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Peter-Dunwiddie

Peter Dunwiddie
Affiliate Professor
pdunwidd@u.washington.edu
Not accepting graduate students
Fields of interest
Conservation Biology, Ecology, Natural History

My current research focuses on the restoration and management of prairie and woodland ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest, particularly studies involving fire and the restoration of native species. Other studies focus on floristics, biogeography, and the conservation of rare species, especially in the San Juan and Gulf Islands. I am happy to discuss potential projects and careers in conservation.

Peter Dunwiddie is an ecological consultant, affiliate professor in the Biology Department, and associate curator in the Burke Museum Herbarium at the University of Washington. He has worked as a botanist and ecologist for conservation organizations in Washington and Massachusetts after receiving his doctorate in botany at the University of Washington in 1983. Prior degrees include a masters degree in geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a bachelors degree in environmental studies, also from the University of Wisconsin. He is the author of several books, and has published numerous scientific papers in a variety of fields, including ecological restoration, fire ecology, conservation biology, invasive species management, the conservation of rare species, Quaternary paleoecology, and dendrochronology. As a consultant, he has most recently worked with the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the San Juan Islands National Monument, Washington State Parks, and the San Juan Preservation Trust on diverse problems relating to the management of conservation land, rare species recovery, control of invasive species, and the ecological use of prescribed burning.

Noteworthy Collections: Washington, Giblin, D.E., Zika P.F., and Dunwiddie P.W. , Madroño, Volume 72, Issue 2, (2025)
Decision analysis rooted in Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge identifies cost-effective strategies for managing hyperabundant deer to restore keystone places, McComb, S., Beckett K., Akerman J., Arcese P., Bedford D., Dunwiddie P., and others and 13 , People and Nature, (2025)
Prairies, Savannas, and Oak Woodlands of the Pacific Northwest, Dunwiddie, P.W., and Alverson E.R. , Encyclopedia of the World's Biomes, Volume 3, p.489-504, (2020)
Resilience of Oregon white oak to reintroduction of fire, Nemens, D.G, Varner J.M., and Dunwiddie P.W. , Fire Ecology, Volume 15, (2019)
Methods for tracking sagebrush‐steppe community trajectories and quantifying resilience in relation to disturbance and restoration, Wainwright, C.E., Davies G.M., Dettweiler-Robinson E., Dunwiddie P.W., Wilderman D., and Bakker J.D. , Restoration Ecology, (2019)
Staged-scale restoration: Refining adaptive management to improve restoration effectiveness, Bakker, J.D., Delvin E., and Dunwiddie P.W. , Journal of Applied Ecology, Volume 55, (2018)
Restoration of temperate savannas and woodlands, Hanberry, B.B., Kabrick J.M., Dunwiddie P.W., Hartel T., Jain T.B., and Knapp B.O. , Routledge Handbook of Ecological and Environmental Restoration, London, p.142-157, (2017)
Microsites Matter: Improving the success of rare species reintroductions, Dujnwiddie, P.W., and Martin R.A. , PLoS One, Volume 11, (2016)
Intertwined fates: Opportunities and challenges in the linked recovery of two rare species, Dunwiddie, P.W., Haan N.L., Linders M., Bakker J.D., Fimbel C., and Thomas T.B. , Natural Areas Journal, Volume 36, (2016)
Postglacial vegetation history of Orcas Island, northwestern Washington, Leopold, E.B., Dunwiddie P.W., Whitlock C., Nickmann R., and Watts W.A. , Quaternary Research, Volume 85, (2016)
Rare species and aliens: Reconsidering non-native plants in the management of natural areas, Dunwiddie, P.W., and Rogers D. L. , Restoration Ecology, (2016)
Long-term effects of prairie restoration on plant community structure and native population dynamics, Trowbridge, C. C., Stanley A., Kaye T. N., Dunwiddie P. W., and Williams J. L. , Restoration Ecology, (2016)
Deconstructing Darwin’s Naturalization Conundrum in the San Juan Islands using community phylogenetics and functional traits, Marx, H.E., Giblin D., Dunwiddie P.W., and Tank D.C. , Diversity and Distributions, Volume 22, (2016)
Annual species in native prairies of South Puget Sound, Washington, Dunwiddie, P.W., Alverson E.R., Martin R.A., and Gilbert R. , Northwest Science, Volume 88, Issue 2, (2014)
Inversion of dominance-diversity relationships along a latitudinal stress gradient, Richardson, P. J., MacDougall A. S., Stanley A. G., Kaye T. N., and Dunwiddie P. W. , Ecology, Volume 93, (2012)
Native versus exotic community patterns across three scales: Roles of competition, environment and incomplete invasion, Bennett, J.R., Dunwiddie P.W., Giblin D.E., and Arcese P. , Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Volume 14, (2012)
Fire in Pacific Northwest prairies and oak woodlands: Challenges, successes and future directions, Hamman, S. T., Dunwiddie P. W., Nuckols J., and McKinley M. , Northwest Science, Volume 85, (2011)
Effects of provenance, lifespan, and phylogeny on grass species' responses to nitrogen and phosphorus, Seabloom, E. W., Benfield C. D., Borer E. T., Stanley A. G., Kaye T. N., and Dunwiddie P. W. , Ecological Applications, Volume 21, (2011)
Fire history of a Douglas-fir - Oregon white oak woodland, Waldron Island, Washington, Sprenger, C., and Dunwiddie P. W. , Northwest Science, Volume 85, (2011)
Multiple treatment combinations and seed addition increase abundance and diversity of native plants in Pacific Northwest prairies, Stanley, A. G., Kaye T. N., and Dunwiddie P. W. , Ecological Restoration, Volume 29, (2011)
The future of restoration and management of prairie/oak ecosystems in Pacific Northwest prairies, Dunwiddie, P. W., and Bakker J. D. , Northwest Science, Volume 85, (2011)
Environmental history of a Garry oak/Douglas-fir woodland on Waldron Island, Washington, Dunwiddie, P. W., Bakker J. D., Almaguer-Bay M., and Sprenger C. , Northwest Science, Volume 85, (2011)
Restoring invaded Pacific Northwest prairies: Management recommendations from a region-wide experiment, Stanley, A. G., Dunwiddie P. W., and Kaye T. N. , Northwest Science, Volume 85, (2011)