VARUN SWAMY

Ph.D. Candidate

Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences

Duke University Box 90328
Durham NC 27708


Tel: 919-218-8935
 
E-mail:
vs12@duke.edu






I.          CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

Tropical rainforest ecology, plant-animal interactions, seed dispersal, tree recruitment processes, effects of hunting-induced animal extinctions on plant regeneration.


II.        EDUCATION

2001-2007(expected) 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 taught by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS).







III.       PUBLICATIONS

Terborgh, J.,  G. Nuñez-Ituri, N. Pitman, F.H. Cornejo Valverde, P. Alvarez, V. Swamy, B. Pringle, C. E.T. Paine (in review 2007). Tree recruitment in an empty forest. Ecology.
 

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.
      RESEARCH GRANTS

2007                 Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research, American   

 Philosophical Society

2006, 2005        Amazon Conservation Association (ACA) Graduate Research Grant

2006                  Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research Award

2004                  Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) Graduate Research

                           Fellowship

2006, 2003-04   Duke University Graduate School Research Travel Grant

2006, 2002-04   Mellon Research Travel Grant, Duke University Center for Latin       

                          American and Caribbean Studies

1999                  Mellon Science Foundation Grant for Undergraduate Research






V.
       HONORS AND AWARDS

2000                Rankin Award for Best Undergraduate Student Presentation, New 

                        England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) conference, Portland,  

                        Maine.

VI.
      RESEARCH EXPERIENCE


2003-present   Role of biotic factors in spatial organization and maintenance

of diversity in lowland neotropical rainforest tree communities.

·         Research includes a conservation emphasis that explores the effects of absence of key mammals on the regeneration of the plant community, through the comparison of pristine vs. hunted field sites.

·         Research sites include Estación Biológica Cocha Cashu (EBCC) in Manu National Park and Los Amigos Biological Station, both in Madre de Dios, Peru.





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                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 (4 semesters).

 



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. 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.

 








XI.
        SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

 

ESRI ArcGIS 9.1, S-Plus 7.0, PC-Ord 4.1, WinClada, HemiView 2.1, R 2.4.1


XII.     LANGUAGES

 

English (native), Spanish (fluent in reading, writing, conversation), Portuguese (basic), Hindi (basic), Tamil (native).

 


 

 

 


 

All images taken by Varun Swamy, copyright protected.