education and training
- B.A., Wabash College
- Ph.D., University of North Carolina
Whigham, Dennis
Fellowship Advisor
Staff of Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Ecology in terrestrial and wetland ecosystems; orchid-mycorrhizal interactions; role of disturbance in forests; ecological life history and population ecology of woodland and wetland species, ecology of invasive, landscape ecology
Research Areas
- Chesapeake Bay
- Ecology
- Ecosystem Function
- Ecosystem Services
- Ecosystems
- Invasive Plant Species
- Landscape Ecology
- Mangroves
- Marsh Communities
- North American Orchid Conservation Center
- Orchid Fungus Symbosis
- Phragmites australis
- Plant Ecology
- Terrestrial Ecology
- Wetland Ecology
Geographic Focus
- Americas Transnational Region
- Chesapeake Bay Geographic Region
- Mexico Country
Background And Education
awards and honors
- Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Award, conferred by Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Awards, 2018
Research And Grants
co-principal investigator on
investigator on
- 2020-0023: What Happens after the Phragmites is Killed? The Role of Native Plantings in Accelerating Post-treatment Recovery of Tidal Wetlands awarded by Maryland Sea Grant College 2019 -
- Support Endangered Species Management 2019 awarded by U.S. Army Garrison Fort AP Hill 2019 -
- Conservation Biology of Orchids in Hawaii and US Affiliated Pacific Islands awarded by USDA Forest Service 2016 -
- Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund awarded by State of Alaska
- FY 2013 Small Whorled Pogonia Research Project awarded by U.S. Army Garrison Fort AP Hill
- Growing Native Orchids in Different Substrates with and Without Orchid Mycorrhiza awarded by Longwood Gardens
- Growing Native Orchids in Different Substrates with and Without Orchid Mycorrhiza awarded by Longwood Gardens
- Juvenile Salmon Headwater Stream Reading Habitat awarded by Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
- Monitoring and Research on West Virginia Populations of Isotria Medeoloides awarded by West Virginia DOT
- North American Orchid Conservation awarded by Architect of the Capitol
- North American Orchid Conservation Center awarded by United States Botanic Garden
- Restore the Federally Threatened Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria Medeoloides) in Three NPS Regions awarded by National Park Service
- Support Endangered Species Management awarded by U.S. Army Garrison Fort AP Hill
- Unlocking the Cultural Requirements of 10 Native Platanthera Orchid Species as a Step to Develop Living Collections awarded by Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust
- Unlocking the Cultural Requirements of 10 Native Platanthera Orchid Species as a Step to Develop Living Collections awarded by Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust
- Unlocking the Cultural Requirements of 10 Native Platanthera Orchid Species as a Step to Develop Living Collections awarded by Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust
- Vegetation, Seed Bank, and Seedling Recruitment Metrics for Assessing Wetland Condition awarded by University of Maryland, College Park
Publications
selected publications
-
article
- Linking landscape attributes to salmon and decision-making in the southern Kenai Lowlands, Alaska, USA 2021
- Protocorm-Supporting Fungi Are Retained in Roots of Mature Tipularia discolor Orchids as Mycorrhizal Fungal Diversity Increases 2021
- Low-level dissolved organic carbon subsidies drive a trophic upsurge in a boreal stream 2020
- Shoreline modification affects recruitment of invasive Phragmites australis 2020
- Correction to: Impacts of Coastal Land Use and Shoreline Armoring on Estuarine Ecosystems: an Introduction to a Special Issue (vol 41, pg S2, 2018) 2019
- Correction to: Spatial and Temporal Variation in Brackish Wetland Seedbanks: Implications for Wetland Restoration Following Phragmites Control (vol 41, pg S68, 2018) 2019
- Evidence does not support the targeting of cryptic invaders at the subspecies level using classical biological control: the example of Phragmites 2019
- One thousand plant transcriptomes and the phylogenomics of green plants 2019
- Assessing rehabilitation of managed mangrove ecosystems using high resolution remote sensing 2018
- Drivers of vegetative dormancy across herbaceous perennial plant species 2018
- Effects of Rhizophora mangle leaf litter and seedlings on carbon and nitrogen cycling in salt marshes - potential consequences of climate-induced mangrove migration 2018
- Impacts of Coastal Land Use and Shoreline Armoring on Estuarine Ecosystems: an Introduction to a Special Issue 2018
- Mycorrhizal fungi affect orchid distribution and population dynamics 2018
- Spatial and Temporal Variation in Brackish Wetland Seedbanks: Implications for Wetland Restoration Following Phragmites Control 2018
- The Role of Propagule Type, Resource Availability, and Seed Source in Phragmites Invasion in Chesapeake Bay Wetlands 2018
