Michael L. McKinney

Professor

Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science

I have been at UT for over 20 years, having received my Ph.D. from Yale University in 1985. I am currently the Director of the Environmental Studies Program (http://web.utk.edu/~esp/). This is a rapidly growing field of study and enrolls many students.

I also teach environmental geology and an introductory course in environmental science, and serve as the faculty advisor to the student environmental club at UT (SPEAK). I have published several books including Environmental Science (4th edition) and Biotic Homogenization (with Julie Lockwood).

My research interests have generally focused on biological issues. I started out in paleobiology, in which I still have an active interest. In this area, I have published several papers on extinction and evolution as seen in the fossil record. However, in recent years I have published increasing numbers of articles on topics relating to modern biodiversity issues, such as the effects of urbanization on biodiversity, and especially how human activities are homogenizing the biosphere. I have served on the editorial boards of Evolutionary Ecology Research and Animal Conservation.

Here are some recent publications:

McKinney, ML (2006) Correlated non-native species richness of birds, mammals, herptiles and plants: scale effects of area, human population and native plants. Biological Invasions 8: 415-425.

McKinney, ML (2006) Urbanization as a major cause of biotic homogenization. Biological Conservation 127: 247-260.

Olden, JD, Poff, NL, and McKinney, ML (2006) Forecasting faunal and floral homogenization associated with human population geography in North America. Biological Conservation 127: 261-271.

La Sorte FA and McKinney, ML (2006) Compositional similarity and the distribution of geographical range size for assemblages of native and non-native species in urban floras. Diversity & Distributions 12: 679-686

McKinney, ML (2005) Species introduced from nearby sources have a more homogenizing effect than species from distant sources: evidence from plants and fishes in the USA. Diversity and Distributions 11: 367-374.

McNamara KJ, McKinney ML (2005) Heterochrony, disparity, and macroevolution
Paleobiology 31: 17-26 Suppl. S.

McKinney, ML (2005) Scaling of park trail length and visitation with park area: conservation implications. Animal Conservation 8: 135-141.

McKinney, ML, and Lockwood, JL (2005) Exotic and native species have similar spatial patterns of community composition, evenness and abundance. pp. 365-380. In: Exotic Species; A Source of Insight Into Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography. Sax, Gaines and Stachowicz, eds. Sinauer, Massachussetts.

McKinney, ML (2005) New Pangea: homogenizing the future biosphere. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 56: 119-129.

Mike McKinney

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
1412 Circle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-1410
Phone: (865) 974-6359
Email: mmckinne@utk.edu