RESEARCH FOCUS
- Plant phenology and global change
- Plant community ecology
- Invasive species impacts and control
- Sustainable nursery and turf management practices.
Biography
Biography:
Dan Buonaiuto is a plant community ecology with a physiological bent, evolutionary tendencies, a passion for natural history and a focus on global change & horticulture research. Dan is an assistant professor who leads the Plant Ecology in Practice (PEP) lab at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dan is also the statewide specialist in Invasive Plant Biology for the University of Maryland Extension.
Education:
PhD in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
MS in Conservation Ecology from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
BS in Geology from Tufts University, Medford, MA.
Professional Work
Professional Positions Held:
| 2025-Present | Assistant Professor & Extension Specialist | Dept. of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. |
| 2022-2025 | Postdoctoral Research Associate | Dept. of Environmental Conservation. University of Massachusetts. Amherst, MA. |
| 2016-2022 | Graduate Research Fellow | The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Boston, MA. |
Research
Research:
How will the diversity and function of ecological communities shift in response to global change, and how can we most effectively and sustainably guide this trajectory?
Teaching
Teaching: Courses Taught
| Course Title | Course No. | Semester | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLSC619 | Spring |
Publications
Selected Publications:
Evans, A.E., Pfadenhauer, W.G., Buonaiuto, D.M., Fertakos, M.E., Brown-Lima, C.J., Morelli, T.L. (2025). The future of biocontrol in the Anthropocene: A review of climate change impacts on biocontrol agents and their hosts. Ecological Applications. 35(6): e70088. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70088
Buonaiuto, D.M. (2024) How climate change may impact plant reproduction and fitness by altering the temporal separation of male and female flowering. Global Change Biology. 30: e17533. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17533
Buonaiuto, D.M., Evans, A.E., Fertakos, M.E., Pfadenhauer, W.G., Salva, J. and Bradley, B.A. (2023). Phylogenetic relationships of invasive plants are useful criteria for weed risk assessments. Conservation Letters, 16, e12979. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12979
Buonaiuto, D.M., and Wolkovich E.M. (2023). Contrasting responses to climate variability generate seasonal priority effects between native and invasive forest herbs. Journal of Ecology. 111, 1711– 1721. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14138
Buonaiuto, D.M., & E.M. Wolkovich (2021). Differences between flower and leaf phenological responses to environmental variation drive shifts in spring phenological sequences of temperate woody plants. Journal of Ecology. 109, 2922– 2933. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13708
Ettinger, A.K., Buonaiuto, D.M., Chamberlain, C.J., Morales‐Castilla, I. and Wolkovich, E.M. (2021). Spatial and temporal shifts in photoperiod with climate change. New Phytologist, 230: 462-474. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17172
Ettinger, A.K., C.J. Chamberlin, I. Morales-Castilla, D.M. Buonaiuto, D.F.B. Flynn, T. Savas, J.A. Samaha, E.M. Wolkovich. (2020). Winter temperatures predominate in spring phenological responses to warming. Nature Climate Change. 10: 1137-1142. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00917-3