- Catchment-scale alder cover controls nitrogen fixation in boreal headwater streams 2017
- Cosmopolitan Species As Models for Ecophysiological Responses to Global Change: The Common Reed Phragmites australis 2017
- Linking the Abundance of Estuarine Fish and Crustaceans in Nearshore Waters to Shoreline Hardening and Land Cover 2017
- Low-level addition of dissolved organic carbon increases basal ecosystem function in a boreal headwater stream 2017
- Nitrogen Subsidies from Hillslope Alder Stands to Streamside Wetlands and Headwater Streams, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska 2017
- Symbiont abundance can affect host plant population dynamics 2017
- Watershed influences on the structure and function of riparian wetlands associated with headwater streams – Kenai Peninsula, Alaska 2017
- A chance for orchid lovers to benefit conservation 2016
- Compensatory growth of the clonal understory tree, Asimina triloba, in response to small-scale disturbances 2016
- Germination patterns in three terrestrial orchids relate to abundance of mycorrhizal fungi 2016
- Historical land use and stand age effects on forest soil properties in the Mid-Atlantic US 2016
- Microsatellite analysis to estimate realized dispersal distance in Phragmites australis 2016
- Plant biomass and nutrients (C, N and P) in natural, restored and prior converted depressional wetlands in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, U.S 2016
- Biotic resistance, disturbance, and mode of colonization impact the invasion of a widespread, introduced wetland grass 2015
- Controls on Temperature in Salmonid-Bearing Headwater Streams in Two Common Hydrogeologic Settings, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska 2015
- Agricultural wetland restorations on the US Atlantic Coastal Plain achieve diverse native wetland communities but differ from natural wetlands 2014
- Effects of increased summer flooding on nitrogen dynamics in impounded mangroves 2014
- Ongoing studies of Isotria medeoloides, Small Whorled Pogonia 2014
- Phragmites australis Management in the United States: 40 years of methods and outcomes 2014
- Changes in community composition of ammonia-oxidizing betaproteobacteria from stands of Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) in response to ammonia enrichment and more oxic conditions 2013
- Competition among surface roots in a selectively-logged, semi-deciduous forest in southeastern Mexico -- effects on seedlings of two species of contrasting shade tolerance 2013
- Manipulating earthworm abundance using electroshocking in deciduous forests 2013
- Native and exotic earthworms affect orchid seed loss 2013
- Seed size, sexual dimorphism and sex ratio in Lindera benzoin L. (Lauraceae) 2013
- Spatial and temporal patterns of sexual dimorphism and sex ratio in Lindera benzoin L. (Lauraceae) 2013
- The Status and Future of Orchid Conservation in North America 2013
- Vegetation Dynamics in a Tidal Freshwater Wetland: A Long-Term Study at Differing Scales 2013
- Allochthonous inputs from grass-dominated wetlands support juvenile salmonids in headwater streams: evidence from stable isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen 2012
- Catchment topography and wetland geomorphology drive macroinvertebrate community structure and juvenile salmonid distributions in south-central Alaska headwater streams 2012
- Conserving our native orchid heritage: The what, how and when behind the North American Orchid Conservation Center 2012
- Effects of local density of clonal plants on their sexual and vegetative propagation strategies in a lattice structure model 2012
- Hybridization of common reed in North America? The answer is blowing in the wind 2012
- Inventory and ventilation efficiency of nonnative and native Phragmites australis (Common Reed) in tidal wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay 2012
- Landscape and Wetland Influences on Headwater Stream Chemistry in the Kenai Lowlands, Alaska 2012
- Limitations on orchid recruitment: not a simple picture 2012
- Multiple Scales of Influence on Wetland Vegetation Associated with Headwater Streams in Alaska, USA 2012
- The effect of hydrology on the distribution of ammonia-oxidizing betaproteobacteria in impounded black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) 2012
- Using the complexities of orchid life histories to target conservation efforts 2012
- Ecosystem effects of non-native earthworms in Mid-Atlantic deciduous forests 2011
- Genetic diversity in the invasive Rubus phoenicolasius as compared to the native Rubus argutus using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers 2011
- Life history strategy in herbaceous perennials: inferring demographic patterns from the aboveground dynamics of a primarily subterranean, myco-heterotrophic orchid 2011
- Mechanisms of Phragmites australis invasion: feedbacks among genetic diversity, nutrients, and sexual reproduction 2011
