Chicago Botanic Garden

Plant Science — OUR SCIENTISTS

PHOTO: Andrea Tietmeyer KramerAndrea Tietmeyer Kramer

Executive Director,
Botanic Gardens Conservation International U.S.

B.A., Macalester College

Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago


PUBLICATIONS
phone (847) 835-6971
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Research Interests

  • Ecological genetics, including applications to native plant materials development
  • Understanding and addressing declines in botanical capacity
  • Increasing collaboration among botanic gardens and partners to advance plant conservation

Statement

I am the executive director of the U.S. office of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), which is hosted by the Chicago Botanic Garden. Headquartered at Kew Gardens in London, BGCI has worked for more than 20 years to mobilize and enable a global network of over 2,500 botanic gardens and conservation partners in 120 countries to collaboratively preserve and promote plant diversity for people and the planet. In my role, I work with botanic gardens and partners in the United States and around the world on projects that help advance the work of botanic gardens in conserving the world’s plant diversity. 

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My thesis research asks questions aimed at making plant restoration practices as economically feasible and successful as possible. Working with staff at the Chicago Botanic Garden, my research was carried out in the Great Basin, a region in the western United States that encompasses much of the state of Nevada and portions of surrounding states. More than one third of the native plant and animal communities in the Great Basin are degraded by invasive species, which has led to increasingly large and intense wildfires in the region. This research was carried out collaboratively with other researchers and graduate students at the University of Illinois at Chicago and at the Chicago Botanic Garden (Dr. Jeremie Fant and Dr. Kayri Havens, as well as Ph.D. student Rebecca Tonietto).

My research utilized three wildflower species (Penstemon, or beardtongue) and the tools of ecological genetics to understand how gene flow and adaptation drive differences in common widespread forbs with high restoration value. Results of this research are being used to help guide restoration policies and practices in order to maximize restoration success.

Selected Publications

Kramer, A.T., J. Fant, and M.V. Ashley. Influences of landscape and pollinators on population genetic structure: examples from three Penstemon (Plantaginaceae) species in the Great Basin. In review: American Journal of Botany.

Britton, K.O., P. White, P., A. Kramer, and G. Hudler. 2010. A new approach to stopping the spread of invasive insects and pathogens: early detection and rapid response via a global network of sentinel plantings. New Zealand Journal of Forestry 40:109-114.

Kramer, A.T. and K. Havens. 2009. Plant conservation genetics in a changing world. Trends in Plant Science14(11):599-607.

Kramer, A.T., J.L. Ison, M.V. Ashley, and H.F. Howe. 2008. The paradox of forest fragmentation genetics. Conservation Biology 22(4):878-885.

Kramer, A.T. and J.B. Fant. 2007. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Penstemon rostriflorus (Plantaginaceae) and cross species amplification. Molecular Ecology Notes 7(6):998-1001.

Davis, M.A., C. Curran, A. Tietmeyer, and A. Miller. 2005. Dynamic tree aggregation patterns in a species-poor temperate woodland disturbed by fire. Journal of Vegetation Science 16:167-174.


Other Publications

Kramer, A.T., K. Havens, K., and B. Zorn-Arnold. 2010. Assessing botanical capacity to address grand challenges in the United States, p. 64 pp. plus appendices. Chicago Botanic Garden and Botanic Gardens Conservation International U.S., Glencoe, IL.

Kramer, A.T. 2010. Measuring botanic garden contributions to plant conservation and education in the United States. BGjournal 7(2):24-28.

Tietmeyer, A., and P. Bristol. 2002. Potential invasibility of crabapple species and cultivars in the Chicago region. Malus 16:3-11.

Kramer, A.T. 2008. Conserving plant species with wide ecological amplitude in the face of climate change: common garden studies on Penstemon species in the western U.S. 2nd World Botanic Garden Scientific Congress: Challenges in Botanical Research and Climate Change, Delft, The Netherlands.

Kramer, A.T. 2007. Successful restoration of plant communities: why pollinators matter <http://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/staff/kramer/Kramer_071907DonorTalk.pdf>.
Lecture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Kramer, A.T., J. Fant, R. Tonietto, and K. Havens. 2006. Ecotypes in Penstemon: insights from molecular and quantitative studies. Ecology and Evolution Departmental Seminar, University of Illinois, Chicago.

Kramer, A.T., J. Fant, R. Tonietto, and K. Havens. 2006. Ecotypes in Penstemon: insights from molecular and quantitative studies. Intermountain Native Plant Summit, Boise, Idaho.

Tietmeyer, A., A. Day, and M.A. Davis. 1998. Effects of habitat fragmentation on oak savanna bird species. Minnesota Academy of Science-Winchell Symposium, Winona, Minn.

Selected Guest Lectures and Seminars

Plants and climate change. January 2010. Casey Trees. Washington, D.C. 

Genetic considerations that determine the success of native plantings: examples from Penstemon in the Great Basin. November 2009. American Seed Trade Association. Kansas City, Missouri.

Plant conservation in a changing climate: a leading role for botanic gardens. Mason Pharr Seminar, North Carolina State University. April 2009.  Raleigh, North Carolina.


Graduate Students

Elizabeth Riley (2010)
Comparison of three common wetland assessment methods


Websites

Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Botanic Gardens Conservation International maintains information on plant conservation and education around the world, highlighting the important work of botanic gardens and partners in achieving the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.  My work in the United States includes a recently-completed project on botanical capacity in the United States and ongoing work to identify how much of the world’s plant diversity is held by botanic gardens as an insurance policy against extinction.

Seeds of Success
The national Seeds of Success program, established in 2001 by the Bureau of Land Management and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Millennium Seed Bank, is working to collect, conserve, and develop native plant materials for stabilizing, rehabilitating and restoring lands in the United States. Many botanic gardens, including the Chicago Botanic Garden, are partners on this nationwide project. I learned a lot about the power of partnership from this program, and am proud that my research has helped inform some of its work.

National Collection of Endangered Plants
As an endangered plant specialist, I managed a two-year, collaborative project (funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS) to create CPC's National Collection of Endangered Plants website. This site outlines what the network of CPC-member botanic gardens are doing to help conserve more than 575 threatened and endangered plants in the United States, and details each species' current status, as well as management and research needs. This project was completed in December 2002, and the site is now hosted and continually updated on the Center for Plant Conservation's website at http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/NC_Choice.html. This project allowed me to interact with the wonderful network of researchers at botanic gardens around the country who are working to conserve the nation’s imperiled plants, and also showed me the significant need for more research to help guide management decisions for these rarest of plants. This experience strongly influenced my decision to pursue my Ph.D. and conduct research with real on-the-ground applications. 

Plants of Concern
As a Garden intern, I worked with Garden scientists on research aimed at understanding the population biology of threatened/endangered plant species in the Midwest (including Viola conspersa, Platanthera leucophaea, and Lespedeza leptostachya). This research helped form the basis for long-term monitoring protocols on rare species in the Chicago region, in what is now the Garden's Plants of Concern program.