Karen H. Gaines

Karen Gaines
  • Master's Student

Contact Info

KBS - Higuchi Hall

Biography —

Faculty Mentor: James Thorp
Research Interests: Dragonfly & damselfly ecology, aquatic food webs, biogeography, phylogeography, conservation ecology
Hometown: Albuquerque, NM / Skokie, IL

Education —

B.S. in Ecology, Ethology, & Evolution, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Secondary Science Teacher Certification, Life Sciences and Broad Field Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Graduate work leading to PhD Candidacy, University of New Mexico - Department of Biology, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Selected Publications —

  • Gaines, K.H.  2006.  Does the equilibrium theory of island biogeography apply to dragonfly breeding ecology in a desert sinkhole complex?  In Davies, B.R. and S. Thompson (Eds.).  Water and the Landscape: The Landscape Ecology of Freshwater Ecosystems; Proceedings of the Fourteenth IALE(UK) Annual Conference.  IALE(UK);  Garstang; pp. 64-71.
  • Gaines, K.H., P. Durkin, and G.C. Harper.  1996.  The New Mexico Natural Heritage Program: Managing biodiversity information to guide conservation.  New Mexico Journal of Science 36:355-366
  • Smith, W.A., T.E. Vogt, and K.H. Gaines.  1993.  Checklist of Wisconsin Dragonflies.  Wisconsin Entomological Society Miscellaneous Publication No. 2

Selected Presentations —

Recent Presentations at Regional, National, & International Meetings

  • Rovelli, R., Cotter, A.J., Dwyer, C.H., Freymueller, N., Gaines, K.H., Hedberg, C.P., Keller, J.S., Perriguey, D., Silviria, J.S. and Witts, J.D.  Using PaleoENM to predict patterns of survivorship in the Hell Creek Formation ecosystems across the K/Pg mass extinction.  2019: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, USA, September 2019.  Contributed oral presentation.
  • Gaines, K.H.  Dragonflies and damselflies of New Mexico.  Rio Grande Nature Center Annual Summer Wings Festival and BioBlitz, Albuquerque, NM, August 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014.  Invited oral presentation.
  • Gaines, K.H.  Ontogenetic differences in odonate nestedness patterns: Confirmation that baby dragonflies live in nests!  International Biogeography Society Biennial Meeting, Tucson, AZ, USA, January 2017.  Contributed oral presentation.
  • Gaines, K.H.  It’s a great place to visit … but would I raise my kids there?  Odonates experience an ontogenetic shift in landscape function in a desert sinkhole complex.  Dragonfly Society of the Americas Annual Meeting, Ladysmith, WI, USA, June 2014.  Contributed oral presentation.
  • Gaines, K.H.  Baby dragonflies sleep in nests and leave their pajamas on the ground: Exuvial diversity reveals highly ordered larval odonate communities.  North American Benthological Society Annual Meeting, Providence, RI, USA, May 2011.  Invited oral presentation.

Recent Attendance at Regional, National, & International Meetings

  • Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, ONLINE only, June 2020
  • Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, USA, May 2019
  • Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, Detroit, MI, USA, May 2018
  • Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, Raleigh, NC, USA, June 2017
  • Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, USA, May 2015
  • Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (Society for Freshwater Science, Phycological Society of America, Association for the Sciences of Limnology & Oceanography, Society of Wetland Scientists), Portland, OR, USA, May 2014
  • Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting (formerly North American Benthological Society), Jacksonville, FL, USA, May 2013
  • North American Benthological Society / Association for the Sciences of Limnology & Oceanography Joint Meeting, Santa Fe, NM, USA, May 2010

Grants & Other Funded Activity —

Minor Grants & Proposals (since Starting at KU in January 2020)

  • Gaines, K.H.  Using stable isotope analyses to elucidate aquatic community trophic relationships on the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge.   University of Kansas Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Graduate Student Organization Research Travel Award.  $500.  07/25/20 – 08/31/20.  Funded.
  • Gaines, K.H.  Using stable isotope analyses to elucidate aquatic community trophic relationships on the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge.  Sigma Xi.  $1,000.  07/25/20 – 08/31/20.  Not funded.
  • Gaines, K.H.  Using stable isotope analyses to elucidate aquatic community trophic relationships on the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge.  Dr. David F. Ludwig Memorial Student Travel Award.  $1,000.  07/25/20 – 08/31/20. Funded.

Recent Fellowships, Awards, & Honors

  • University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center Investigators’ Choice Award.  2018.
  • University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center Annual Staff Recognition Award.  2017.