, Oregon. Natural Areas Journal 38:268-274.

Kaye, T.N., I.J. Sandlin, and M.A. Bahm. 2018. Seed dormancy and germination vary within and among species of milkweeds. AoB PLANTS https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/ply018.

Kaye, T.N. 2017. Working toward the same goal: Reintroduction of rare plants in support of wild population conservation. Douglasia 41:4-8.

Kaye, T.N.E,1 2017. Nested Intensity Monitoring: Tracking rare plant populations at multiple levels to improve efficiency. Society of Ecological Restoration Newsletter 31(3). Available online: http://www.ser.org/page/SERNews.

Trowbridge, C.C., A. Stanley, T.N. Kaye, P. Dunwiddie, and J.L. Williams. 2017. Long-term effects of prairie restoration on plant community structure and native population dynamics. Restoration Ecology 25:559-568.

Kaye, T.N., K. Bush, C. Naugle, and C.J. LeRoy. 2015. Conservation projects in prison: The case for engaging incarcerated populations in conservation and science. Natural Areas Journal 35(1):90-97.

Jones, K.D. and T.N. Kaye. 2015. Growing native seeds for restoration: Seed dormancy and germination of Sidalcea malviflora ssp. virgata (Malvaceae). Natural Areas Journal 35(1):26-28.

Jones, K.D. and T.N. Kaye. 2014. Factors influencing germination of a functionally important grassland plant, Iris tenax. PLOS One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090084.

Thorpe, A.S., S. Perakis, C. Catricala, and T.N. Kaye. 2013. Nutrient limitation of native and invasive N2-fixing plants in northwest prairies. PLOS One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084593.

Crone, E., M.M. Ellis, W. Morris, A. Stanley, T. Bell, P. Bierzychudek, J. Ehrlen, T.N. Kaye, T. Knight, P. Lesica, G. Oostermeijer, P. Quintana-Ascencio, T. Ticktin, T. Valverde, J. Williams, D.F. Doak, R. Ganesan, K. McEachern, A.S. Thorpe, E.S. Menges. 2013. Ability of Matrix Models to Explain the Past and Predict the Future of Plant Populations. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12049.

Richardson, P.J., A.S. MacDougall, A.G. Stanley, T.N. Kaye, and P.W. Dunwiddie. 2012. Inversion of dominance-diversity relationships along a latitudinal stress gradient. Ecology 93:1431-1438.

Ellis, M.M., J.L. Williams, P. Lesica, T.J. Bell, P. Bierzychudek, M. Bowles, E. Crone, D.F. Doak, J. Ehrlen, A. Ellis-Adam, K. McEachern, R. Ganesan, P. Latham, S. Luijten, T.N. Kaye, T.M. Knight, E.S. Menges, W.F. Morris, H. den Nijs, G. Oostermeijer, P.F. Quintana-Ascencio, J.S. Shelley, A. Stanley, A. Thorpe, T. Ticktin, T. Valverde, and C. Weekley. In press. Matrix population models from 20 studies of perennial plant populations. Ecology.

Clark, D.L., M. Wilson, R. Roberts, P.W. Dunwiddie, A. Stanley and T.N. Kaye. 2012. Plant traits – a tool for restoration? Applied Vegetation Science. Doi: 10.1111/j.1654-109X.2012.01198.x.

Seabloom, E.W., C.D. Benfield, E.T. Borer, A.G. Stanley, T.N. Kaye, and P.W. Dunwiddie. 2011. Provenance, lifespan, and phylogeny do not affect grass species’ responses to nitrogen and phosphorus. Ecological Applications 21:2129-2142.

Thorpe, A.S. and T.N. Kaye. 2011. Conservation and reintroduction of the endangered Willamette daisy. Native Plants Journal 12:289-298.

Stanley, A.G., P.W. Dunwiddie, and T.N. Kaye. 2011. Restoring invaded Pacific Northwest prairies: management recommendations from a region-wide experiment. Northwest Science 85:233-246.

Dennehy, C., H.E. Anderson, D.R. Clements, E.R. Alverson, T.N. Kaye, and R. Gilbert. 2011. Management strategies for invasive plants in Pacific Northwest prairies and oak woodlands. Northwest Science 85:329-351.

