Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Director, Environmental Genetics & Genomics (EnGGen) Laboratory, NAU

a. Professional Preparation - California State Univ., Long Beach, Biology, B.A. (1991); The Claremont Graduate School, Botany, M.S. (1994) and, Ph.D. (1998).

b. Appointments
2009 – present Associate Professor, Biological Sciences/Director EnGGen Laboratory
2005 – 2008 Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences/Director EnGGen Laboratory
2003 – 2004 Assistant Professor, Research, Northern Arizona University
2000 – 2002 Assistant Professor, Biology, Arcadia University, Glenside, PA
1998 – 2000 Smithsonian Post doctoral Fellow: Molecular Systematics Laboratory

c. Most Relevant Publications

Evans, L. M., G. J. Allan, S. M. Shuster, S. A. Woolbright, and T. G. Whitham. 2008. Tree hybridization and genotypic variation drive cryptic speciation of a specialist mite herbivore. Evolution 62:3027-3040

Whitham, T.G., C. A. Gehring, L.M. Evans, C.J. LeRoy, R.K. Bangert, J.A. Schweitzer, G.J. Allan, R.C. Barbour, D.G. Fischer, B.M. Potts, and J.K. Bailey. A community and ecosystem genetics approach to conservation biology and management. In Molecular Approaches in Natural Resource Conservation (J.A DeWoody, J.W. Bickham, C. Michler, K. Nichols, O.E. Rhodes, and K. Woeste, eds.). Cambridge University Press (in press).

Whitham, T.G, S.P. DiFazio, J.A. Schweitzer, S.M. Shuster, G.J. Allan, J.K. Bailey, and S.A. Woolbright. 2008. Extending genomics to natural communities and ecosystems. Science 320:492-495.

Bangert, R. K. E .V. Lonsdorf, G. M. Wimp, S. M. Shuster, D. Fischer, J. A Schweitzer, G. J. Allan, J. K. Bailey, and T. G. Whitham. 2008. Genetic structure of a foundation species: scaling community phenotypes from the individual to the region. Heredity 100, 121-131.

Bangert, R. K., G. J. Allan, R. J. Turek, G. M. Wimp, N. Meneses, G. D. Martinsen, P. Keim and T. G. Whitham. 2006. From genes to geography: a genetic similarity rule for arthropod community structure at multiple geographic scales. Molecular Ecology 15: 4215-4228.

Bangert, R. K., R. J. Turek, B. Rehill, G. M. Wimp, J. A. Schweitzer, G. J. Allan, J. K. Bailey, G. D. Martinsen, P. Keim, R. L. Lindroth, and T. G. Whitham. 2006. A genetic similarity rule determines arthropod community structure. Molecular Ecology 15, 1379–1391: invited special issue on functional and genomic approaches in molecular ecology.

Whitham, T. G., J. K. Bailey, J. A. Schweitzer, S. M. Shuster, R. K. Bangert, C. J. Leroy, E. V. Lonsdorf, G. J. Allan, S. P. DiFazio, B. M. Potts, D. G. Fischer, C. A. Gehring, R. L. Lindroth, J. C. Marks, S. C. Hart, G. M. Wimp, and S. C. Wooley. 2006. A framework for community and ecosystem genetics: from genes to ecosystems. Nature Reviews: Genetics, 7: 510-523.

Research Synopsis
My research uses molecular-genetic techniques to address questions relating to the ecology and evolutionary history of foundation tree species (primary producers that influence ecosystem processes and community structure). In particular, I am interested in asking how genetic variation in the tree genus Populus (Salicaceae) influences patterns and processes that drive riparian ecosystems and affect the evolutionary trajectories of dependent community members. Together with my colleagues in the Cottonwood Ecology Group at Northern Arizona University (www.poplar.nau.edu), we have shown how genetic variation in key Populus traits influences litter decomposition in streams, microbial diversity in soils, arthropod community structure in hybrid zones and cryptic speciation in dependent community members. These studies suggest that foundation trees like Populus can have extensive and broad-reaching effects that extend beyond the original tree phenotype, with important consequences for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. Our “genes to ecosystems” approach also contributes to an understanding of how novel genotypes (e.g., those derived from selective breeding programs or transgenics) and gene flow might influence dependent community members, which in turn, affect ecosystem structure and function.