User profile | Biology

University of Washington

Dethier,Megan N.

Megan N. Dethier's picture

Research Professor
mdethier@u.washington.edu
206-543-8096 (office)

Web site
FHL

Research Overview

I am broadly interested in marine ecology, especially the ecology of shorelines of all t ypes. Specific topics of interest are: community ecology of shorelines, and the effects of environmental characteristics and stresses on the character and diversity of local communities; animal-sediment interactions; plant-herbivore interactions; the effects of intertidal stresses (e.g., desiccation) on energy allocation patterns in intertidal algae; the classification, long-term monitoring, and maintenance of biodiversity of intertidal habitats. I am in residence full-time at the Friday Harbor Laboratories.

(Please note: Dr. Dethier is not eligible to take graduate students.)

Biography

EDUCATION:

The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA, 1971, summa cum laude

Carleton College, Northfield, MN, 1975, B.A. in Biology, magna cum laude, Honors in Biology

University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Department of Zoology, PhD 1981. Dissertation title: The natural history and community structure of Washington tidepools: Disturbance, herbivory, and maintenance of pattern in intertidal microcosms.

ACADEMIC AWARDS:

Membership in Sigma Xi, 1974

Membership in Phi Beta Kappa, 1975

National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1975-1979

Friday Harbor Laboratories Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1983

President of the Western Society of Naturalists, 1991

Nominated for Aldo Leopold Fellowship, 1998

Stifel Faculty Fellow, Shoals Marine Lab, Cornell University, 2002 and 2003

Selected Publications

Britton-Simmons, KH, Rhoades AL, Pacunski RE, Galloway AWE, Lowe AT, Sosik EA, Dethier MN, Duggins DO. 2012. Habitat and bathymetry influence the landscape-scale distribution and abundance of drift macrophytes and associated invertebrates. Limnology and Oceanography. 57(1):176-184.

Dethier, MN, Ruesink J, Berry H, Sprenger AG. 2012. Decoupling of recruitment from adult clam assemblages along an estuarine shoreline. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 422-423:48-54.

Dethier, MN, Ruesink J, Berry H, Sprenger AG, Reeves B. 2010. Restricted ranges in physical factors may constitute subtle stressors for estuarine biota. . Marine Environmental Research. 69

Dethier, MN. 2010. Variation in recruitment does not drive the cline in diversity along an estuarine gradient.. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 410

Hacker, SD, Dethier MN. 2009. Differing consequences of removing ecosystem-modifying invaders: significance of impact and community context to restoration potential.. Biological Invasions in Marine Ecosystems. Ecological Studies. 204

Dethier, MN, Williams SL. 2009. Seasonal stresses shift optimal intertidal algal habitats. . Marine Biology. 156

Dethier, MN. 2007. Algal crusts and lichens; Monitoring: Techniques. Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores.

Dethier, MN, Schoch GC. 2006. Taxonomic sufficiency in distinguishing natural spatial patterns on an estuarine shoreline.. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 306

Murray, SN, Ambrose RF, Dethier MN. 2006. Monitoring Rocky Shores.

J.Griffiths, Dethier MN, Newsom A, Byers J, Meyer J, Oyarzun F, Lenihan H. 2006. Invertebrate community responses to recreational clam digging.. Marine Biology. 149

Hacker, SD, Dethier MN. 2006. Community modification by a grass invader has differing impacts for marine habitats.. Oikos. 113

Dethier, MN, Schoch GC. 2005. The consequences of scale: assessing the distribution of benthic populations in a complex estuarine fjord.. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 62

Dethier, MN, Williams SL, Freeman A. 2005. Seaweeds under stress: manipulated stress and herbivory affect critical life history functions. . Ecological Monographs. 75

Dethier, MN, Hacker SD. 2005. Physical factors vs. biotic resistance in controlling the invasion of an estuarine marsh grass. . Ecological Applications. 15

Williams, SL, Dethier MN. 2005. High and dry: variation in net photosynthesis of the intertidal seaweed, Fucus gardneri. . Ecology. 86

Wright, JT, Williams SL, Dethier MN. 2004. No zone is always greener: Fucus gardneri embryos, juveniles and adults are differentially affected by season and zone.. Marine Biology. 145

Dethier, MN, McDonald K, Strathmann RR. 2003. Colonization and connectivity of habitat patches for coastal marine species distant from source populations. . Conservation Biology . 17

Haring, RN, Dethier MN, Williams SL. 2002. Desiccation facilitates wave-induced mortality of the intertidal alga Fucus gardneri. 232:--82.

Dethier, MN, Steneck RS. 2001. Growth and persistence of diverse intertidal crusts: survival of the slow in a fast-paced world. 223:--100.

S.D.Hacker, T.G. Reeder, C.E. Hellquist, D. Heimer, B. Reeves, T. Riordan, Dethier MN. 2001. A marine plant (Spartina anglica) invades widely varying habitats: potential mechanisms of invasion and control. . Biological Invasions. 3