Prof. Katharine Dickinson

Contact Details

Tel 64 3 479 9059
Email

• Co-ordinator Alpine Ecosystems Research Group

Research Interests

• Long-term trends in non-forest ecosystems including tussock grasslands, shrublands and alpine communities;
• The population demography of the rare endemic alpine species Myosotis oreophila;
• Patterns and processes in epiphyte communities;
• Patterns and processes in wetland ecosystems;
• Species diversity and community ecology in low to high alpine environments;
• Plant-invertebrate relationships:- community ecology and diversity with implications for biological conservation.

Courses

• BTNY223 New Zealand Plant Ecology (Course co-ordinator)
• BTNY467 New Zealand Plant Ecology (Course co-ordinator)
• BTNY469 Principles of Nature Conservation (Course co-ordinator)
• ECOL211 Ecology of Communities and Ecosystems (Course co-ordinator)
• ECOL212 Ecological Applications
• ECOL311 Conservation Biology
• ECOL313 Ecology Field Course (Course co-ordinator)

Selected Publications

Mark AF, Dickinson KJM (2008) Non-vascular floristic richness in New Zealand. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6, 357-358.

Scott MB, Dickinson KJM, Barratt BIP, Sinclair BJ (2008) Temperature and moisture trends in non-sorted earth hummocks and stripes on the Old Man Range, New Zealand: Implications for mechanisms of maintenance. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 19, 305-314.

Michel P, Jenkins J, Mason N, Dickinson KJM, Jamieson IG (2008) Assessing the ecological application of lasergrammetric techniques to measure fine-scale vegetation structure. Ecological Informatics 3, 309-320.

Michel P, White H, Dickinson KJM, Barratt BIP, Fitzgerald BM, Johns PM, Nunn J, Eyles AC, Andrew IG (2008) Invertebrate survey of coastal habitats and podocarp forest on Ulva Island, Rakiura National Park, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 35, 335-349.

Mark AF, Porter S, Piggott JJ, Michel P, Maegli T, Dickinson KJM (2008) Altitudinal patterns of vegetation, flora, life forms, and environments in the alpine zone of the Fiord Ecological Region, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 46, 205-237.

Clayton RI, Wilson DJ, Dickinson KJM, West CJ (2008) Response of seedling communities to mammalian pest eradication on Ulva Island, Rakiura National Park, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 32, 103-107.

Michel P, Dickinson KJM, Barratt BIP, Jamieson IG (2008) Multi-scale habitat models for reintroduced bird populations: a case study of South Island saddlebacks on Motuara Island. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 32, 18-33.

Grab SW, Dickinson KJM, Mark AF, Maegli T (2008) Ploughing boulders on the Rock and Pillar Range, south-central New Zealand: their geomorphology and alpine plant associations. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 38, 51-70.

Radford IJ, Dickinson KJM, Lord JM (2007) Functional and performance comparisons of invasive Hieracium lepidulum and co-occurring species in New Zealand. Austral Ecology 32, 338-354.

Monks A, O'Connell DM, Lee WG, Bannister JM, Dickinson KJM (2007) Benefits associated with the domatia mediated tritrophic mutualism in the shrub Coprosma lucida. Oikos 116, 873-881.

Dickinson KJM, Kelly D, Mark AF, Wells G, Clayton R (2007) What limits a rare alpine plant species?  Comparative demography of three endemic species of Myosotis (Boraginaceae). Austral Ecology 32, 155-168.

Mark AF, Dickinson KJM, Maegli T, Halloy SRP (2006)Two GLORIA long-term alpine monitoring sites established in New Zealand as part of a global network. Journal of The Royal Society of New Zealand 36, 111-128.

Radford IJ, Dickinson KJM, Lord JM (2006) Nutrient stress and performance of invasive Hieracium lepidulum and co-occurring species in New Zealand. Basic and Applied Ecology 7, 320-333.

Murray TJ, Dickinson KJM, Barratt BIP (2006)Associations between weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidea) and plants, and conservation values in two tussock grasslands, Otago, New Zealand. Biodiversity and Conservation 15, 123-137.

Harland T, Spronken-Smith RA, Dickinson KJM, Pickering N (2006) Out of the ordinary: recapturing the liberal traditions of a university education through field courses. Teaching in Higher Education 11, 93-106.

Dickinson KJM (2005): Book Review of The natural history of southern New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 43, 895-897.

Harper,GA, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ (2005) Habitat use by three rat species (Rattus spp.) on Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 29, 251-260.

Kissling WD, Schnittler M, Seddon PJ, Dickinson KJ, Lord JM (2005)Invasion ecology of the alien tussock grass Nardus stricta (Poaceae) at Lake Pukaki, Canterbury, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 43, 601-612.

Bannister P, Maegli T, Dickinson KJM, Halloy SRP, Knight A, Lord JM, Mark AF, Spencer KL (2005) Will loss of snow cover during climatic warming expose New Zealand alpine plants to increased frost damage? Oecologia 144, 245-256.

Kissling WD, Schnittler M, Seddon PJ, Dickinson KJM, Lord JM (2004) Ecology and distribution of Nardus stricta L. (Poaceae) - an alien invader into New Zealand. New Zealand Natural Sciences 29, 1-12.

Ohlemueller R, Bannister P, Dickinson KJM, Walker S, Anderson BJ, Wilson JB (2004) Correlates of vascular plant species richness in fragmented indigenous forests: assessing the role of local and regional factors. Community Ecology 5, 45-54.

