Christine D. Maxwell
Associate Professor

Research Interests:
Terrestrial Algae and cyanobacteria.
Biological Crusts and the impact of wind erosion.

My research interests are the formation of surface soil crusts by algae, cyanobacteria, fungi and mosses. These organisms bind the surface layers of the soil and afford some protection to erosional of wind and water.

Teaching:
BIOL 218h  Plants and their ancestors
BIOL 319h  Wild Plants of Ontario
BIOL 324h  Biology of Algae and Cyanobacteria
BIOL 327h  Biology of weeds and alien invasives

Selected publications
Maxwell, C.D.  1995.  Acidification and metal contamination:  implications for the soil biota of Sudbury.  In J. Gunn (ed) Restoration and Recovery of an Industrial Region.  Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 

Maxwell, C.D.  1996.  Moss or moss imposter?  An investigative bryophyte exercise.  Am. Biol. Teacher 58:  240-241.

McKenna-Neuman, C., C.D. Maxwell and J.W. Boulton.  1996.  Wind transport of sand surfaces crusted with photoautotrophic micro-organisms.  Catena 27:  229-247.

McKenna-Neuman, C. and C.D. Maxwell.  A wind tunnel study of the resilience of three fungal crusts to particle abrasion during aeolian sediment transport.  Catena 38: 151-173.

McKenna-Neuman, C. and C.D. Maxwell.  2002.  Temporal aspects of the abrasion of microphytic crusts under grain impact.  Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 27: 891-908.