EEB Faculty: John A. Silander, Jr.

John A. Silander, Jr., Professor (Ph.D., Duke University)

Silander with Field Ecology class (EEB 452) in northwestern Connecticut

Examples of proteas from the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa

Current Areas of Research:

Plant ecology and evolution: biogeography and spatial processes in ecology; landscape ecology; conservation biology; biology of invasive species; experimental plant population and community ecology; population dynamics and competition; forest community ecology of temperate and tropical regions.
Contact Information:
Dr. John A. Silander, Jr.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Connecticut
75 N. Eagleville Road, Unit 3043
Storrs, CT 06269-3043

Tel: (860) 486-2168
Fax: (860) 486-6364
E-Mail: john.silander@uconn.edu

Selected Publications:
Pacala, S. W., C. D. Canham, J. Saponara, J. A. Silander, Jr., R. E. Kobe, and E. Ribbens. 1996. Forest models defined by field measurements. II. Estimation, error analysis, and dynamics. Ecological Monographs 66(1): 1-43 [George Mercer Award paper (ESA) 1996] [pdf file]

Mickelson, J. G., Jr., D. L. Circo, and J. A. Silander, Jr. 1998. Delineating forest canopy species in the northeastern United States using multi-temporal TM imagery: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 64(9): 891-904.[ERDAS Award Paper for 1998] [pdf file]

Silander, J. A., Jr. and D. M. Klepeis. 1999. The invasion ecology of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) in the New England landscape. Biological Invasions 1:189-201. [pdf file]

Silander, J. A., Jr. 2000. Temperate forests: plant species biodiversity and conservation. In (S.A. Levin ed.) Encyclopedia of Biodiversity. 5:607-626. Academic Press, New York. [pdf file]

Agarwal, D. K., A. E. Gelfand and J. A. Silander, Jr. 2002. Investigating tropical deforestation using two state spatially misaligned regression models. Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics. 7(3):420-439 [American Statistical Society Award paper for 2000].

Gelfand, A.E., A.M. Schmidt, S. Wu, J. A. Silander, Jr., A. M. Latimer and A.G. Rebelo. 2005. Modelling species diversity through species level hierarchical modeling. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Section C Applied Statistics 54(1):1-20 [pdf file]

Agarwal, D. K., J. A. Silander, Jr., A.E. Gelfand, R.E. Dewar, and J.G. Mickelson, Jr. 2005. Tropical Deforestation in Madagascar: Analyses using hierarchical, spatially explicit, Bayesian regression models. Ecological Modelling 185:105-131 [pdf file]

Gelfand, A. E., J. A. Silander, Jr., S. Wu, A. M. Latimer, P. Lewis, Anthony G. Rebelo and M. Holder. 2005. Explaining species distribution patterns through hierarchical modeling. Bayesian Analysis 1:42-92. (pdf file ) (with supplement ).

Leicht, S.A., J.A. Silander, Jr. and K.E. Lerose. 2005. Assessing the competitive ability of Japanese stilt grass, Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 132 (4): 573-580 (pdf file ).

Latimer, A.M., J.A. Silander, Jr. and R.M Cowling. 2005. Neutral theory reveals isolation and rapid speciation in a biodiversity hotspot. Science 309:1722-1725 (pdf file ) (plus appendices).

Latimer, A. M., S. Wu, A. E. Gelfand and J. A. Silander, Jr. 2006. Building statistical models to analyze species distributions. Ecological Applications 16(1): 33-50 (pdf file ) plus Appendices: Ecological Archives: A016-003-A1 and A016-003-S1.

Leicht, S. A. and J. A. Silander Jr. 2006. Differential Responses of Invasive Celastrus orbiculatus (Celastraceae) and Native C. scandens to Changes in Light Quality. American Journal of Botany 93(7): 972-977 (pdf file ).

Bond, W. and J. A. Silander, Jr. 2007. Springs and wire plants: anachronistic defenses against Madagascar’s extinct elephant birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 274:1985-1992. (pdf file)

Ricardo R, JJ Armesto, B. Goffinet, W. Buck, F. Massardo, J. A. Silander, MTK Arroyo, S Russell, CB Anderson, L Cavieres, and JBCallicott 2007. Changing lenses to assess biodiversity: patterns of species richness in sub-Antarctic plants and implications for global conservation. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. (in press).

Courses Taught: Methods of Ecology, Field Ecology, African Field Ecology, Seminars in plant ecology and spatial statistics, Population and Community Ecology.

African Field Ecology was offered as a course in Africa in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007. This course is offered in conjunction with faculty and students from EEB, the University of Fort Hare in South Africa, and the UConn Department of Natural Resource Management and Engineering. The course is run at the newly renovated Grasslands Field Station in the Great Fish River Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa, with access to 6 different biomes in the immediate vicinity; moreover, it is one of the best places to study black rhinos in Africa.

