Craig Martin
Professor
Ecological Plant Physiology
Ph.D., Duke University
Phone: (785) 864-3645
Fax: (785) 864-5860
Area of Interest and Research
Research in my lab revolves around understanding how plants adapt to stressful environments. Adaptations of interest include biochemical, physiological, anatomical, and morphological responses to such stresses. Much of our effort is focussed on the ecophysiology of plants having different photosynthetic pathways, e.g., Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), C4, and C3. In addition, we are interested in the potential ecophysiological significance of variations or intermediacy in these pathways, including CAM-cycling, C3-CAM intermediacy, and C4-CAM intermediacy. Recent projects receiving attention in the lab include the following: ecophysiological consequences of soil burial in species of Lithops, or "living stones," potential water conservation associated with CAM-cycling in succulents growing on rock outcrops in the Midwest, the multiple mechanisms underlying high water-use efficiency in CAM plants, the potential effect of nocturnal malic acid accumulation on the water relations of CAM plants, the importance of C4 taxa during old-field succession in the Midwest, ecophysiology of several C4 prairie grasses relative to their microclimate, and the evolution of CAM in a diverse array of vascular plants.
Another emphasis of our research efforts centers on an elucidation of the physiological and morphological adaptations of plants to the epiphytic habitat in the tropics and subtropics. Most of this research features epiphytic bromeliads, especially members of the genus Tillandsia, many of which are CAM plants. We are interested in learning how such plants survive the aerial or arboreal environment while lacking functional roots, often lacking an ability to store substantial amounts of water, and facing scarce elemental nutrient availability. Specific research projects have included studies of shade adaptations in epiphytic bromeliads, adaptations and responses to drought stress in these plants, the impact of CAM on the water relations of such epiphytes, and the effects of dense epidermal trichome cover on gas exchange in atmospheric species of Tillandsia.
Not all the research in my lab is limited to CAM plants and epiphytic bromeliads. We pursue any questions about the ecological aspects of physiological and morphological adaptations of plants to stress. Such studies include comparisons of the water relations of different types of prairie plants, investigations of the degree of competitive interactions among weeds and prairie plants, sun/shade adaptations in mosses and grasses, effects of leaf age on photosynthesis and transpiration in tropical trees, the potential importance of water movement between leaves during drought stress, effects of space exposure on seed and seedling vigor, and effects of atmospheric pollutants on the ecophysiology of trees and crop plants.
By the way, the bizarre plant next to me in the above photograph is Welwitschia mirabilis, endemic to the Namib Desert in Namibia. This unusual plant, despite its appearance, has only two leaves, and is related to gymnosperms. It was originally reported to be a CAM plant, then the initial evidence was refuted, but a recent report indicates that these odd plants can indeed engage, to some degree, in CAM photosynthesis. Regardless, its physiology, as well as its appearance and evolutionary history, remain intriguing.
Representative Publications
Martin, C.E. 2010. The occurrence of plants with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis in tropical and subtropical rain forests with very high rainfall. Taiwan J. Forest Sci. 25: 3-16.
Martin, C. E., R. C-C. Hsu, and T-C. Lin. 2010. Sun/shade adaptatoins of the photosynthetic apparatus of Hoya carnosa, an epiphytic CAM vine, in a subtropical rain forest in northeastern Taiwan. Acta Physiological Plant 32:575-581.
Martin, C.E. 2010. The occurrence of plants with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis in tropical and subtropical rain forests with very high rainfall. Taiwan J. Forest Sci. 25: 3-16.
Martin, C.E., E. J. Mas, L. Lu, B.L. Ong. 2010. The photosynthetic pathway of the roots of twelve epiphytic orchids with CAM leaves. Photosynthetica42-50.
Martin, C.E, R. (C.-C.) Hsu, T.-C. Lin. 2010.Comparative photosynthetic capacity of abaxial and adaxial leaf sides as related to exposure in two epiphytic ferns in a subtropical rainforest in northeastern Taiwan. Amer. Fern J.445-450.
Martin, C.E., R. Hsu, and T-C. Lin. 2009. The relationship between CAM and leaf succulence in two epiphytic vines, Hoya carnosa and Dischidia formosana (Asclepiadaceae), in a subtropical rainforest in northeastern Taiwan. Photosynthetica 47: 445-450.
Egbert, K.J., C. E. Martin, and T.C. Vogelmann. 2008. The influence of epidermal windows on the light environment within the leaves of six succulents. J. Exp. Bot. 59:1863–1873.