Kaye, T.N. 2011. Toward successful reintroductions: The combined importance of species traits, site quality, and restoration technique. In, J.W. Willoughby, B.K. Orr, K.A. Schierenbeck, and N.J. Jensen [eds.], Proceedings of the CNPS Conservation Conference: Strategies and Solutions, 17-19 Jan 2009, California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA. pp. 99-106.

Kaye, T.N., R. Schwindt, and C. Menke. 2011. Do private land owners support species conservation? Results of a local survey (Oregon). Ecological Restoration 29:10-12.

Stanley, AG., Thomas N. Kaye, and Peter Dunwiddie. 2011. Multiple treatment combinations and seed addition increase abundance and diversity of native plants in Pacific Northwest prairies. Ecological Restoration 29:35-44.

Crone, E., E. Menges, M. Ellis, T. Bell, P. Bierzychudek, J. Ehrlen, T.N. Kaye, T. Knight, P. Lesica, W. Morris, G. Oostermeijer, P. Quintana-Ascencio, A. Stanley, T. Valverde, T. Ticktin, and J. Williams. 2011. How do plant ecologists use matrix population models? Ecology Letters 14:1-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01540.x

Miller, S.A., A. Bartow, M. Gisler, K. Ward, A.S. Young, and T.N. Kaye. (corresponding author) 2011. Can an ecoregion serve as a seed transfer zone? Evidence from a common garden study with five native species. Restoration Ecology 19:268-276. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-100X.2010.00702.x

Wilson, B.L., V. Hipkins, and T.N. Kaye. 2010. One taxon or two: Are Frasera umpquaensis and F. fastigiata (Gentianaceae) distinct species? Madrono 57:106-119.

Lawrence, B.A. and T.N. Kaye. 2009. Reintroduction of Castilleja levisecta: Effects of ecological similarity, source population genetics, and habitat quality. Restoration Ecology. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-100X.2009.00549.x

Kaye, T.N. 2008. Vital steps toward success of endangered plant reintroductions. Native Plants Journal 9:313-322.

Stanley, A.S., T.N. Kaye, and P.W. Dunwiddie. 2008. Regional strategies for restoring invaded prairies: observations from a multisite collaborative research project. Native Plants Journal 9: 247-254.

Lawrence, B.A. and T.N. Kaye. 2008. Direct and indirect effects of host plants: Implications for reintroduction of an endangered hemiparasitic plant (Castilleja levisecta). Madroño 55:151-158.

Kaye, T.N., M. Blakeley-Smith, and W. Thies. 2008. Long term effects of post-harvest stump removal and N-fertilization on understory vegetation in western USA forests. Forest Ecology and Management 256:732-740.

Meinke, R.J. and T.N. Kaye. 2007. Kalmiopsis fragrans (Ericaceae), a new distylous species from the southern Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (formerly SIDA). Volume 1, No.1.

Guerrant, E.O. and T.N. Kaye. 2007. Reintroduction of rare and endangered plants: Common factors, questions and approaches. Australian Journal of Botany 55:362-270.

Kaye, T.N. and M. Blakeley-Smith. 2006. False-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum). In, Invasive Species in the Pacific Northwest. P.D. Boersma, S.E. Reichard, and A.N. van Buren, editors. University of Washington Press, Seattle. Pages 80-81.

Lawrence, B.A. and T.N. Kaye. 2006. Habitat variation throughout the historic range of golden paintbrush, a Pacific Northwest prairie endemic: Implications for reintroduction. Northwest Science 80:140-152.

Lawrence, B.A. and T.N. Kaye. 2005. Growing Castilleja for restoration and the garden. Rock Garden Quarterly 63:128-134.

Wilson, B.L., V.D. Hipkins, E. Rey-Vizgirdas, and T.N. Kaye. 2005. Variation in Lewisia kelloggii (Portulacaceae) with description of a new species endemic to Idaho. Western North American Naturalist 65:345-358.

Kaye, T.N. 2004. Reintroducing the endangered pink sand-verbena to Pacific Coast beaches: Direct seeding and out-planting. In, Brooks, M.B., S.K. Carothers, and T. LaBlanca, eds. The Ecology and Management of Rare Plants of Northwestern California: Proceedings from a 2002 Symposium of the North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, California.