Mark AF, Dickinson KJM (2004) South Island High Country in Transition: Issues, Options and Initial Outcomes with the Tenure Review Process. In: Glimpses of a Gaian world. (Eds: Kearsley G, Fitzharris B) School of Social Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, 285-308.

Bond WJ, Dickinson KJM, Mark AF (2004) What limits the spread of fire-dependent vegetation? Evidence from geographic variation of serotiny in a New Zealand shrub. Global Ecology and Biogeography 13, 115-127.

Mark AF, Dickinson KJM Patrick, BH (2003) Indigenous grassland protection in New Zealand. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1, 290-291.

Barratt BIP, Ferguson CM, Logan RAS, Murray TJ, Dickinson KJM (2003) Impact of burning on Coleoptera, particularly Curculionoidea, in New Zealand native tussock grassland. Records of the South Australia Museum Monograph Series 7, 171-178.

Murray TJ, Barratt BIP, Dickinson KJM (2003) Comparison of the weevil fauna (Coleoptera : Curculionoidea) in two tussock grassland sites in Otago, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 33, 703-714.

Mark AF, Dickinson KJM (2003) Temporal responses over 30 years to removal of grazing from a mid-altitude snow tussock grassland reserve, Lammerlaw Ecological Region, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 41, 655-667.

Barratt BIP, Derraik JGB, Rufaut CG, Goodman AJ, Dickinson KJM (2003) Morphospecies as a substitute for Coleoptera species identification, and the value of experience in improving accuracy. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 33, 583-590.

Derraik JGB, Dickinson KJM, Closs GP (2003) Invertebrate diversity on Olearia bullata and Coprosma propinqua in a modified native shrubland, Otago, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 27, 55-60.

Derraik JGB, Closs GP, Dickinson KJM, Barratt BIP, Sirvid PJ (2002) Invertebrate species richness and density in relation to size of the New Zealand shrub Olearia bullata. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 32, 571-581.

Grove PB, Mark AF, Dickinson KJM (2002) Vegetation monitoring of recently protected tussock grasslands in the southern South Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 32, 379-414.

Derraik JGB, Closs GP, Dickinson KJM, Sirvid P, Barratt BIP, Patrick BH (2002) Arthropod morphospecies versus taxonomic species: a case study with Araneae, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera. Conservation Biology 16, 1015-1023.

Dickinson KJM, Chague-Goff C, Mark AF, Cullen L (2002) Ecological processes and trophic status of two low-alpine patterned mires, south-central South Island, New Zealand. Austral Ecology 27, 369-384.

Mark AF, Dickinson KJM (2001) Deschampsia cespitosa subalpine tussockland on the Green Lake landslide, Hunter Mountains, Fiord Ecological Region, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 39, 577-585.

Hofstede RGM, Dickinson KJM, Mark AF (2001) Distribution, abundance and biomass of epiphyte-lianoid communities in a New Zealand lowland Nothofagus-podocarp temperate rain forest: tropical comparisons. Journal of Biogeography 28, 1033-1049.

Derraik JGB, Barratt BIP, et al. (2001) Invertebrate survey of a modified native shrubland, Brookdale Covenant, Rock and Pillar Range, Otago, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 28, 273-290.

Mark AF, Dickinson KJM, Allen J, Smith R, West CJ (2001) Vegetation patterns, plant distribution and life forms across the alpine zone in southern Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Austral Ecology 26, 423-440.

Mark AF, Dickinson KJM, Hofstede RGM (2000) Alpine vegetation, plant distribution, life forms, and environments in a perhumid New Zealand region: Oceanic and tropical high mountain affinities. Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research 32, 240-254.

Dickinson KJM, Mark AF (1999) Interpreting ecological patterns in an intact estuary, South-west New Zealand World Heritage Area. Journal of Biogeography 26, 913-932.

Stanley RJ, Dickinson KJM, Mark AF (1998) Demography of a pore endemic Myosotis: Boom and bust in the high-alpine zone of southern New Zealand. Arctic and Alpine Research 30, 227-240.

Dickinson KJM, Mark AF, Barratt BIP, Patrick BH (1998) Rapid ecological survey, inventory and implementation: A case study from Waikaia ecological region, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 28, 83-156.

Mark AF, Johnson PN, Dickinson KJM, McGlone MS (1995) Southern-Hemisphere Patterned Mires, with Emphasis on Southern New-Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 25, 23-54.

Crisp PN, Dickinson KJM, Gibbs GW (1998) Does native invertebrate diversity reflect native plant diversity? A case study from New Zealand and implications for conservation. Biological Conservation 83, 209-220.

Mark, AF, Dickinson, KJM (1997) New Zealand Alpine Ecosystems. In: FE Wielgolaski (editor), Polar and Alpine Tundra. Ecosystems of the World 3. Elsevier, pp. 311-345.

Mark AF, Johnson PN, Dickinson KJM, McGlone MS (1995) Southern-Hemisphere patterned mires, with emphasis on Southern New-Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 25, 23-54.

Dickinson, KJM, Mark, AF (1994) Forest-wetland vegetation patterns associated with a Holocene dune-slack sequence, Haast Ecological District, southwestern New Zealand. Journal of Biogeography 20, 687-705.

Dickinson KJM, Mark AF, Dawkins B (1993) Ecology of lianoid/epiphytic communities in coastal podocarp rain forest. Journal of Biogeography 21, 259-281.

Dickinson KJM, Mark AF, Lee WG (1992) Long-term monitoring of non-forest communities for biological conservation. New Zealand Journal of Botany 30, 163-179.

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