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Contact Information

Phone:(808) 956-8369
Email:botany@hawaii.edu
Fax:(808) 956-3923

Botany Department
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
3190 Maile Way, Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96822

Dept. Chair:
Dr. Tom Ranker
Graduate Program Chair:
Dr. Kim Bridges

Home > People > Faculty >
Sterling Keeley

Dr. Sterling C. Keeley
Professor of Botany
PhD 1977, University of Georgia

Contact Information
Phone:(808) 956-8043
Email: sterling@hawaii.edu

Link to Laboratory Site

Graduate Faculty Memberships
Botany; Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology



Research Interests

My primary interests are in the phylogeny and biogeography of the tribe Vernonieae (Compositae or Asteraceae). The tribe includes nearly 2000 species on continents and islands worldwide. It is a model system for understanding long-distance dispersal and movement in one of the most successful of plant groups. We are continuing to investigate the relationships of African and other Old World species to those in Hawaii and the Americas. (The closest relative to Hawaii's endemic Vernonieae is found in Madagascar). In addition, we are contributing to the Deep Achene project on the origin and diversification of the Compositae. Many relationships within the Vernonieae remain to be explored and there are multiple opportunities to understand biogeography and phylogeny in the tribe.

Statement
We study the evolutionary, phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of genera, species, and populations within island archipelagos, continents, and across hemispheres. Current research in the lab includes studies of terrestrial and marine organisms (in several kingdoms) in Hawaii and the Pacific, particularly those with long distance relationships to other islands and continents. We utilize molecular and morphological data, applying the results to conservation and ethnobotany, as well as phylogeny and biogeography. Diversity of research interests is the hallmark of the lab.

 

Selected Publications

  • Keeley, S.C., Z. H. Forsman, and R. Chan. 2007. A phylogeny of the "Evil Tribe" (Vernonieae: Compositae) in the New/Old World: Support from separate and combined congruent datasets (trnL-F, ndhF, ITS). Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 44(1): 89-103.

  • Quinn, R.D., S.C. Keeley, M.D. Wallace. 2006. Introduction to California Chaparral (California Natural History Guides). University of California Press, CA.

  • Funk, V. A., R. Chan, and S. C. Keeley. 2004. Insights into the evolution of the tribe Arctoteae (Compositae: subfamily Cichorioideae s.s.) using trnL, ndhF, and ITS. Taxon 53: 637-655.

  • Funk, V. A., R. J. Bayer, S. Keeley, R. Chan, L. Watson, B. Gemeinholzer, E. Schilling, J. L. Panero, B. G. Baldwin, N. Garcia-Jacas, A. Susanna and R. K. Jansen. 2004. Everywhere but Antarctica: Using a supertree to understand the diversity and distribution of the Compositae. In: Friis, I. & Balslev, H. (eds.) Proceedings of a Symposium on Plant Diversity and Complexity Patterns - Local, Regional and Global Dimensions. The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Copenhagen. Pp. 000-000. (in press)

  • Keeley, S. C. (2000.) The Vernonieae. In: Stevens, W. D. (ed.) Flora of Nicaragua. Missouri Botanical Garden.

  • Kim, H.-Y., S.C. Keeley, P. Vroom and R. K Jansen (1998) Molecular evidence for an African origin of the Hawaiian endemic Hesperomannia (Asteraceae). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Washington D.C.) 95: 15440-15445.

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