People

Dickie, John B.

Job Title Head, Information Section
Department Seed Conservation
Section Information
Science Teams Millennium Seed Bank Project
Large-Scale Syntheses
Joined Kew 1977
Foreign Language(s) German

Qualifications & Appointments

BA (Hons), Univ. Lancaster, 1973

PhD, Univ. Cambridge, 1977.

Role

Leading SCD Information Section; provision, use and analysis of large datasets in support of seed conservation activities.

Managing the development and use, including analyses, of the Seed Information Database (SID) with the Seed Information Coordinator and others. Managing the seed morphology and anatomy function in the Seed Conservation Department (MSB), including prioritising the contribution it makes to SID and other MSB science and technology projects. Managing the team based at Kew using herbarium specimen data and GIS to assign conservation ratings and produce targeted species collection guides for selected MSBP partner countries.

Projects

Comparative Longevity (Orthodox Seeds)

Development of Predictive Tool of Germination Requirements for MSB Collections

Maximising Seed Quality: Maturity and Post-harvest Studies

Role of ‘Underdeveloped’ Embryos in Germination/ Dormancy Problems

Seed Information Database (SID)

Theme: Climate and Reproductive Biology

Theme: Ecophysiology and Morphology

Theme: Post-Harvest Technology

Selected Recent 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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., 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. & 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. & Gasson, P.E. (1999). Comparative leaf anatomy of the Penaeaceae and its ecological implications. Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society 131: 327-351.