Fairbanks Office
Research Biologist
Shawnee A. Kasanke, Ph.D.
Plant ecology
Ecological rehabilitation
Lichenology & Mycology
Geobotany
Shawnee has a multidisciplinary background involving Arctic vegetation ecology, biogeochemistry, and restoration ecology, working in Arctic Canada and Alaska since 2014 and in the Pacific Northwest since 2009. Her 16 years of experience include applying restoration techniques to a variety of ecosystems after human and natural disturbances and conducting research on predicting and understanding Arctic ecosystem responses to ongoing changes in ice and climate.
Shawnee's current interests include improving and developing techniques to rehabilitate and restore contaminated and disturbed sites, as well as long-term monitoring of ecosystem health. She received her M.S. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and her Ph.D. from Washington State University in Pullman, WA.
Select Publications
Raynolds, M. K., Bültmann, H., Kasanke, S. A., Miller, G., & Raberg, J. H. (2025). Recurring cycles of ice and vegetation on Baffin Island, Nunavut. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 57(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2024.2442776
Kasanke, S. A., Cheeke, T. E., Moran, J. J., & Roley, S. S. (2024). Tripartite interactions among free-living, n-fixing bacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and plants: Mutualistic benefits and community response to co-inoculation. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 88, 1000–1013. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20679
Kasanke, S. A., Walker, D. A., Chapin, F. S., & Mann, D. H. (2023). Plant succession on glacial moraines in the Arctic Brooks Range along a >125,000-year glacial chronosequence/toposequence. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 55(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2023.2178151