Peter Guiden
Assistant Professor of Biology
Pete Guiden is a community ecologist, studying the interaction of living things. An important component of this research is understanding how humans alter these interactions through climate change, habitat loss, and introducing invasive species. A large part of Guiden’s research focuses on the ecology of seeds—where they go, who eats them, and how many survive to adulthood.
Before coming to Hamilton, Guiden was a postdoctoral fellow at Northern Illinois University. He received a Ph.D. in integrative biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a M.S. in botany from Miami University, and a B.A. from Wabash College. Guiden enjoys bringing his research into the classroom, especially the chance to involve students in the effort to conserve and restore biodiversity on campus.
Recent Courses Taught
The Secret Life of Plants
Life and the Seasons
Senior Thesis I & II
Research Interests
Effects of invasive plants on species interactions
Role of consumers (seed predators) in shaping restored ecosystems
Species responses to winter climate change
Distinctions
- Writing Across the Curriculum Teaching Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2019)
- Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, National Science Foundation (2017)
- Novel Ecosystems IGERT Trainee, National Science Foundation (2015)
Select Publications
- PW Guiden, JL Orrock. (2021) Snow depth and woody debris drive variation in small-mammal winter seed removal. Journal of Vegetation Science. 32:2 e13007.
- PW Guiden, et al. (2021) An ecosystem-wide analysis finds little support for the Field of Dreams hypothesis in restored tallgrass prairies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118: e2015421118.
- PW Guiden, JL Orrock. (2020) Seasonal, temperature-associated diurnal activity in a widespread nocturnal species. Animal Behaviour 164:181-192.
- PW Guiden, SL Bartel, N Byer, A Shipley, JL Orrock. (2019) Predator-prey interactions in the Anthropocene: reconciling multiple aspects of novelty. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 34:616-627.
- PW Guiden, JL Orrock. (2019) Invasive shrubs modify rodent activity timing, revealing a consistent behavioral rule governing diel activity. Behavioral Ecology 30:1069-1075.
- Ladwig LM, JL Chandler, PW Guiden, JJ Henn. (2019) Extreme winter warm event causes exceptionally early bud break for many woody species. Ecosphere 10:e02542.
- PW Guiden, BM Connolly, JL Orrock. (2019) Seedling responses to decreased snow depend on canopy composition and small-mammal herbivore presence. Ecography 42:780-790.
- PW Guiden, BM Connolly, JL Orrock. (2018) Extreme cold consistently reduces seedling growth, but has species-specific effects on browse tolerance in summer. American Journal of Botany 105:2075-2080.
- PW Guiden, JL Orrock. (2017) Invasive exotic shrub modifies a classic animal-habitat relationship and alters patterns of vertebrate seed predation. Ecology 98:321-327.
- PW Guiden, DL Gorchov, C Nielsen, E Schauber. (2015) Seed dispersal of an invasive shrub, Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), by white-tailed deer in a fragmented agricultural-forest matrix. Plant Ecology 216: 939-950.
Professional Affiliations
Ecological Society of America, American Society of Mammalogists (Grants-in-Aid committee member)
Appointed to the Faculty
2021Educational Background
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S., Miami University
B.A., Wabash College
