Assistant Professor of Marine Science & Biology
Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory (GMSL) 117
727-864-7686, Fax: 727-864-7964
Degrees
Marine Botany
Ph.D., Louisiana State University, 1998
Basic and applied ecology of wetland macrophytes. My primary research interest is the influence of environmental factors on plant establishment, distribution and productivity in natural as well as restored communities.
Courses Offered
Marine and Freshwater Botany, Plant Ecology, Restoration Ecology, Ecosystems of Florida, Marine Science Junior Seminar, Marine Science Senior Seminar (Community Ecology), Ecology of Belize
Selected Publications
Osland, M. J., Spivak, A. C., Nestlerode, J. A., Lessmann, J. M. et al. 2012. Ecosystem development after mangrove wetland creation: plant-soil change across a 20-year chronosequence. Ecosystems 15: 848-866.
Smith, N. F., C. L. Wilcox, and J. M. Lessmann. 2009. Fiddler crab burrowing affects growth and production of the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) in a restored Florida coastal marsh. Marine Biology 156: 2255-2266.
Lessmann, J. M., H. Brix, H. Cizkova, O. A. Clevering, F. Comin. 2001. Effect of climatic gradients on the photosynthetic responses of four Phragmites australis populations. Aquatic Botany 69: 109-126.
Lessmann, J. M., I. A. Mendelssohn, M. W. Hester, K. L. McKee. 1997. Population variation in growth response to flooding of three marsh grasses. Ecological Engineering 8: 31-47.
Baldwin, A.H., W.J. Platt, K.L. Gathan, J. M. Lessmann, T.J. Rauch. 1995. Hurricane damage and regeneration in fringe mangrove forests of Southeast Florida, USA. Journal of Coastal Research. 21: 169-183.
