Robin B. Foster

Robin B. Foster is a botanist studying tropical forests. He co-originated the "tropical forest dynamics plot".[2]

Robin B. Foster
NationalityAmerican
Alma materDartmouth College, Duke University
Scientific career
FieldsEcology
InstitutionsUniversity of Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History
ThesisSeasonality of fruit production and seedfall in a tropical forest ecosystem in Panama[1] (1973)
Doctoral advisorDwight Billings
Doctoral studentsPhyllis Coley[1]

Biography

Foster 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
  • 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
  1. Foster, Robin B. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Field Museum of Chicago. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  2. "Foster Receives 15th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. No. Vol. 20 - No. 3. Department of Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium. July–September 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  3. "Field Museum Staff". Field Museum. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  4. Jackson, Nancy Beth (6 Jun 2006). "A Rain-Forest Census Takes Shape, Tree by Tree". New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  5. 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.
  6. Pitman, Nigel (29 October 2010). "A Botanical Sketch in Progress". Scientist at Work Blog. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  7. Stevens, William K. (17 August 1993). "Biologists' Deaths Set Back Plan to Assess Tropical Forests". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  8. "About the Live Plant Photos Project | The Field Museum". plantidtools.fieldmuseum.org. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  9. "Rapid Reference Collection | Botanical Collections". collections-botany.fieldmuseum.org. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
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