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Christopher Dick
Assistant Professor, EEB; Assistant Curator, U-M Herbarium
Ph.D., Harvard University, 1999
U-M affiliations
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
U-M Herbarium
Contact information
University of Michigan
2011 Kraus Natural Science Bldg.
830 N. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
Phone: (734) 764-9408
Fax: (734) 763-0544
Email: cwdick@umich.edu
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Fields of study
Tropical ecology and evolution, population genetics, biogeography, forest history
Academic background
BA from Hampshire College, Amherst, MA; MA and Ph.D. from Harvard University; Post-doctoral fellowships at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Graduate students
Diego Alvarado Serrano, Shalene Jha, Sandra Yap, Jess Peirson, Aley Joseph and Brian Sedio
Dick Lab
U-M Herbarium Web site
News
Shade coffee benefits more than birds
Here's one more reason to say "shade grown, please" when you order your morning cup of joe. Shade coffee farms, which grow coffee under a canopy of multiple tree species, not only harbor native birds, bats and other beneficial creatures, but also maintain genetic diversity of native tree species and can act as focal points for tropical forest regeneration.
The finding comes from a study published by EEB Ph.D. student Shalene Jha and Professor Christopher Dick in the Dec. 23 issue of the journal Current Biology. Listen for Jha on NPR’s Science Friday on Friday, Dec. 26 beginning at about 3 p.m. (U-M News Service press release)
REU supplements from NSF
Professors Chris Dick and Patricia Wittkopp have each received Research Education for Undergraduate supplements of $6,000 from the National Science Foundation. This outreach program increases research opportunities for undergraduates.
In Wittkopp’s lab, Emma Stewart will be adding to their studies of the genetic basis of pigmentation evolution in flies. In Dick’s lab, Barbara Wagner will study the ecology of seed and pollen dispersal of tree species on the Barro Colorado Island field station run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.
NSF grant awarded to study tropical rainforest tree species
Congratulations to Professor Chris Dick on his grant entitled “Comparative phylogeography of 12 widespread tropical rainforest tree species.” It is a three-year award for over $478,000 beginning in January 2007.
The proposed research investigates genetic processes leading to speciation in 12 rainforest tree species found throughout tropical America and, for three species, West Africa. The study is focused on (1) the importance of tropical mountains as barriers to gene dispersal, (2) effects of regional forest histories on levels of intra-specific genetic diversity, and (3) biotic interchange between Africa and the Neotropics. This research will test the hypothesis that widespread tropical tree species are genetically cohesive populations, on the one hand, or species complexes with high levels of genetic divergence.
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