Matthew E. Baker
Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2002
Associate Professor
Office:
 211-K Sondheim Hall
Phone:
 410-455-3759
Email Address:
 mbaker@umbc.edu
Research Interests:
 Watershed ecology, riparian ecosystems, landscape ecology, ecosystem ecology, hydrology and biogeochemistry
Recent Research Activities:
 1) Tracking the effects of urbanization on stream communities through time (MD Sea Grant)
2) The influence of network structure and connectivity on stream community assembly (NSF)
3) New analytical approaches for detecting community response to environmental gradients (USEPA, USGS, MA Fish and Game)
4) The role of riparian hydrology and geomorphology in contributing to regional greenhouse gas emissions (USDA-CSREES)
5) Evaluating the effect of climate and topography on water residence time and hydrologic scaling in semi-arid, alpine catchments (INRA)
6) Watershed water quality modeling in support of nutrient trading markets (USEPA)
7) Assessment of ecosystem condition and climate change in Grand Teton National Park (NPS)
8) Biophysical controls on invasion success in low-productivity environments: exotic trout in Andean Patagonia
9) A strategic planning tool for targeted buffer restoration and enhanced riparian stewardship (NOAA-CICEET)

Selected Recent Publications:

Tesfa, TK, DG Tarboton, DW Watson, KA Schreuders, ME Baker, RM Wallace. 2011. Extraction of hydrological proximity measures from DEMs using parallel processing. Environmental Modelling and Software (in press).

Lowry JH, ME Baker, RD Ramsey. 2011. Determinants of urban tree canopy in residential neighborhoods: household characteristics, urban form, and the geophysical landscape. Urban Ecosystems doi: 10.1007/s11252-011-0185-4

King, RS and ME Baker. 2011. An alternative view of ecological community thresholds and appropriate analyses for their detection. Comment. Ecological Applications doi:10.1890/10-0882.1

Budy, P, M. Baker, SK. Dahle. 2011. Predicting fish growth potential and identifying water quality constraints: a spatially-explicit bioenergetics approach. Environmental Management doi: 10.1007/s00267-011-9717-1.

King, RS, ME Baker, PF Kazyak, DE Weller. 2011. How novel is too novel? Stream community thresholds at exceptionally low levels of catchment urbanization. Ecological Applications 21(5):1659-1678.

Weller, DE, ME Baker, TE Jordan. 2011. Empirical tests for effects of riparian buffers on watershed nitrate discharges. Ecological Applications 21(5):1679-1695.

King, RS and ME Baker. 2010. Considerations for identifying and interpreting ecological community thresholds. Journal of the North American Benthological Association 29(3):998-1008.

Baker ME and RS King. 2010. A new method for identifying and interpreting ecological community thresholds. Methods in Ecology & Evolution 1:25-37.

Baker, ME and MJ Wiley. 2009. Multiscale controls of flooding in riparian forests of Lower Michigan. Ecology.90(1):145-159.

Tarboton, DG and ME Baker. 2008. Toward an algebra for terrain-based flow analysis. Chapter 12 in N. Mount, G. Harvey, G. Priesthall, and P. Apin. (eds). Representing, Modelling, and Visualizing the Natural Environment. Innovations in GIS series. CRC Press-Taylor & Francis, London.

Baker, ME, DE Weller, TE Jordan. 2007. Effects of stream map resolution on measures of riparian buffer distribution and nutrient retention potential. Landscape Ecology 22:973-992.

Baker, ME, DE Weller, TE Jordan. 2006. Improved methods for quantifying potential nutrient interception by riparian buffers. Landscape Ecology 21(8):1327-1345.

Baker, ME, DE Weller, TE Jordan. 2006. Comparison of automated watershed delineations: effects on land cover areas, percentages, and relationships to nutrient discharges. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 72(2):159-168.

King, RS, ME Baker, DF Whigham, DE Weller, TE Jordan, PF Kazyak, MK Hurd. 2005. Spatial considerations for linking watershed land cover to ecological indicators in streams. Ecological Applications 15(1):137-152.

Recent Presentation:

 Baker, ME. 2010. Opportunities at the interface of hydrology and ecology. National Research Council’s Committee on Challenges and Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences. National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC, Invited Speaker, Sept 9th, 2010.

Baker ME and RS King 2009 Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN): a new method for detecting biodiversity and ecological community thresholds. Invited Webinar U.S. EPA National Center for Environmental Assessment, August 2010.

Baker, ME, RS King, and PF Kazyak. 2010. Strikingly consistent biodiversity losses to watershed impervious cover across taxonomic groups revealed by Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN). ALSO/NABS Joint Meeting, Santa Fe, NM.

Weller, DE, ME Baker, and TE Jordan. 2010. Nitrate removal by riparian buffers and in-stream processes in Chesapeake Bay Catchments. ALSO/NABS Joint Meeting, Santa Fe, NM.

King, RS and ME Baker. 2010. Considerations for analyzing ecological community thresholds in response to anthropogenic environmental gradients. ALSO/NABS Joint Meeting, Santa Fe, NM.

Baker ME and RS King 2010. A new method for detecting biodiversity and ecological community thresholds. US-IALE Annual Meeting Athens, GA, April 2010.

VanAppledorn M and ME Baker. New software tools for strategic prioritization of riparian coservation and restoration. US-IALE Annual Meeting Athens, GA, April 2010.

Panunto M and ME Baker. Using a hydrogeomorhic typology to understand distributions of riparian buffers in Central Indiana. US-IALE Annual Meeting Athens, GA, April 2010.

Baker ME and RS King 2009 Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN): a new method for detecting biodiversity and ecological community thresholds. Invited Speaker Region 1 USGS/USEPA, February 2010.

Ph.D. Students:
Molly Van Appledorn (UMBC-GES), Andrew Miller (UMBC-GES)
Master's Students:
Matthew Panunto (UMBC-GES), Dan Jones (UMBC-GES), Christina Simini (UMBC-GES), Mattie Whitmore (UMBC-Math), Haley Martin (UMBC-GES)
Courses Taught:
Research Methods, Watershed Science and Management, Forest Ecology, Watershed Analysis