Faculty Profiles

Keith Karoly received his B.A. in biology from Whitman College and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in evolutionary biology from The University of Chicago, studying the reproductive biology of California annual lupines for his doctoral research. He conducted post-doctoral research at SUNY-Stony Brook and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, investigating the pollination dynamics of avalanche lilies in Colorado and the evolution of separate sexes for a meadow rue in upstate New York. Keith began his current position in the Reed College Biology Department in 1994. He teaches Vascular Plant Diversity, Molecular Ecology, Introductory Biology, and seminar courses on Molecular Genetic Analyses of Plant Evolution and Plant-Human Ecological and Evolutionary Interactions. His research projects have been broadly centered on the genetics and ecology of plant evolutionary diversification, with a particular interest in the mating systems of flowering plants. Specific projects since arriving at Reed have included continuing studies of mating system variation in annual California lupines, the evolution of floral diversity in the mustard family, the phylogeography of the Oregon white oak, and genetic and ecological studies focused on understanding the recent evolutionary divergence of PNW larkspurs (the genus Delphinium) — several of which are species of conservation concern.

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