UConn and UFH students on the African Field Ecology course

Sunrise at Grasslands Field Station

Current Research Projects:
1. The Biogeography, Biodiversity and Climate in Southern Africa .
This project is multidisciplinary, combining ecology, evolution, biogeography, climate change and statistics. The first objective of the project was to explain biogeographic patterns of plant species distributions and biodiversity in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. The “Cape” is biotically one of the most diverse regions in the world, as diverse as many of the world's rainforests. The focal plant group for this study is the Proteacea, the icon plant family of South Africa. We have developed novel, spatially explicit statistical models (Hierarchical Bayesian ) to understand and predict patterns in species distributions and biodiversity. The data sources include GIS (environmental) data layers, species attribute data, species inventories (from the Protea Atlas Project ), phylogenetic information, and other data sources. Extensive field work including experimental biogeography and population genetic analysis was conducted in South Africa . The project has been supported by grants from NCEAS and NSF. A few, selected recent papers and manuscripts are listed above. Continued NSF funding now allows us to explore climate change in Southern Africa and the predicted population and species levels responses of proteas to past and future projected climate change. We are also developing fire and regional soil moisture models. A related NSF project focuses on evolutionary processes in protea species. A recent NSF-IRES grant provides research training support for undergraduate and graduate students in the ecology and evolutionary biology of the Cape Floristic Region.

Examples of the Proteaceae of the Cape Floristic Region [images are from: T. Rebelo. 2001. Proteas: A Field Guide to the Proteas of Southern Africa, Fernwood press, the Protea Atlas Project, and other sources.]	The Plant Biogeographic Regions of the World, showing the Cape Floristic Region (bottom, center)
	Southern Africa
Fynbos: the dominant biome type in the CFR -- a Mediterranean climate shrubland. [images from: R. Cowling and D. Richardson. 1995. Fynbos. Fernwood Press, and other sources.]	The Cape Floristic Region [image from: R. Cowling and D. Richardson. 1995. Fynbos. Fernwood Press.]

A major invasive threat to New England:
Celastrus orbiculatus

2. The Ecology of Invasive Plant Species in New England .
This project focuses on developing an on-line atlas and interactive database for invasive plant species and noxious weeds of New England. We are collecting both historical (herbarium) and current field records of species occurrences. With this information we have developed models to predict current and future patterns of invasive species distributions. An integral part of the project is developing an early-detection/early-warning system for new incursions of invasives in the landscape. We are also focusing ecological studies on selected problematic species, including the comparative ecology of native and invasive oriental bittersweet ( Celastrus orbiculatus ), Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), and jewelweed ( Impatiens glandulifera) species in New England ; another project focuses on the effects of land-use history on susceptibility to biological invasions. This project has been funded by the USDA. Our IPANE Invasives web site is constantly being updated. We are currently developing predictive models of invasive species distributions using data from both their native ranges (focus on East Asian species) and where they have been introduced to the US and elsewhere. We are also developing mechanistic models of the joint spread of invasive plants and the invasive birds that disperse them.

3. Sustainable Conservation in

Madagascar

.
Prior funding from the MacArthur Foundation and NSF focused on understanding and explaining deforestation patterns over time in the eastern coastal rainforests of

Madagascar

. This project was multidisciplinary involving ecologists, anthropologists, archeologists, geographers, demographers and rural sociologists. Collaborators on this project included former student and now General Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment of Madagascar, Dr. Joelisoa Ratsirarson. An experimental component of this project, done in collaboration with former student and post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Roland de Gouvenain, focused on understanding and predicting forest dynamics and regeneration of native tree species. A May 2006 expedition to Madagascar focused on the status and evolution of grassland and savanna systems. Grasslands and conservation of their biota have been largely ignored in Madagascar. We also initiated a study on the coevolutionary history of giant elephant birds and vegetation they browsed in thicket biome of southwestern Madagascar (see recent paper published in the PRS, and highlighted in Current Biology). On-going research focuses on the biology and evolution of the enigmatic elephant birds of Madagascar.

Tampolo Forest Reserve: wet tropical forest zone of eastern Madagascar. This is the focal site for the tropical deforestation project initially funded by the MacArthur Foundation.	Lake Tsimanampetotsa National Park: xerophytic succulent thicket of southwestern Madagascar with Pachypodium spp, Alluaudia spp. Euphorbia spp. and many others
Experimental plantings of forest tree seedlings in the Tampolo forest.	Elephant birds in the spiny, succulent thicket of southwestern Madagascar (below and left with human figure for scale)

4. Integrative Conservation at Cape Horn , Chile .
This project done in collaboration with former student and post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Ricardo Rozzi, focused on developing integrative and sustainable conservation for the Cape Horn region of

Chile

and adjacent areas of the Magellanic Region. A primary objective was designation of this region as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. This project involved studies in ecology, botany, ornithology, anthropology, environmental ethics. This is the region in which Darwin had his first extensive encounter with Native Americans, which had a profound influence on his writing of the Descent of Man . The Omora Foundation has worked with the various stakeholders to establish the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, officially declared 28 June, 2005.

The Cape Horn

The Murray Channel.

Graduate Student Advisees: Adam Wilson (Ph.D.), Jenica Allen (Ph.D.), Sarah Treanor (Ph.D.), co-advisor for Tsitsi McPherson (Ph.D.).
Post-Doctoral Fellows: Andrew Latimer , Ines Ibanez

Last updated: 28 March 2008