Research Interests:
I have broad natural history interests with a special fondness for marine, mountain, and desert ecosystems. Since 1972 my marine research has focused on the seaweed flora of British Columbia (natural history, systematics, and reproductive biology). Part of this work has involved conducting intertidal and subtidal surveys along many portions of the British Columbia coast as well as in Washington, California, New Zealand and Australia. I spent three years working for the University of Auckland's Leigh Marine Laboratory.

As a biologist I am especially concerned with loss of organismal diversity, and with ecosystem services. I have therefore taken an active role in conservation issues, especially the status of marine protected areas in British Columbia.

I have a general interest in natural history and broad background in organismal diversity; as a result my departmental teaching has focused on introductory and organismal courses. I am especially concerned that students gain an appreciation for organisms in the context of their environments and to this end attempt to give them field experience wherever possible.

My marine research interests are in the following areas: 1. The natural history, biogeography, and systematics of Pacific Northwest & New Zealand seaweed floras; 2. Reproductive biology of red algae, and 3. The role of marine protected areas (MPA's) in coastal zone conservation strategies.

At the drier-plant end of the spectrum, I have a keen interest in the biology and horticulture of succulent plants (especially those on C.I.T.E.S. Appendix I & II).

Courses Taught 2005-2006:
Biology 121 - Ecology, Genetics and Evolution
Biology 209 - Algal portion, Non-Vascular Plants
Biology 322 - Ferns & lycophytes: Biology & Diversity
Biology 343 - Plants and Peoples
Biology 412 - Phytogeography

Courses Taught 2006-2007:
Biology 121 – Ecology, Genetics and Evolution
Biology 209 – Algal portion, Non-Vascular Plants
Biology 320 – Survey of Algae
Biology 343 – Plants and People
Biology 412 – Phytogeography

2007-2008: On Sabbatical

"There are good things to see in the tide pools and there are exciting and interesting thoughts to be generated from the seeing. Every new eye applied to the peephole which looks out at the world may fish in some new beauty and some new pattern, and the world of the human mind must be enriched by such fishing."

-John Steinbeck (From: the Foreword to: Ricketts, E.F. &
J.Calvin. 1948 (2nd ed.). Between Pacific Tides.

Hawkes, M.W. 2005. In search of cacti and seaweeds on desert shores: E. Yale Dawson (1918-1966), Botanist. Haseltonia (Scientific Yearbook of the Cactus & Succulent Society of America) 11: 126-137. [PDF]

Hawkes, M.W. collaborated on the seaweed section of: Lamb, A. & B. Hanby 2005. Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Publishing: Madeira Park, B.C. [Title Page]

Shepherd, S.A. & M.W. Hawkes. 2005. Algal food preferences and seasonal foraging strategy of the marine iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus, on Santa Cruz, Galápagos. Bulletin of Marine Science 77:51-72. [PDF]

Hawkes, M.W. 2003. Cactaceae contributions for: Pereskioideae, Pereskia, Hylocereus, Selenicereus, and Epiphyllum, In: Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 4. Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1. Oxford Univ. Press: New York, Oxford.

Gabrielson, P.G., T.B. Widdowson, S.C. Lindstrom, M.W. Hawkes, & R.F. Scagel. 2000. Keys to the benthic marine algae and seagrasses of British Columbia, southeast Alaska, Washington and Oregon. Phycological Contribution No. 5, Dept. of Botany, Univ. of B.C.: Vancouver. [Order]

Nelson, W.A., G.A. Knight, & M.W. Hawkes. 1998. Porphyra lilliputiana sp. nov. (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) - a diminutive New Zealand endemic with novel reproductive biology. Phycological Research 46: 57-61.

Hawkes, M.W. 1994. Conserving Marine Ecosystems: Are British Columbia's Marine Protected Areas Adequate? Chap. 28 in: Biodiversity in British Columbia: Our Changing Environment, edited by E. McCullum & L. Harding. Environment Canada: Vancouver.