- Proposed Hydrogeomorphic Classification for Wetlands of the Mid-Atlantic Region, USA 2011
- Treefall gaps required for establishment, but not survival, of invasive Rubus phoenicolasius in deciduous forest, Maryland, USA 2011
- Controls on Water Levels and Salinity in a Barrier Island Mangrove, Indian River Lagoon, Florida 2010
- Extent and Reproductive Mechanisms of Phragmites australis Spread in Brackish Wetlands in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland (USA) 2010
- Phragmites australis (Common Reed) Invasion in the Rhode River Subestuary of the Chesapeake Bay: Disentangling the Effects of Foliar Nutrients, Genetic Diversity, Patch Size, and Seed Viability 2010
- Seed banks of Phragmites australis-dominated brackish wetlands: Relationships to seed viability, inundation, and land cover 2010
- Spread of invasive Phragmites australis in estuaries with differing degrees of development: genetic patterns, Allee effects and interpretation 2010
- The invasion of common reed (Phragmites australis) in Chesapeake Bay (USA) 2010
- Abundance and distribution of Corallorhiza odontorhiza reflect variations in climate and ectomycorrhizae 2009
- Canopy composition and forest structure provide restoration targets for low-order riparian ecosystems 2009
- Ramet phenology and clonal architectures of the clonal sedge Schoenoplectus americanus (Pers.) Volk. ex Schinz & R. Keller 2009
- Responses of Avicennia germinans (Black Mangrove) and the Soil Microbial Community to Nitrogen Addition in a Hypersaline Wetland 2009
- Seed viability and seed dormancy of non-native Phragmites australis in suburbanized and forested watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay, USA 2009
- Comparison of the chemical alteration trajectory of Liriodendron tulipifera L. leaf litter among forests with different earthworm abundance 2008
- Demographic genetics of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) IV. Development of genetic variability and gene flow during succession in a coastal plain forest in Maryland 2008
- Germination ecology of the boreal-alpine terrestrial orchid Dactylorhiza lapponica (Orchidaceae) 2008
- Optimal biomass allocation in heterogeneous environments in a clonal plant - Spatial division of labor 2008
- Patch structure and ramet demography of the clonal tree, Asimina triloba, under gap and closed-canopy 2008
- Spatial division of labour of Schoenoplectus americanus 2008
- Combining HGM and EMAP procedures to assess wetlands at the watershed scale - Status of flats and non-tidal riverine wetlands in the Nanticoke River watershed, Delaware and Maryland 2007
- Comparing functional assessments of wetlands to measurements of soil characteristics and nitrogen processing 2007
- Density induced rates of pollinaria removal and deposition in the purple enamel orchid Elythranthera brunonis (Endl.)A.S. George 2007
- Hydrochory as a determinant of genetic distribution of seeds within Hibiscus moscheutos (Malvaceae) populations 2007
- Landscape indicators of wetland condition in the Nanticoke River watershed, Maryland and Delaware, USA 2007
- Responses of rhizome length and ramet production to resource availability in the clonal sedge Scirpus olneyi A. Gray 2007
- Restoration of the Mississippi Delta: Lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 2007
- Threshold effects of coastal urbanization on Phragmites australis (common reed) abundance and foliar nitrogen in Chesapeake Bay 2007
-
book
- Headwater Stream Wetland Settings and Shallow Ground Water Influence: Relationships to Juvenile Salmon Habitat on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. Final Report 2009
- Delaware Comprehensive Assessment Procedure Version 5.1 2008
- Landscape patterns, nutrient discharges, and biota of the Rhode River estuary and its watershed: Contribution of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center to the Pilot Integrated Ecosystem Assessment 2008
- Delaware Comprehensive Assessment Procedure Version 2.0 2007
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chapter
- Tidal Freshwater Wetlands 2019
- Coastal Wetlands of Chesapeake Bay 2012
- Conservation of tidal freshwater wetlands in North America 2009
- Ecological characteristics of Batis maritima in Florida and Belize 2009
- Global Distribution, Diversity and Human Alteration of Wetland Resources 2009
- Plant communities of tidal freshwater wetlands of the continental USA and Canada 2009
- Primary production in tidal freshwater wetlands 2009
- Synthesis and perspectives for the future 2009
- Tidal freshwater wetlands 2009
- Tidal freshwater wetlands, an introduction to the ecosystem 2009
- Specialized seedling strategies II: orchids, bromeliads, carnivorous plants and parasites 2008
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dataset
editor of
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book
Other
Location
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Academic Department
