Plant Science — OUR SCIENTISTS

James F. Steffen

Ecologist

B.S. and M.S., University of Wisconsin

PUBLICATIONS
(847) 835-8266

Research Interests

Exotic invasive plant populations
Soil microarthropods
Litter-dwelling spiders
Sedges in the genus Carex
Exotic invasive earthworm populations

Statement

As a specialist in oak woodland flora and fauna, my goal is to restore Mary Mix McDonald Woods, a 100-acre oak woodland complex, using a number of methods. Through the removal of invasive species, the collection and sowing of seeds from appropriate local native species, the maintenance of nursery populations for seed production, the monitoring of floral and faunal populations and the use of controlled burning, I am striving to increase species diversity and develop a healthier functioning ecosystem.

Utilizing my ornithological background, I maintain bird-nesting structures throughout the Garden, use bird bands to mark selected species of breeding birds at the Garden and oversee a cumulative bird list.

publications

Steffen, James. "Cooper's Hawks Use Artificial Nest Structure." The Passenger Pigeon 70 (2):185-187 (2008).

Liam Heneghan, James Steffen, and Kristen Fagen. Interactions of an introduced shrub and introduced earthworms in an Illinois urban woodland: Impact on leaf litter decomposition. Pedobiologia 50 (2007) 543-551.

Steffen, James. "Seed Treatment and Propagation Methods." In The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook. Covelo, Calif.: Island Press, 1996.

---. "Study Examines the Heat of Combustion of Deciduous Tree Leaf Litter (Illinois)." Restoration and Management Notes 11 (2): 152 (1993).

---. Turnbull Woods: A Vegetation Inventory and Management Plan. Glencoe, Ill.: Chicago Horticultural Society, 1989.

Steffen, James, Thomas C. Erdman and Robert W. Howe. "A Biological Inventory of Kingfisher Farm: A Potential Long-Term Research Site in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin." Richter Natural History Museum Research Report No. 1. Green Bay, Wis.: University of Wisconsin- Green Bay, 1988.

Steffen, James. "Some Effects of Clearcutting on Songbird Populations in the Northern Hardwood Forest." Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters. Vol. 73 (1985): 123-132.

---. "Turkey Vultures Breeding in Unused Farm Buildings." Passenger Pigeon 46(3):101 (1984).

---. "Unusual Hunting Behavior of the American Kestrel." Inland Bird Banding 53 (3): 109-110 (1981).

---. "Seventh State Record for Groove-Billed Ani." Passenger Pigeon 43 (3): 109-110 (1981).

---. "Nesting off the Common Loon in Manitowoc County." Passenger Pigeon 43 (3): 111 (1981).

---. "Some Notes on Breeding Sharp-Shinned Hawks in Manitowoc County." Passenger Pigeon 43 (3): 112-113 (1981).

---. Woodland Dunes: Past, Present, and Future. A Resource Inventory and Land Management Plan. Manitowoc, Wis.: Woodland Dunes Nature Center, 1979.

---. "Cannibalism in Adult Nesting Red-Tailed Hawks." Auk 94 (3): 593-594 (1977).