Prior to 2005, the flora of most islands in the San Juan archipelago had never been studied. Over the past 15 years, our understanding has begun to change as a result of detailed surveys we have conducted documenting the vascular plants found on over 125 islands. While such a large number of species lists might seem eye-glazing to an extreme, these data provide a remarkable resource for exploring diverse, fascinating questions regarding the biogeography of islands in the Salish Sea. 

In this talk Peter Dunwiddie will draw on these data to trace some surprising patterns relating to the abundance and distribution of species, and how characters such as mode of dispersal, species origin (native versus non-native), rarity, island size, and remoteness (distance from the mainland or other source areas), affect the composition of species on different islands. 

Peter Dunwiddie is an affiliate professor in the Biology Department and in the School for Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin and completed his doctoral degree at the University of Washington. Peter has worked as an ecologist and restoration biologist for more than 35 years with conservation organizations including the Massachusetts Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, and the Center for Natural Lands Management. His work for these organizations and now as a private consultant focused on ecological restoration and management, fire ecology, recovery of rare species, and conservation planning with many land trusts, non-governmental organizations, and state and federal agencies. He has conducted extensive research and published widely in diverse fields, including conservation biology, ecological restoration, invasive species, floristics, biogeography, dendrochronology, and paleoecology.

You are invited to a free Zoom webinar.
Thursday, March 4, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time 

To register, please go to our event web site: https://www.wnps.org/cps-events/calendar/946
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Public Invited!