Office: 134 Winston Hall
Phone: (336) 758-5596
email: silmanmr@wfu.edu
B.A. Biology, 1989, University of Missouri.
Ph.D. Zoology, 1996, Duke University.
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My research focuses on population and community dynamics, most recently focussing on trees. By using ecological, geological, and paleobotanical techniques, I seek to understand the distribution and abundance of tree species, and particularly the composition and dynamics of tropical tree communities. This approach combines rigorous experimental design and analysis with an understanding of the natural history of both the forest ecosystem and the component species in order to test the causes of patterns found in nature. Current research projects include a multicollaborator research effort on the effects of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem function in the Peruvian Andes (http://www.andesconservation.org). Other projects include the role of life history in the structure and diversity of tropical tree communities in Manu National Park, Peru, a paleoecological investigation into the composition and stability of tropical tree communities over time, and, closer to home, a long-term project on sex-switching and population dynamics in striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum L.) at Mountain Lake Biological Station, Virginia.
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