Robin B. Foster is a botanist studying tropical forests. He co-originated the "tropical forest dynamics plot".[2]
Robin B. Foster | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College, Duke University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ecology |
| Institutions | University of Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History |
| Thesis | Seasonality of fruit production and seedfall in a tropical forest ecosystem in Panama[1] (1973) |
| Doctoral advisor | Dwight Billings |
| Doctoral students | Phyllis Coley[1] |
Biography
editFoster graduated from Dartmouth College in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in biology, and attained his Botany / Plant Ecology PhD in 1974 at Duke University under ecologist Dwight Billings.[1][3] In 1979, while at the University of Chicago, work on Barro Colorado Island with frequent coauthor Stephen P. Hubbell contributed to the development of the first tropical forest dynamics plot, leading to a global network of 18 such parcels.[4] The "audacious" plan was to periodically map and measure every tree within 50 hectares (120 acres).[4] As a plant ecologist with Conservation International he participated in studies to inform urgent conservation decisions as part of the first "Rapid Assessment Program".[5][6] During his extensive fieldwork in Perú, he contracted both malaria and hepatitis.[7] He has taught biology at the University of Chicago and served as a staff biologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.[3] At the Field Museum he founded the Live Photos of Plants project and Rapid Reference Collection.[8][9] In 2013, Foster was elected an honorary fellow of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC).[2]
Selected publications
edit- Hubbell, S. P., R. B. Foster, and S. T. O’Brien. (1999). "Light-Gap Disturbances, Recruitment Limitation, and Tree Diversity in a Neotropical Forest". Science. 283 (5401): 554–557. doi:10.1126/science.283.5401.554. PMID 9915706.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Foster, Robin B. (1982). "The seasonal rhythm of fruitfall on Barro Colorado Island". The Ecology of a Tropical Forest-seasonal Rhythms and Long-term Changes. Smithsonian Institution Press: 151–172.
- Parker III, Theodore A. (1994). The Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone of Southeastern Perú: A Biological Assessment (PDF). Washington, DC: Conservation International. p. 2. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
References
edit- ^ a b c Foster, Robin B. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Field Museum of Chicago. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Foster Receives 15th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. Vol. 20, no. 3. Department of Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium. July–September 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Field Museum Staff". Field Museum. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ a b Jackson, Nancy Beth (6 Jun 2006). "A Rain-Forest Census Takes Shape, Tree by Tree". New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ Parker III, Theodore A. (1994). The Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone of Southeastern Perú: A Biological Assessment (PDF). Washington, DC: Conservation International. p. 2. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ Pitman, Nigel (29 October 2010). "A Botanical Sketch in Progress". Scientist at Work Blog. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ Stevens, William K. (17 August 1993). "Biologists' Deaths Set Back Plan to Assess Tropical Forests". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ "About the Live Plant Photos Project | The Field Museum". plantidtools.fieldmuseum.org. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ "Rapid Reference Collection | Botanical Collections". collections-botany.fieldmuseum.org. Retrieved 3 October 2021.