CURRICULUM VITAE
(printable pdf copy)

I. EDUCATION

2001-2008: Ph.D., Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina USA. Dissertation Advisor: Dr. John Terborgh.

2005: Ecology of Amazonian Ecosystems, Peru * (5 weeks)

2004: Tropical Plant Systematics, Costa Rica * (7 weeks)

1997-2001: B.A., Environmental Studies, magna cum laude, Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut USA.

* field-based intensive courses offered by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS).

II. CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

Tree recruitment processes in lowland tropical rainforests, plant-animal interactions, effects of hunting-induced defaunation on plant regeneration.

III. PUBLICATIONS

Terborgh, J., G. Nuñez-Ituri, N. Pitman, F.H. Cornejo Valverde, P. Alvarez, V. Swamy, B. Pringle, C. E.T. Paine. 2008 . Tree recruitment in an empty forest. Ecology 89(6): 1757-68.

Swamy, V., P.E. Fell, M. Body, M.B. Keaney, M.K. Nyaku, E.C. McIlvain, A.L. Keen. 2002. Macroinvertebrates and fish populations in a restored impounded salt marsh 21 years after the re-establishment of tidal flooding. Environmental Management 29(4): 516-530.

Warren, R. S., P. E. Fell, R. Rozsa, A. H. Brawley, A. C. Orsted, E. T. Olson, V. Swamy, W. A. Niering. 2002. Salt marsh restoration in Connecticut: 20 years of science and management. Restoration Ecology 10(3): 497-513.

IV. GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

Postdoctoral

2008

• National Science Foundation DEB 0742830 (Co-PI with Dr. John Terborgh) ($400,000)
• Wildlife Conservation Society Research Fellowship Program ($20,000)
• Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) Postdoctoral Seed Grant ($10,000)

Doctoral

• Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) Graduate Research Grant - 2006, 2005. ($4765 total)
• Francis Bossuyt Fellowship, Organization for Tropical Studies - 2004. ($3000)
• Duke University Graduate School Research Travel Grants - 2006, 2003-04. ($6600 total)
• Mellon Research Travel Grant, Duke University Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies - 2006, 2002-04. ($4750 total)
• Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research Award - 2006. ($700)

Predoctoral

• Mellon Science Foundation Grant for Undergraduate Research - 1999. ($3000)

V. HONORS AND AWARDS

Rankin Award for Best Undergraduate Student Presentation - New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) Spring 2000 conference, Portland, Maine.

VI. OTHER RESEARCH EXPERIENCE 

2002 Pollination ecology in a fragmented ecosystem

- Examined the direct and indirect impacts of habitat fragmentation on plant-pollinator interactions in Bolivar State, Venezuela with a focus on plant reproductive success, inferred though data collected on pollination frequency, fruit set and seed set.

1999-2001 Salt Marsh Restoration

- Examined restoration of invertebrate and fish populations on formerly impounded salt marshes in Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, Stonington, CT, USA.

VII. TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2007: Co-Instructor, Amazonian Forest Ecology & Ethnobotany field course, Connecticut College in Peru Fall 2007 study abroad program.

2007: Course Instructor, ENV 298.77: Topics in Tropical Forest Ecology and Conservation, Spring 2007, Duke University.

2002-06: Teaching Assistant, ENV 217: Tropical Ecology (course taught by Dr. John Terborgh), Duke University.

VIII. RELATED EXPERIENCE

2000: Research Intern, Center for Science and Environment, New Delhi, India.

- Conducted fieldwork in the Himalayan foothills of Uttaranchal State , northern India.

- Submitted a detailed report for publication: "Ecological and socio-economic implications of the decline in traditional agroecosystems and agricultural biodiversity in Uttaranchal State, northern India ".

IX. PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS

Swamy, V. 2008. Tropical tree recruitment: dispersal is critical, density is a red herring, distance is the key. Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) conference, Paramaribo, Suriname . (Oral presentation)

Swamy, V. 2007. Pervasive distance effects (and not conspecific density per se) control early-stage tree recruitment in an Amazonian rainforest. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), San Jose, California. (Oral presentation)

Swamy, V. and J. Terborgh. 2007. Community-level distance effects are pervasive through multiple stages of tree recruitment in an Amazonian rainforest. Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) conference, Morelia, Mexico. (Oral presentation)

Swamy, V. and J. Terborgh. 2005. From fruit to sapling: constructing an integrated picture of tropical tree recruitment. Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) conference, Uberlandia, Brazil. (Oral presentation)

Swamy, V . and P.E. Fell. 2000. Macroinvertebrates and fish populations in a restored impounded salt marsh 21 years after the re-establishment of tidal flooding. New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) Spring Conference, Portland, Maine. (Oral presentation)

X. INVITED TALKS AND SEMINARS

May 9, 2006. Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA. Invited by Dr. Justin Brashares.

May 11, 2006. Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, CA. Invited by Dr. Rodolfo Dirzo.

November 1, 2006. Working Group on the Environment in Latin America and the Pan-Amazon, Duke University - University of North Carolina Program in Latin American Studies.

All images taken by Varun Swamy, copyright protected.

Last updated: September 11, 2008.