Maritime Forests: The Most Threatened Ecosystem in New Jersey

Pedram (Ped) Daneshgar, Ph.D.

Is a plant ecologist with a focus on community and ecosystem ecology. His current research is on coastal forest ecology, specifically examining the impacts of climate change on maritime forest ecosystems in the Mid-Atlantic as well as mangrove ecosystems in The Bahamas. He has worked in several New Jersey ecosystems including cranberry bogs, coastal dunes, salt marshes, and pitch pine forests. At Monmouth University, he primarily teaches Botany, Ecology, and Tropical Island Ecology for the Biology Department.
Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Ped earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Delaware. To follow, he studied climate impacts of forests of the Pacific Northwest for his MS from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Afterwards, Ped moved to Gainesville, Florida to study Invasion Ecology in the School of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida. Following his PhD, Ped’s last stop before New Jersey was in central Texas where he studied prairies and invaded grasslands.