Dickie, John B.
Job TitleHead, Botanical Information Section
DepartmentSeed Conservation
SectionBotanical Information
Science Teams:
Joined Kew: 1977
Foreign Language(s): German
Qualifications & Appointments
Role
Leading SCD Botanical Information Section; provision, use and analysis of large datasets in support of seed conservation activities.
Managing: development and use, including analyses, of the Seed Information Database (SID – species’ seed traits); development and use of the Seed Bank Database(SBD – collection management); the seed morphology and anatomy function in the Seed Conservation Department; development of methods to support prioritisation of MSBP collections, existing and planned, by analysing botanical data and information using GIS and other techniques; integration of MSBP’s taxon- and specimen-based systems into Kew’s Science and Horticultural Systems.
Projects
- Development of Predictive Tool of Germination Requirements for MSB Collections
- MSB Enhancement Project Part 1A: Species Targeting (Project completed 2008)
- Maximising Seed Quality: Maturity and Post-harvest Studies
- Comparative Longevity (Orthodox Seeds)
- Science and Horticulture Systems
- Seed Information Database (SID)
Selected Recent Publications
Smith, P; Dickie, J; Linington, S; Probert, R; Way, M. (2011). Making the case for plant diversity. Seed Science Research 21: 1-4.
Beaulieu, J.M., Moles, A.T., Leitch, I.J., Bennett, M.D., Dickie, J.B. & Knight, C.A. (2007) Correlated evolution of genome size and seed mass. New Phytologist 173: 422-437.
- Moles, A.T., Ackerly, D.D., Tweddle, J.C., Dickie, J.B., Smith, R., Leishmann, M.R., Mayfield, M.M., Pitman, A., Wood, J.T. & Westoby, M. (2007). Global patterns in seed size. Global Ecology & Biogeography 16: 109-116.
Selected Earlier Publications
Moles, A.T., Ackerly, D.D., Webb, C.O., Tweddle, J.C., Dickie, J.B., Pitman, A.J., & Westoby, M. (2005). Factors that shape seed mass evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102 (30): 10540-1054
Moles, A.T., Ackerly, D.D., Webb, C.O., Tweddle, J.C., Dickie, J.B. & Westoby, M. (2005). A brief history of seed size. Science 307 (5709): 576-580.
Tweddle, J.C., Dickie, J.B., Baskin, C.C. & Baskin, J.M. (2003). Ecological aspects of seed desiccation sensitivity. Journal of Ecology 91 (2): 294-304.
- Dickie, J.B. & Gasson, P.E. (1999). Comparative leaf anatomy of the Penaeaceae and its ecological implications. Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society 131: 327-351.
- Dickie, J.B. & Smith, R.D. (1995). Observations on the survival of seeds of Agathis spp. stored at low moisture contents and temperatures. Seed Science Research 5: 5-14.
- Dickie, J.B., Balick, M.J., & Linington, I.M. (1992). Experimental investigation into the feasibility of ex situ preservation of palm seeds; an alternative strategy for biological conservation of this economically important plant family. Biodiversity and Conservation 1: 112-119.
- Dickie, J.B., May, K, Morris, S.V.A., & Titley. S.E. (1991). The effects of desiccation on seed survival in Acer platanoides L. and Acer pseudoplatanus L. Seed Science Research 1: 149-62.
- Dickie, J.B., Ellis, R.H., Kraak, H.L., Ryder, K., & Tompsett, P.B. (1990). Temperature and seed storage longevity. Annals of Botany 65: 197-204.
