Nicholas Tippery
Professor

Education:
BA (Biology and Classics): University of Dallas
Ph.D. (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology): University of Connecticut

Research:
My research interests include aquatic plant evolution, invasive species biology, plant developmental morphology, and plant reproductive biology. Students who work with me frequently undertake projects that involve DNA extraction, amplification, and sequencing. I also oversee the UWW herbarium, and students may help to maintain the herbarium or do Independent Study projects using preserved plant specimens.

Molecular species identification:
Students can work on projects that aim to identify or characterize plant species using molecular (DNA) data. Recent projects have seen students explore genetic diversity in the invasive plants Phragmites and giant knotweed (Reynoutria), and identify invasive Hydrilla and watermilfoil (Myriophyllum) plants. DNA tools provide an independent method for identifying plants that may be difficult to recognize using morphological methods.

Website for information about plant genetic testing

Primary Courses:
BIOLOGY 251 - Introduction to Genetics
BIOLOGY 351 - The Plant Kingdom
BIOLOGY 353 - Plant Taxonomy

Recent publications (*asterisks indicate student authors):

Tippery, N.P., Les, D.H., Appenroth, K.J., Sree, K.S., Crawford, D.J., and M. Bog. 2021. Lemnaceae and Orontiaceae are phylogenetically and morphologically distinct from Araceae. Plants 10: 2639.
[ DOI: 10.3390/plants10122639 ]

Tippery, N.P., Pawinski, K.C.*, and A.J. Jeninga*. 2021. Taxonomic evaluation of Nymphoides (Menyanthaceae) in eastern Asia. Blumea 66: 249-262.
[ DOI: 10.3767/blumea.2021.66.03.08 ]

Tippery, N.P., Olson, A.L.*, and J.L. Wendtlandt*. 2021. Using the nuclear LEAFY gene to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among invasive knotweed (Reynoutria, Polygonaceae) populations. Invasive Plant Science and Management 14: 92-100.
[ DOI: 10.1017/inp.2021.14 ]

Gonzalez-Socoloske, D., Tippery, N.P., Jiménez-Pérez, N., and D.H. Les. 2020. New record of Bacopa egensis (Plantaginaceae) for the flora of Mexico. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 14: 395-403.
[ DOI: 10.17348/jbrit.v14.i2.1017 ]

Tippery, N.P., Pesch, J.D.*, Murphy, B.J.*, and R.L. Bautzmann*. 2020. Genetic diversity of native and introduced Phragmites (common reed) in Wisconsin. Genetica 148: 165-172.
[ DOI: 10.1007/s10709-020-00098-z ]

Tippery, N.P. and J.T. Sokolik*. 2020. Phylogenetics and seed morphology of African Nymphoides (Menyanthaceae). Nordic Journal of Botany 38: 1–10.
[ DOI: 10.1111/njb.02545 ]

Tippery, N.P., Bugbee, G.J., and S.E. Stebbins. 2020. Evidence for a genetically distinct strain of introduced Hydrilla verticillata (Hydrocharitaceae) in North America. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 58: 1–6.
[ PDF ]

Tippery, N.P. and D.H. Les. 2020. Tiny plants with enormous potential: phylogeny and evolution of duckweeds. Pp. 19-38 in X. Cao, P. Fourounjian, W. Wang, eds. The Duckweed Genomes. Compendium of Plant Genomes. Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, Switzerland.
[ DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-11045-1_2 ]

Benoit, L.K., Les, D.H., King, U.M., Na, H.R., Chen, L., and N.P. Tippery. 2019. Extensive interlineage hybridization in the predominantly clonal Hydrilla verticillata. American Journal of Botany 106: 1622–1637.
[ DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1392 ]