Beth A Middleton, Ph. D.
Beth Middleton is a Research Ecologist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Wetland function may be altered in the future because of dynamic shifts in droughts, water extraction, water fluctuation, salinity intrusion, CO2 levels, and storm intensity. Populations of species can be extirpated especially by drought, and tree mortality is especially common at the edges of species diestribution ranges during drought. Beth Middleton examines patterns of ecosystem function along latitudinal gradients in baldcypress swamps, monsoonal wetlands, mangrove swamps, northern peatleands, prairie fens, and floodplain wetlands. She has organized symposia, written three books, and edited three special journal volumes, which support multidisciplinary comparisons and research analysis of wetland function. Other research topics include the effects of hurricanes on coastal wetlands, flood pulsing in restoration, and biodiversity loss in fens of Europe, Asia and North America. Middleton maintains a research network of baldcypress swamps (North American Baldcypress Swamp Network) and invites other researchers to work in these study sites dedicated to the study of long term function of swamps in the southeastern US.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Botany, Iowa State University, 1989
Advisors: van der Valk/DavisM.S., University of Minnesota Duluth, 1983
B.S., University of Wisconsin Madison, 1978
Science and Products
Trends of litter decomposition and soil organic matter stocks across forested swamp environments of the southeastern US
Plot Locator: An app for locating plots in the field
Perspective: Developing flow policies to balance the water needs of humans and wetlands requires a landscape scale approach inclusive of future scenarios and multiple timescales
Invasive plant species
Morphology and genetics of Lythrum salicaria from latitudinal gradients of the Northern Hemisphere grown in cold and hot common gardens
President's address for Wetland Science and Practice - October 2018
Nymphoides humboldtiana (Menyanthaceae) in Florida (U.S.A.) verified by DNA data
Tropical wetlands in the Anthropocene: The critical role of wet-dry cycles
Turning on the faucet to a healthy coast
President elect's message
Succession in ecological education
Coastal estuaries and lagoons: The delicate balance at the edge of the sea
Non-USGS Publications**
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1526-100X.1995.tb00099.x/abstract
www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2559700.pdf OR www.journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5248088
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Trends of litter decomposition and soil organic matter stocks across forested swamp environments of the southeastern US
Plot Locator: An app for locating plots in the field
Perspective: Developing flow policies to balance the water needs of humans and wetlands requires a landscape scale approach inclusive of future scenarios and multiple timescales
Invasive plant species
Morphology and genetics of Lythrum salicaria from latitudinal gradients of the Northern Hemisphere grown in cold and hot common gardens
President's address for Wetland Science and Practice - October 2018
Nymphoides humboldtiana (Menyanthaceae) in Florida (U.S.A.) verified by DNA data
Tropical wetlands in the Anthropocene: The critical role of wet-dry cycles
Turning on the faucet to a healthy coast
President elect's message
Succession in ecological education
Coastal estuaries and lagoons: The delicate balance at the edge of the sea
Non-USGS Publications**
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1526-100X.1995.tb00099.x/abstract
www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2559700.pdf OR www.journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5248088
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.