Jacquelyn Duke

Biography

Jacquelyn Duke joined in baylor University & working as a Senior lecturer in the department of Biology. She has completed her BS from California State University Stanislaus, MA from Baylor University & Ph.D. from Baylor University. Her research interest includes Riparian and Hyporheic Zones, Intermittent Stream Ecology, Dendroecology. Trees suck. So much so, that sometimes they even change stream water dynamics when they grow adjacent to stream banks. That's been a focus of my research into riparian zones and hyporheic connections between streams and canopy transpiration. Have you ever flown in an airplane and followed the snaking outline of stream networks below? Did you notice how differently the plants along the bank look (especially here in Texas) from the rest of the landscape? Those are riparian zones - fascinating, species-rich, highly productive ribbons of life that are taking advantage of the abundant water flowing in those stream channels. If we could burrow beneath the soil surface in these areas, we'd find that water doesn't simply run parallel to all those trees, but it moves from the stream bank and back again, forming underground braids of meandering "rivers" within the soil. That's a hyporheic zone; and just like riparian zones, hyporheic zones are highly productive and ecologically important areas where lots of biogeochemical cycling is taking place. And that's what makes these places so fun to explore!

Research Interest

Riparian and Hyporheic Zones, Intermittent Stream Ecology, Dendroecology