Wilson, M.V, T. Erhart, P.C. Hammond, T.N. Kaye, K. Kuykendall, A. Liston, A.F. Robinson, Jr., C.B. Schultz, and P.M. Severns. 2003. Biology of Kincaid’s lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii [Smith] Phillips), a threatened species of western Oregon native prairies. Natural Areas Journal 23:72-83.

Kaye, T.N. and D.A. Pyke. 2003. The effect of stochastic technique on estimates of population viability from transition matrix models. Ecology 1464-1476.

Kaye, T.N. and J. Cramer. 2003. Direct seeding or transplanting: The cost of restoring populations of Kincaid’s lupine (Oregon). Ecological Restoration 21:224-225.

McGlaughlin, M., K. Karoly, and T.N. Kaye. 2002. Genetic variation and its relationship to population size in reintroduced populations of the pink sand verbena, Abronia umbellata subsp. breviflora. Conservation Genetics 3:411-420.

Kaye, T.N., K. Pendergrass, K. Findley and J.B. Kauffman. 2001. The effect of fire on the population viability of an endangered prairie plant. Ecological Applications 11:1366-1380.

Caswell, H. and T.N. Kaye. 2001. Stochastic demography and conservation of an endangered perennial plant (Lomatium bradshawii) in a dynamic fire regime. Advances in Ecological Research 32:1-51.

Kaye, T.N. and K. Kuykendall. 2001. Effects of scarification and cold stratification on germination of Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii. Seed Science and Technology 29:663-668.

Kaye, T.N. 2001. Common ground and controversy in native plant restoration: the SOMS debate, source distance, plant selections, and a restoration-oriented definition of native. In, Native Plant Propagation and Restoration Strategies. R. Rose and D. Haase, editors. Nursery Technology Cooperative and Western Forestry and Conservation Association, Corvallis, Oregon.

Reprinted in: Grasslands 17:4-9, 2007, and Fourth Corner Nurseries catalog, 1-15, 2007.

Kaye, T.N. and K. Kuykendall. 2001. Germination and propagation techniques for restoring rare Pacific Northwest prairie plants. In, Reichard, S.H., P.W. Dunwiddie, J.G. Gamon, A.R. Kruckeberg, D.L. Salstrom, editors. Conservation of Washington’s Native Plants and Ecosystems. Washington Native Plant Society, Seattle, Washington.

Kaye, T.N. 1999. Propagation of endangered species: Variable germination of pink sandverbena from Pacific Coast beaches. Combined Proceedings of the International Plant Propagators Society 49:617-621.

Kaye, T.N., M. Kirkland, and N. Testa. 1999. Growing endangered plants to save them: germinating, propagating and restoring pink sandverbena. In, Native plants: propagating and planting. R. Rose and D. Haase, editors. Forest Research Lab, Oregon State University. Pp. 100-107.

Kaye, T.N. and M. Kirkland. 1999. Effect of timber harvest on Cimicifuga elata, a rare plant of western forests. Northwest Science 73:159-167.

Kaye, T.N. 1999. Obligate insect pollination of a rare plant: Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii. Northwest Science 73:50-52.

Kaye, T.N. 1999. From flowering to dispersal: reproductive ecology of an endemic plant, Astragalus australis var. olympicus (Fabaceae). American Journal of Botany 86:1248-1256.

Pendergrass, K.L., P.M. Miller, J.B. Kauffman, and T.N. Kaye. 1999. The role of prescribed burning in maintenance of an endangered plant species, Lomatium bradshawii. Ecological Applications 9:1420-1429.

Kaye, T.N., K. Amsberry, S.D. Gisler, and R.J. Meinke. 1998. Back from the brink: the challenges of endangered plant re-introduction. Hortus West 9:4-9, 90-91.

Kaye, T.N., A. Liston, R.M. Love, D. Luoma, R.J. Meinke, and M.V. Wilson [editors]. 1997. Conservation and management of native plants and fungi. Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon.

Kaye, T.N., R.J. Meinke, J. Kagan, S. Vrilakas, K.L. Chambers, P.F. Zika, and J.K. Nelson. 1997. Patterns of rarity in the Oregon flora: implications for conservation and management. In, Kaye, T.N., A. Liston, R.M. Love, D. Luoma, R.J. Meinke, and M.V. Wilson [editors]. Conservation and management of native plants and fungi. Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon.