Martin, C.E., T.-C. Lin, C.-C. Hsu, S.-H. Lin. 2007. No effect of host tree species on the physiology of the epiphytic orchid Bulbophyllum japonicum in a subtropical rain forest in northeastern Taiwan. Taiwan J. Forest Sci. 22:341–351.
Hsu, C.-C., T.-C. Lin, W.-L. Chiou, S.-H. Lin, K.-C. Lin, and C.E. Martin. 2006. Canopy CO2 concentrations and Crassulacean acid metabolism in Hoya carnosa in a subtropical rain forest in Taiwan: consideration of CO2 availability and the evolution of CAM in epiphytes. Photosynthetica 44:130–135.
Benz, B.W. and C.E. Martin. 2006. Foliar trichomes, boundary layers, and gas exchange in 12 species of epiphytic Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae). J. Plant Physiol. 163:648–656.
Chiou, W.-L., C.E. Martin, T.-C. Lin, C.-C. Hsu, S.-H. Lin, and K.-C. Lin. 2005. Ecophysiological differences between sterile and fertile fronds of the subtropical epiphytic fern Pyrrosia lingua (Polypodiaceae) in Taiwan. Amer Fern J. 95:150–159.
S. L. Martin, R. Davis, P. Protti, T.-C. Lin, S.-H. Lin, and C. E. Martin. 2005. The occurrence of Crassulacean acid metabolism in epiphytic ferns, with an emphasis on the Vittariaceae. Int. J. Plant Sci. 166:623–630.
Martin, C.E., T.-C. Lin, K.-C. Lin, C.-C. Hsu, and W.-L. Chiou. 2004. Causes and consequences of high osmotic potentials in epiphytic higher plants. J. Plant Physiol. 161:1119–1124.
Martin, C.E., T.-C. Lin, C.-C. Hsu, S.-H. Lin, K.-C. Lin, Y.-J. Hsia, and W.-L. Chiou. 2004. Ecophysiology and plant size in a tropical epiphytic fern, Asplenium nidus, in Taiwan. Int. J. Plant Sci. 165:65-72. Rabas, A. and C.E. Martin. 2003. Possible movement of water from old to young leaves in three species of succulents. Annals of Botany 92:1–8.
Egbert, K.J. and C.E. Martin. 2002. The influence of leaf windows on the utilization and absorption of radiant energy in seven desert succulents. Photosynthetica 40:35–39.
Martin, C.E. and V.J. Adamson. 2001. Photosynthetic capacity of mosses relative to vascular plants. J. Bryol. 23:319–323.
Teaching Honors
Center for Teaching Excellence Award for Teaching Excellence, 2004
(one award per department per year at KU; selected by undergraduates)
H.O.P.E. Award Recipient, 2001
(one such award among the KU faculty yearly selected by Senior class of 2001;
acronym stands for "Honor to Oustanding, Progressive Educator")
Chancellor's Club Teaching Professor, 2001
(only 14 such awards to KU faculty since 1981)
Outstanding Advisor, Math & Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, 1999
(one such award per division of the College among the KU faculty yearly)
H. Bernerd Fink Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1997
(one such award among the KU faculty yearly)
Kemper Teaching Fellow, 1996
(one of 16 professors at the University of Kansas cited for outstanding teaching each year)
Mortar Board Outstanding Educator, 1984, 1992
(Mortar Board, a Senior honor society, selects 4 or 5 Outstanding Educators from
the KU faculty each year)
H.O.P.E. Award Finalist, 1991, 1997, 2001
(see above information; 5-6 Finalist are selected each year)
H.O.P.E. Award Semi-Finalist, 1990, 1991, 1997, 2001
(10 Semi-Finalists are selected each year)
H.O.P.E. Award Quarter-Finalist, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 2001
(approximately 50 Quarter-Finalists are selected each year)
"Favorite Professor" Award, 1993, 1997
(selected by Senior Biology majors each year)
"Professor or Advisor Who Contributed Most to my Education at KU", 1996, 1997
"Finest Teacher From Whom I Took Courses", 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 2001
(selected by graduting Seniors and listed in the Oread, a staff newspaper;
discontinued from 1993 to 2001)
Invited to teach (with 7 others) statewide Regents Honors Academy
("Science and Technology in the 21st Century") at KU, Summer, 1990