Introduction
Welcome to my website. I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. As a biogeographer I study the processes, natural and anthropogenic, that shape the spatial patterns we see in the biosphere. My main interests are focused on stream systems, but I also have research experience in upland forest systems of the Appalachian region.
The preeminent theme of my research is the conservation of species, communities, and genetic diversity in the face of unprecedented natural system alteration, especially in freshwater systems disturbed by damming, channelization, levees, and other flow changes and obstructions. Migration/dispersal of aquatic and riparian plant species is a fundamental process that is disturbed in stream environments, and disruption of this process can lead to genetic isolation or extinction of populations and species, and community level changes in structure and function. I approach research problems by bridging disciplinary boundaries and utilizing theory, methodology, and techniques from Biogeography, Geomorphology, GIS/Remote Sensing, Population and Conservation Genetics, Ecology, and others.
Along that vein of interdisciplinarity, I am becoming increasingly motivated to explore the practice, process, and effects of environmental restoration. I introduced a new graduate seminar course at FAU in the Spring of 2008 called Environmental Restoration, and hope to expand my research program to include more work in that field.
Listed below are generic categorizations of my specializations and descriptions of my current research program. More in-depth information about my research can be found here.
Specializations
- Biogeography
- Population and conservation genetics
- Fluvial Biogeomorphology
- Vegetation dynamics
- Anthropogenic and natural disturbances
Current Research Program
- Modeling new gene flow patterns in stream environments to predict the genetic diversity and structure of populations of Sagittaria latifolia, broadleaf arrowhead.
- Monitoring stream restoration in the Kissimmee River, Florida, for the effect of restored stream flow on the volume, pattern, and composition of transported seeds.
- Flume experiments and hydraulic modeling to understand the movement of non-buoyant seeds as bed-load and suspended load.
Favorite Geographic Quote
"The imaginary lines on the earth's surface only needed to be unimagined. The airborne birds skipped them by nature. How mad the frontiers had seemed..., and would to Man if he could learn to fly."
The Once and Future King, T. H. White (1939).
Prop Roots Revisited 2. January 2009. Scott Markwith.