Research interests:
Wetland ecology and management
Forest ecology
Ecology of woodland herbs
Current projects:
Orchid ecology : Native woodland orchids are the focus of several studies. Long-term permanent plot studies are used to examine population dynamics of several species. Field and laboratory experiments are used to study seed germination, seedling ecology, and interactions between orchids and mycorrhizal fungi.
Woodland herbs : Current projects focus on the impacts of herbivory and canopy disturbance on resource allocation and population dynamics of woodland herbs that have different life history strategies.
Clonal growth : Many herbaceous species propagate clonally. Current projects focus on the genetic variability of clonal species in forest and wetland habitats. Other studies focus on the ecological consequences of interactions between clone members growing in different habitats.
Responses to canopy disturbances : Long-term experiments are used to test hypotheses about how trees and understory plants respond to the death of canopy trees, particularly the mode of death.
Wetland ecology : Studies of wetland vegetation and nutrients in water are used to examine how restored wetlands can be used to enhance biodiversity and improve water quality. Comparative studies in several countries are used to address human effects on nutrient cycling and effects of nutrient limitation on wetland ecology.
Landscape ecology: Wetland assessment techniques, GIS methodologies, and comparative studies of nitrogen cycling are used to evaluate the ecological conditions of wetlands at the scale of an entire watershed.
Recent publications:
Feller, I.C., D.F. Whigham, K.L. McKee and C.E. Lovelock. 2003. Nitrogen limitation of growth and nutrient dynamics in a disturbed mangrove forest, Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Oecologia 134: 405-414.
Jordan, T., D.F. Whigham, K. Hofmockel, and M. Pittek. 2003. Nutrient and sediment removal by a restored wetland receiving agricultural runoff. Journal of Environmental Quality 32: 1534-1547.
Kitamura, K., M. Tatsuyoshi, H. Kudoh, J. O'Neill, F.H. Utech, D.F. Whigham, and S. Kawano. 2003. Demographic genetics of the American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.). III. Genetic substructuring of Coastal Plain populations in Maryland. Plant Species Biology 18: 13-34.
Verhoeven, J.T.A., M.J. Wassen, D.F. Whigham, H. Middelkoop, G. van der Lee (guest editors). 2003. The Integration of Scales in Landscape Ecology. Landschap 2. 129 pp.
Whigham, D.F. 2003. Flexibility in landscape ecology. Landschap 2: 79.
Whigham, D.F. and T.E. Jordan. 2003. Isolated wetlands and water quality. Wetlands 23: 541-549.
Whigham, D.F., I. Olmsted, E. Cabrera Cano and A.B. Curtis. 2003. Impacts of hurricanes on the forests of Quintana Roo, Yucatán Península, México. Pp.193-213. In: A. Gomez-Pompa, M.E. Allen, S.L. Fedick and J.J. Jimenez-Osornio (eds) Lowland Maya Area: Three Millennia at the Human-Wildland Interface. Food Products Press, Binghamton, NY.
Whigham, D.F., D.E. Weller, A. Deller Jacobs, T.E. Jordan, and M.E. Kentula. 2003. Assessing the ecological condition of wetlands at the catchment scale. Landschap 2: 99-112.
Whigham, D.F. and J.H. Willems. 2003. Demographic studies and life-history strategies of temperate terrestrial orchids as a basis for conservation. Pp. 137-158. In: K.W. Dixon, S.P. Kell, R.L. Barrett and P.J. Cribb, (eds). Orchid Conservation. Natural History Publications, Kota Kinabaluk Sabah.
Dickinson, M.B. and D.F. Whigham. In press. Effects of root competition on species of contrasting shade tolerance across a light gradient in a seasonally-dry forest in Mexico. Biotropica.
McCormick, M.K., D.F. Whigham, and J. O'Neill. In press. Mycorrhizal diversity in photosynthetic terrestrial orchids. New Phytologist.
Whigham, D.F. In press. The ecology of woodland herbs. Annual Review Ecology and Systematics.
Whigham, D.F. In press. Global distribution, diversity, and human alterations of wetland resources. In: E. Maltby (ed). Wetlands Handbook. Blackwell Science.
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