Chicago Botanic Garden

Plant Science — OUR SCIENTISTS

PHOTO: Kay HavensKayri Havens, Ph.D.

Medard and Elizabeth Welch Director,
Plant Science and Conservation

Ph.D., Indiana University, 1994


PUBLICATIONS
(847) 835-8378


Research Interests

My research interests generally fall under the umbrella of reproductive ecology and conservation genetics of plant species. I have worked on nonrandom reproductive success in a rare evening primrose (Oenothera organensis) and outbreeding depression in Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower) and Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia). I am currently working with a number of colleagues on quantitative and molecular genetic studies on a threatened thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) and on three Penstemon (beardtongue) and three Eriogonum (buckwheat) species used in post-wildfire restoration projects in the Intermountain west.

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I am also interested in developing measures of success and best practices for ex situ plant conservation programs, from collecting genetically diverse seed accessions, to minimizing genetic change during storage and increasing likelihood of success of reintroductions.

A final area of research focuses on invasive plant species. I am interested in improving predictive risk assessments and evaluation procedures for deliberately introduced plants, and worked with a team that developed the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Invasive Plant Policy.

Most of these projects are carried out in collaboration with graduate students. I have worked with students from the MS programs at Northwestern University and Loyola University Chicago, as well as the PhD program at University of Illinois Chicago. A recent NSF IGERT grant, LEAP (Landscape, Ecological and Anthropogenic Processes) is funding students to work on conservation and restoration projects at University of Illinois Chicago in partnership with Chicago Botanic Garden.


Graduate Students

Jennifer Ison – University of Illinois Chicago Ph.D. program, LEAP fellow
Does one seed collection represent the genetic diversity of a population?

Andrea Kramer – University of Illinois Chicago Ph.D. program
Implications of population genetics for plant restoration in the Great Basin

Glen Madeja – Northwestern University M.S. program
On a set of defensible criteria for invasive plants


publications

Hawkins, Belinda, Suzanne Sharrock, and K. Havens. 2008. Plants and Climate Change: Which Future? Botanic Garden Conservation International report, 96 pp.

Havens, K. 1994. Clonal repeatability of in vitro pollen tube growth rates in Oenothera organensis (Onagraceae). American Journal of Botany 81:161-165.

Havens, K., K.A. Preston, C.R. Richardson, and L.F. Delph. 1995. Nutrients affect allocation to male and female function in Abutilon theophrasti (Malvaceae). American Journal of Botany 82:726-733.

Havens, K. and L.F. Delph. 1996. Differential seed maturation uncouples fertilization and siring success in Oenothera organensis (Onagraceae). Heredity 76:623-632.

Havens, K. 1998. The genetics of plant restoration. Restoration and Management Notes 16:68-72.

Havens, K. and D.L. Holland. 1998. Factors affecting reproductive success in a rare grass, Calamagrostis porteri ssp. insperata. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 85:64-68.

L.F. Delph and K. Havens. 1998. Pollen competition in flowering plants. In Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection, ed. T.R. Birkhead and A.P. Moller, pp. 147-174. Academic Press.

Havens, K. 1999. Pollination biology: Implications for rare plant conservation. Ecological Restoration17:217-219.

Bell, T.J., M. Bowles, K. Havens, P. Vitt, and K. McEachern. 2002. Reintroducing Pitcher’s Thistle. Endangered Species Bulletin 27(3):14-15.

Havens, K. 2002. Developing an Invasive Plant Policy: The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Experience. Public Garden 17(4):16-17.

Guerrant, E.O., K. Havens, and M. Maunder, ed. 2004. Ex Situ Plant Conservation: Supporting Species Survival in the Wild, 504 pp. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Maunder, M., K. Havens, E.O. Guerrant, and D. Falk. 2004. Ex situ methods: A vital but underused set of conservation resources. In Ex Situ Plant Conservation: Supporting Species Survival in the Wild, ed. E.O. Guerrant, K. Havens, and M. Maunder, pp. 3-20. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Vitt, P. and K. Havens. 2004. Integrating quantitative genetics into ex situ conservation and restoration practices. In Ex Situ Plant Conservation: Supporting Species Survival in the Wild, ed. E.O. Guerrant, K. Havens, and M. Maunder, pp. 286-304. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Maunder, M., E.O. Guerrant, K. Havens, and K. Dixon. 2004. Realizing the full potential of ex situ contributions to global plant conservation. In Ex Situ Plant Conservation: Supporting Species Survival in the Wild, ed. E.O. Guerrant, K. Havens, and M. Maunder, pp. 389-418. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Guerrant, E.O., P. Fiedler, K. Havens, and M. Maunder. 2004. Revised genetic sampling guidelines for conservation collections of rare and endangered plants. In Ex Situ Plant Conservation: Supporting Species Survival in the Wild, ed. E.O. Guerrant, K. Havens, and M. Maunder, pp. 419-441. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Havens, K., E.O. Guerrant, M. Maunder, and P. Vitt. 2004. Guidelines for ex situ conservation collection management: Minimizing risks. In Ex Situ Plant Conservation: Supporting Species Survival in the Wild, ed. E.O. Guerrant, K. Havens, and M. Maunder, pp. 454-473. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Jefferson, L., K. Havens, and J. Ault. 2004. Implementing invasive screening procedures: The Chicago Botanic Garden model. Weed Technology 18:1434-1440.

Pennacchio, M., L.V. Jefferson, and K. Havens. 2005. Smoke: Promoting germination of tallgrass prairie species. Chicago Wilderness Journal: Best Practices in Conservation and Restoration 3:14-19.

Farnsworth, E.J., S. Klionsky, W.E. Brumback, and K. Havens. 2006. A set of simple decision matrices for prioritizing collection of rare plant species for ex situ conservation. Biological Conservation 128:1-12.

Havens, K., P. Vitt, M. Maunder, E. O. Guerrant Jr., and K. Dixon. 2006. Ex Situ Plant Conservation and Beyond. BioScience 56:525-531.