Jenkins

David G. Jenkins

Professor 407-823-1660 BL 402B

Research Interests

Among diverse interests in our lab,we often focus on dispersal, which requires both local and regional perspectives. Broader spatial perspective requires longer time scales than possible in short-term experiments, so we are combining biogeographical with experimental approaches.  Broad spatial scales also require multiple study sites with relatively easy access.  We often work on metapopulations & metacommunities in geographically isolated wetlands, once very numerous across the U.S. though many have been wiped out.Beyond obvious conservation questions, the remaining wetlands have attractive features for dispersal-oriented research: they comprise discrete habitat “islands”, can date back 1000′s of years, can be quite accessible, and are often rich in fauna & flora.  Contrary to the typical approach, we select study organisms best suited to the research question at hand. This flexibility is challenging (we’ve been researching bacteria, seeds, microcrustaceans, insects, fish, and trees) but permits us to aim at the question first, and then target a study organism best suited to answering the question.

Recent Publications

  • Jenkins, DG and RE Ricklefs. 2011 Biogeography and ecology: two views of one world. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. B 366:2331-2335.
  • Ricklefs, RE and DG Jenkins. 2011. Biogeography and ecology: towards the integration of two disciplines. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. B 366:2438-2448.
  • Jenkins, DG. 2011. Ranked species occupancy curves reveal common patterns among diverse metacommunities. Global Ecology & Biogeography 20:486-497.
  • Jenkins, DG, KA Medley, and RB Franklin. 2011. Microbes as tests of biogeographical principles. Chapter 15 in D Fontaneto (ed.), Biogeography of microscopic organisms. Is everything everywhere? Cambridge University Press
  • Jenkins, DG, M Carey, J Czerniewska, et al. 2010. A meta-analysis of isolation by distance: relic or reference standard for landscape genetics? Ecography 33:315-320.
  • Boughton, EH, P Quintana-Ascencio, PJ Bohlen, DG Jenkins, R Pickert. 2010. Land-use and isolation interact to affect wetland plant assemblages. Ecography 33:461-470.
  • Berry, BJ, DG Jenkins and AC Schuerger. 2010. Effects of simulated Mars conditions on the survival and growth of Escherichia coli and Serratia liquefaciens. Applied & Environmental Microbiology 76:2377-2386.
  • Jenkins, DG and D Rinne. 2008. Red herring or low illumination? The peninsula effect revisited. J. Biogeography 35:2128-2137.
  • Alemadi, SD and DG Jenkins. 2008. Behavioral constraints for the spread of the eastern mosquitofish,Gambusia holbrooki (Poeciliidae). Biological Invasions 10:59-66.
  • Jenkins, DG, CR Brescacin, CV Duxbury, et al. 2007. Does size matter for dispersal distance? Global Ecology and Biogeography 16:415-425.

Links

 Memberships

  • Ecological Society of America
  • International Biogeography Society
  • Sigma Xi

 Education

  • Ph.D Ecology, 1990 – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • M.S Zoology, 1986 – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • B.S Environmental Science, 1980 – Purdue University