Advisory Board and Editors Biogeography
Leslie Ries
Leslie Ries is an ecologist who focuses on patterns at both medium and large scales. She has worked both in the fields of landscape ecology and biogeography with her focus mainly on butterflies. Over the last 10 years, she has shifted from a field approach to using large databases, mostly originating from citizen science monitoring networks.
Tony Robillard
Professor at Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. Curator of insect collections and sound library. Scientific head of the edition service of MNHN. My research focusses on the diversity of communication systems in orthopteran insects in space and time. I use multidisciplinary approaches combining phylogenetics, biogeography, taxonomy, bioacoustics, biomechanics, behavioral studies and data obtained both in the lab and in the field.
Gary Rosenberg
Pilsbry Chair of Malacology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and Professor, Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science, Drexel University. Commissioner, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Editor for Mollusca, World Register of Marine Species and MolluscaBase.
His research focuses on the origins and magnitude of diversity of the Mollusca, with active research currently in the Philippines (marine and terrestrial mollusks) and Jamaica (land snails). He uses biodiversity databases to better document the known diversity of mollusks and to estimate their total diversity.
Sarah Samadi
Sarah Samadi is professor at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. The common background of all her scientific activities is the analysis of the conceptual grounds of systematics and evolutionary biology. Her present empirical projects are mainly in the fields of species delimitations and of speciation processes. Most of her projects are focusing on organisms from poorly known environments (mainly deep-sea environments, notably seamounts and organic remains sunken on the deep-sea floor) and are developed in the methodological framework of “Integrative Taxonomy”, in which methods in phylogenetics, population genetics and ecology are combined.
Carlos A Santamaria
Santamaria’s primary research interests are on cryptic biodiversity and phylogeography of coastal invertebrates, particularly those from highly biodiverse and geologically active regions such as Hawai’i, southern Africa, Pacific Islands, the Greater Caribbean Region, the Mediterranean and the Baja Peninsula of Mexico.
As a Hispanic, he is aware of the difficulties that under-represented students face in higher education and when pursuing careers in the biological sciences. Thus, he is dedicated to increasing their participation in the sciences. He has mentored undergraduates who self-identify as members of underrepresented groups in his research activities. He also participates in community outreach events as well as professional development programs geared towards developing a better understanding of the needs of a multi-cultural student body and to improve the participation of under-represented groups in the sciences.
Richard Schuster
I am the Director of Spatial Planning and Innovation at the Nature Conservancy of Canada and an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University, studying the ecological impacts of human activities and develop novel techniques to prioritize conservation areas and strategies. I have a theoretical and applied background in quantitative ecology and statistics and spatial big data analysis. I develop novel analytical tools for researchers and other practitioners to explore and use in conservation planning and management.
Erik R Seiffert
Erik Seiffert's research is focused on the phylogenetic relationships, adaptations, and historical biogeography of mammals, with an emphasis on the endemic placental mammals of Africa and Arabia. He has a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley (1995), an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin (1998), and a Ph.D. from Duke University (2003). He was previously Lecturer in Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironments at University of Oxford and Curator of Geological Collections at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (2004-2007), Assistant and Associate Professor of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University (2007-2016), and is now a Professor of Integrative Anatomical Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (2016-Present). He is also a Research Associate at the Duke Lemur Center's Division of Fossil Primates and in the Department of Mammalogy, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Petra Sierwald
Associate Curator (Zoology/Insects), 2005-present, Field Museum of Natural History
Ph.D. (Dr. rer. nat.) in Zoology, University of Hamburg; 1985.
M.Sc. (Staatsexamen) in Biology, Geography and Biology-Education; University of Hamburg; 1982.
Chief Taxonomic Editor; MilliBase [http://millibase.org]
Research: Collections-based biodiversity research in Arachnida and Myriapoda, contributing to species discovery and higher level phylogenies, and to the analysis of complex and new morphological characters suites for phylogenetic research as well as to the development of taxonomic tools. Research strategies address the vastly different knowledge-base in Arachnida on one hand and Myriapoda on the other, with nearly all research in integrative and collaborative arrangements (e.g., millipede phylogenomics research). Curation of museum collections: Specimen and tissue collection building, improvement of collection accessibility through digitization and stewardship of digitized collection data.Analyses and research options employing digitized museum specimen data.
Daniel Paiva Silva
I hold a doctorate in Ecology and Evolution from Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil (2010-2014). I have experience in quantitative ecology, landscape ecology, tri-trophic interactions, insect conservation, exotic invasive species ecology, and species distribution models/ecological niche models. My previous published works involve biology and ecology of bees, dragon and damselflies, and other insects in general. Currently, I work with general ecology, population and community ecology, biodiversity management and conservation, and evolution as a faculty member of the Instituto Federal Goiano, campus Urutaí. Finally, I am currently an academic editor for PLOS ONE and PeerJ Journals.
José Maria Cardoso da Silva
Professor of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of Miami. Director (2001-2003), Vice-President (2003-2010), and Executive Vice-President (2010-2014), Conservation International. Associate Professor, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. Graduate Advisor in three Brazilian Universities: Universidade Federal do Pará, Universidade Federal da Paraíba and Universidade Federal do Amapá. Past President, Brazilian Ornithological Society. Fellow of the American Ornithologist’s Union.
Amy NS Siuda
I am a marine ecologist and biological oceanographer. My research interests span marine plankton ecology from organismal to population and community levels. Plankton form the foundations of marine food webs. Complex interactions exist among plankton as well as between plankton and the physical/chemical environment. To understand these patterns and processes, my research team employs experimental (e.g., controlled bottle experiments), observational (e.g., net tow sampling) and molecular approaches in data collection. Current projects include: distribution and diversity of Sargassum and its associated community; and plankton-microplastic interactions. I am also passionate about decreasing accumulation of plastic marine debris. Through the Reduce Single-Use Project, we raise awareness of the plastic marine debris problem and encourage reduction of single-use plastic consumption on campus, in St. Petersburg, and across Florida.
Victoria Sosa
PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Research interests include the phylogeny and evolution of plants with a particular focus on groups of vascular plants that are distributed in Mesoamerica and especially endemic to Mexico. Also interested in cloud forest flora. Systematics and taxonomy of orchids in Epidendreae are as well part of my interests. In addition, I am conducting investigation on diversity, evolutionary biology and ecology of geophytes an interesting life form in plants. Genomics and economic botany of underutilized fruits is one of my new lines of research.