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S. Joseph Wright Community Ecologist: The Dream Job. Research Biologist Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute APO AA 34002-0938, United States or Apdo 2072, Balboa, Republic of Panama. Presenting Team: Jeremy Sueltenfuss Gloria Summay Chris Davis Dave Gebben. Ecology 505.
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S. Joseph Wright Community Ecologist:The Dream Job Research Biologist Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute APO AA 34002-0938, United States or Apdo 2072, Balboa, Republic of Panama Presenting Team: Jeremy Sueltenfuss Gloria Summay Chris Davis Dave Gebben Ecology 505
Academic & Career History B.A., 1974 Princeton Ph.D., 1980 UCLA Research Biologist, 1983-2003 Senior Scientist, 2004-present
Academic Pedigree 1974 – Princeton John Terborgh -Tropical conservation biologist. - Ran research station in Peru. 1980 – UCLA Henry Hespenheide - predator prey interactions - evolutionary pressures Martin Cody - Controls of species diversity, density, and distributions. (PhD) Steve Hubbell - Theoretical ecologist on diversity - Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity
Successful “Students”* Kaoru Kitajima - Associate Professor, University of Florida Kyle Harms - Associate Professor, Louisiana State University Greg Gilbert - Research Professor, University of California SC Jens Svenning - Professor of Biology, Aarhus University Nina Wurzburger - Post doc research associate, Princeton *post-doc associates
International Service President elect, Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (2003 for 3-yr term) Associate Editor for the ‘Journal of Ecology’ of the British Ecological Society (1997 to 2004) Associate Editor for ‘Biotropica’ (2001 to 2004)
Smithsonian Service Scientist-in-charge, Canopy Biology Program (1992 to present) Scientist-in-charge, Terrestrial Environmental Sciences Program (1993 to present)
Themes - by Decade 2000-2010 Changes in Tropical Forest Plant Community. What drives change?1990-2000 Ecophysiology of tropical plants. How do changes in physical/biogeochemical cycles affect physiology of plants?1980-1990 Relationships between plants and animals. Competition and Extinctions.
Most Cited Articles Tropical forests support 60% of all species and are a key component of global carbon and climate cycles. Despite their obvious global significance, relatively few biologists study tropical forests, and our papers are often cited accordingly. -SJ Wright
What Wright Says about his Work • “My doctoral work was an attempt to link species abundance distributions and species area relationships. I fell well short of my goal and became disillusioned with the problem.” • “My community was a human construct - it made no biological sense. So, I switched to plants.” • - “First, I embraced ecophysiology and phenology. Second, I started long-term monitoring studies of seed production and seedling recruitment and performance.”
Advice to Young Scholars: “Be optimistic. Expect the best from your colleagues. Always look for what you can learn from others – ignore their mistakes, focus on their successful insights. We aren’t lawyers. Our goal is to increase knowledge, not bicker over details.”