Member Institutions:

• Bowling Green State U.
• Cleveland State U.
• Kent State U.
• Medical College of Ohio
• Miami U.
• The Ohio State U.
• Ohio U.
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Toledo
• Wright State U.
• Youngstown State U.

Research Interests

Our grourp focuses on the field of physiological aquatic botany, especially in work on the coastal wetland communities of Lake Erie. These studies range from laboratory-based experiments on metal tolerance and allelopathv in key wetland plant species to whole-community analyses of wetland dynamics at the Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve near Huron, Ohio and other Lake Erie wetland sites. We are particularly interested in biotic and abiotic factors that drive community dynamics and succession and in the effects of invasive exotic species (e.g., Phragmites and water milfoil) on Ohio wetlands. Other projects have focused on the biology of American lotus (Nelumbo lutea), the keystone species in the Old Woman Creek wetland.

We recently began a new research program aimed at evaluating the growth characteristics of various hardy pahn cultivars (e.g.. Needle Palm, dwarf palmetto, Windmill Palms, and others) and other warm-temperate omamentals (Photinia, Acuba, crepe myrtles, and others) under various microclimatic regimes on the Oxford campus.

Selected References

• Francko, D.A. (in review). Effect of microclimate variation on cultivation of cold-tolerant palm cultivars in southwestern Ohio. Palms
• Whyte, R. and D. Francko. 1999. A vegetation analysis of the Old Woman Creek estuary, Huron, Oh. Mich. Bot. G.K.
• Francko, D.A. and R. Whyte. 1999. A midsummer photosynthetic carbon budget for the Old Woman Creek wetland, Huron, Ohio: Relative contribution of aquatic macrophytes versus phytoplankton. Ohio J. Sci. 99:6-9.
• Whyte, R. and D. Francko. 1997. Distribution of the floating-leaf macrophyte Nelumbo lutea (American water lotus) in a freshwater estuary on Lake Erie. Wetlands 17:467-473.
• Vance, H. and D. Francko. 1997. Allelopathic potential of Nelumbo lutea to alter growth of Myriophyllum spicatum and Potamogeton pectinatus. J. Fresh Ecol. 12:405-409.
• Francko, D. 1996. Of thousand-year-old lotus seeds and Lake Erie coastal wetlands. TwineLines 18:6.
• Degroft, K. and D. Francko. 1996. Effect of freezing on germination of Nelumbo lutea (Willd.) Pers. seeds. J. Fresh. Ecol. 11:373-376.
• Joo, G-J and D. Francko. 1995. Limnological characterization of the Tristate Oxbow Wetland (Ohio, Indiana). Ohio J. Sci. 95: 316-320.
• Francko, D.A., S. Al-Hamdani, and G-J Joo. 1994. Enhancement of nitrogen fixation in Anabaena flos-aqua (cyanobacteria) via low-dose ultrasonic treatment. Journal of Applied Phycol. 6:455-458
• Francko, D.A. 1989. Modulation of photosynthetic carbon assimilation in Selenastrum capricornutum (Chlorophyceae) by cAMP: An electrogenic mechanism? J. Phycol. 25:305-313.
• Francko, D.A. 1990. Alteration of bioavailability and toxicity by phototransformation of organic acids. In: E.M. Perdue and E.T. Gjessing, eds., Organic Acids in Aquatic Ecosystems. Dahlem Conference Vol. 48. John Wiley and Sons. Ltd. pp. 167-177.
• Barfield, J. and Francko, D.A. 1991. Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase in epilimentic lake water. In: R. Chrost, ed., Microbial enzymes in Aquatic Environments. Springer- Verlag pp. 239-248.
• Francko, D.A., DeLay, L., and Al-Hamdani, S. 1993. Effect of chromium (VI) in photosynthetic rates and seedling growth in Nelumbo lutea. J. Aquat. Plant Manager 31:29-33.

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