Tom Parker

Tom Parker

( He/Him/His )
Professor Emeritus
University of California, Santa Barbara, 1977
Email: parker@sfsu.edu

Specialties: Classes primarily taught are Plant Ecology, Community Ecology, Fire Ecology, and graduate seminars.

At SF State Since:1980

Website: vthomasparker.org

  • B.A., Biology, University of Texas, Austin, 1973
  • M.A, Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1975
  • Ph.D., Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1977

Parker, an ecologist focused on the ecology and evolution of vegetation dynamics.  Research has emphasized chaparral and tidal wetlands the last 10 years. Research questions concern seed dispersal, seed predation, seed bank dynamics, seedling establishment, and the diffuse mutualisms associated with these life history stages (e.g., mycorrhizal fungi, scatter-hoarding rodents).  Parker is also an expert in the evolution and taxonomy of Arctostaphylos (Ericaceae), the most diverse woody plant genus in California.