Martha A. Case

Year of arrival 1994. Associate Professor. B.A., Biology, Michigan State University, Lansing, 1984; Ph.D., Botany & Plant Pathology (Plant Systematics), Michigan State University, Lansing, 1993.

Research Interests:

My research interests focus on plant diversity, including both the evolution and conservation of plant populations.  In particular, I have a long-standing interest in how the demographic, life history, and ecological characteristics of orchids contribute to speciation patterns.  These interests generate a number of projects in the fields of pollination biology, population genetics, and plant systematics. 

 

Recent conservation-oriented projects include a floristic analysis of Totuskey Creek Watershed on the Northern Neck Peninsula, analyses of lichen and bryophyte diversity in the Williamsburg area, and several projects involving the conservation biology of American ginseng.  Students entering my lab would be encouraged to develop independent projects that will foster a better understanding of plant diversity and speciation, or how to best preserve Virginia’s rare plants.

 

Potential Student Projects:

Examples of potential projects include: (1) examination of the role pollinators play in maintaining or inhibiting gene flow in sympatric orchid populations, (2) taxonomic investigation of N. American taxa using genetic or morphological analyses, (3) elucidating important genetic and demographic factors in re-establishing or maintaining rare species, and (4) floristics.  Interested students can inquire about projects by contacting macase@wm.edu, or learn more about our graduate program at http://www.wm.edu/graduate/. 

Examples of Publications:

  • Case, M. A., K. M. Flinn, J. Jancaitis, A. Alley and A. Paxton.  2007.  Declining abundance of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) documented by herbarium specimens.  Biological Conservation 134: 22-30.
  • Grubbs, H. J. and M. A. Case.  2004.  Allozyme variation in American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.):  Variation, breeding system, and implications for current conservation practice.  Conservation Genetics 5(1): 13-23.
  • Wallace, L. E. and M. A. Case. 2000. Contrasting allozyme diversity between northern and southern populations of Cypripedium parviflorum (Orchidaceae): Implications for Pleistocene refugia and taxonomic boundaries. Systematic Botany 25(2): 281-296.
  • Case, M. A., H. T. Mlodozeniec, L. E. Wallace and T. W. Weldy. 1998. Conservation genetics and taxonomic status of the rare Kentucky lady's slipper: Cypripedium kentuckiense (Orchidaceae). American Journal of Botany 85(12): 1779-1786.
  • Weldy, T.W., H.T. Mlodozeniec, L.E. Wallace and M.A. Case. 1996. The current status of Cypripedium kentuckiense (Orchidaceae) including a morphological analysis of a newly discovered population in eastern Virginia. Sida 17(2): 423-435
  • Case, M. A. 1994. Extensive variation in the levels of genetic diversity and degree of relatedness among five species of Cypripedium (Orchidaceae). American Journal of Botany 81(2): 175-184.
  • Case, M. A. 1993. High levels of allozyme variation within Cypripedium calceolus and low levels of divergence among its varieties. Systematic Botany 18(4): 663-677.

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Last updated September 07
College of William and Mary, Department of Biology
macase@wm.edu