Biological and Environmental Sciences Department

Dr. Robert S. Whyte

Associate Professor, Biological and Environmental Sciences

Curator, John Franklin Lewis Herbarium

Phone: (724) 938-5955
E-mail: whyte@calu.edu
Office: 412 Frich
Plant Ecology: Plant community dynamics in wetland and aquatic systems
 

Education

B.S. (1980) Fisheries & Wildlife, Michigan State University
M.En. (1986) Environmental Science, Miami University of Ohio (Water Resources)
Ph.D. (1996) Botany, Miami University of Ohio
Post doc. (1996-1997) with David Francko, Department of Botany, Miami University of Ohio

Related Sites

• Arboretum
• Herbarium
• California University of Pennsylvania - Southwestern PA EPA Wetlands DataBase

TEACHING

Courses

Contemporary Issues in Biology (BIO 103) - Basic biological principles are applied to the understanding of current social-biological problems and how these relate to an individual’s personal life. Topics included are human sexuality, nutrition, health and disease, evolution, behavior, and the diversity of life. Three lecture hours weekly. For students not majoring in Biology. (3 crs.) Fall & spring.

Wetland Ecology (ENS 475) - A coordinated lecture/laboratory approach that will emphasize wetlands within the continental United States. The course will provide a background in both historical and modern wetland issues; characteristics of freshwater, estuarine and marine wetland types, including important plants and animals of each; processes of wetland determination and delineation; regulatory framework of wetlands protection; and procedures involved in wetland restoration and conservation. Prerequisites: BIO 310 and permission of instructor. (4 crs.)

Dendrology (BIO 442) - A study of the tree species of the Kingdom Metaphyta: the importance of these organisms to other biota, especially man, and their prospects of continued survival in a rapidly changing biosphere. Emphasis on the forest communities and tree species of the mixed mesophytic forest regions of southwestern Pennsylvania. Prerequisites: BIO 115 and BIO 125. Three lecture hours weekly. (3 crs.)

Botany (BIO 125) - A survey of form and function of the major plant groups as well as the bacteria, algae, water molds, slime molds, and fungi within the overall framework of a modern phylogenetic system of classification. Prerequisite: BIO 115. Three lecture hours and three laboratory hours weekly. (4 crs.) Fall & spring.

RESEARCH

●Effects of Great Lakes Water Level Fluctuations on Plant Diversity (Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve) (See Poster (pdf file): The Invasion and Spread of the Emergent Plant Phragmites australis into a Lake Erie Coastal Wetland; presented at the 2006 Annual Conference of the Ecological Society of America, Memphis TN)

●Digital Wetland Database Development in SW Pennsylvania

●Additional Ongoing Collaborations
- patch dynamics in the Old Woman Creek wetland assessing biodiversity in various patch size based on distinct plant communities (Joe Holomuzki, David Klarer)
 

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