Kaye, T.N. 1997. Seed dormancy in high elevation plants: implications for ecology and restoration. In, Kaye, T.N., A. Liston, R.M. Love, D. Luoma, R.J. Meinke, and M.V. Wilson [editors]. Conservation and management of native plants and fungi. Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon.

Greenlee, J. and T.N. Kaye. 1997. Stochastic matrix projection: a comparison of the effect of element and matrix selection methods on quasi-extinction risk for the rare plant Haplopappus radiatus. In, Kaye, T.N., A. Liston, R.M. Love, D. Luoma, R.J. Meinke, and M.V. Wilson [editors]. Conservation and management of native plants and fungi. Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon.

Buckingham, Nelsa, E.G. Schreiner, T.N. Kaye, and J.E. Burger, and E.L. Tisch. 1995. Flora of the Olympic Peninsula. Northwest Interpretive Association and the Washington Native Plant Society. Seattle, Washington. 199 pp.

Schreiner, E.G., M.B. Gracz, T.N. Kaye, M.B. Woodward, and N.M. Buckingham. 1994. Chapter 12, Rare plants. In, D.B. Houston, E.G. Schreiner, and B.B. Moorhead, editors. Mountain goats in Olympic National Park: biology and management of an introduced species. Scientific Monograph NPS/NROLYM/NRSM-94/25, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Pp. 173-185.

Kaye, T.N. 1994. Cimicifuga elata (tall bugbane) conservation and management. Kalmiopsis 4:28-29.

Kaye, T.N. 1992. Bradshaw’s desert parsley: population monitoring and pollination biology. Kalmiopsis 2:1-4.

Meinke, R.J. and T.N. Kaye. 1992. Taxonomic assessment of Astragalus tegetarioides (Fabaceae) and a new related species from northern California. Madroño 39:193-204.

Kaye, T.N. and E. McEvoy. 1992. Native Plant Society of Oregon policy statement on reintroduction of extirpated or rare species. Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon 25:5-6.

Kaye, T.N. 1991. Inventory of the vascular flora of Dungeness Spit, Clallam County, Washington. Douglasia Occasional Papers 4:2-25.

Kaye, T.N. 1991. Chromosome numbers for Eriogonum crosbyae, E. prociduum, Ivesia baileyi var. beneolens, and I. rhypara var. shellyi. IOPB Newsletter 17, Chromosome Data section.

Kaye, T.N. 1990. Newberry’s gentian and the effect of biased collections on taxonomy. Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon 24:131.

Kaye, T.N. 1990. Chromosome numbers for Crepis nana ssp. ramosa, Senecio flettii (Asteraceae), Campanula piperi (Campanulaceae), Astragalus australis var. olympicus (Fabaceae), Petrophytum hendersonii (Rosaceae), and Pedicularis bracteosa var. atrosanguinea (Scrophulariaceae). IOPB Newsletter 15, Chromosome Data section.

Kaye, T.N. 1989. Rare plant field report: Senecio ertterae in Leslie Gulch. Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon 22:122-124.

Kaye, T.N. 1988. Endemism and rarity in plants. Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon 22:23-24.

Papers and books published on the internet (non-refereed)

Kaye, T.N., M. Gisler, and R. Fiegener (editors). 2003. Proceedings of a Conference on Native Plant Restoration and Management on Public Lands in the Pacific Northwest: Rare Plants, Invasive Species and Ecosystem Management. Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis, Oregon (on-line abstracts).

https://appliedeco.org/RestorationConference2003/ConferenceProceedings03.htm

Kaye, T.N. 2001. Brachypodium sylvaticum (Poaceae) in the Pacific Northwest. Botanical Electronic News No. 277. Available on the web at:

http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben277.html

Kaye, T.N. 2000. Notes on the geographic distribution and taxonomy of Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii (Fabaceae): Watch for it in your neighborhood. Botanical Electronic News No. 243. Available on the web at:

http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben243.html

Kaye, T.N. 1995. Cimicifuga elata – some comments on its ecology & distribution. Botanical Electronic News No. 121. Available on the web at:

http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben121.html