Brian J. Enquist
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Brian J. Enquist | |
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Born | |
Citizenship | American |
Alma mater |
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Known for | Macroecology |
Scientific career | |
Fields |
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Institutions | University of ArizonaThe Santa Fe Institute |
Thesis | On the origin and consequences of allometric scaling in biology. (1998) |
Doctoral advisor | James H. Brown |
Influences | Karl J. Niklas Geoffrey B. West |
Brian Joseph Enquist is an American biologist and academic. Enquist is a Professor of Biology at the University of Arizona.[1] He is also external professor at the Santa Fe Institute.[2] He is a broadly trained biologist, plant biologist and an ecologist. He is a Fulbright Fellow, has been listed in Popular Science Magazine as one of their "Brilliant 10",[3] and was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012[4] and the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in 2018.[5]
Research[]
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (April 2019) |
His lab works on developing a more integrative, quantitative, and predictive framework for biology,[6] community ecology,[7] and large-scale ecology.[8] His research is notable for three areas in biology and ecology:
(1) Scaling in Biology – Enquist is notable in biology for his work with Geoffrey West and James H. Brown, in understanding the origin and diversity of organismal form, function, and diversity by developing general models for the origin of allometry and scaling laws in biology. This research,[9] shows how general scaling laws underlie organismal form, function, and diversity and can be used to 'scale up' biological processes from genes to cells to ecosystems.[10][11][12] This work is also the foundation for the Metabolic Theory of Ecology.
(2) Functional Plant Ecology and Trait-based biology – Enquist has worked to develop or TDT with , and colleagues.[13] TDT provides a general theory of Functional ecology in that it provides a baseline for (i) recasting the predictions of ecological theories based on species richness (see Coexistence theory) in terms of the shape of trait distributions and (ii) integrating Metabolic Scaling Theory how specific traits, including body size, and functional diversity then ‘scale up’ to influence ecosystem functioning and the dynamics of species assemblages across climate gradients. Further, TDT offers a novel framework to integrate trait, metabolic/allometric, and species-richness-based approaches and theory to better predict functional biogeography and how assemblages of species have and may respond to climate change.
(3) Macroecology – Enquist has worked extensively on assessing the large scale biogeographic and evolutionary drivers of differing facets of biological diversity including functional and phylogenetic diversity. This work has worked to developing novel theoretical and informatics approaches that build from scaling principles and functional biology. Some of this work has focused on forecasting and visualizing the fate of biological diversity and ecosystem functioning under differing climate change and land use change scenarios. This work includes building novel approaches to complex ecological problems – utilizing integrative computation, big data, statistical, and visualisation tools to visualize and analyze biological data and to assess how climate change will influence the distribution of diversity and functioning of forests and ecosystems.[14][15]
His lab's research utilizes differing approaches including: developing theory and informatics infrastructure, field work, big datasets, scaling, empirically measuring numerous attributes of organismal form and function, utilizing physiological and trait-based techniques, and assessing macroecological and large-scale patterns. His collaborative group often works in contrasting environments including tropical forests, on elevation gradients, and in high alpine ecosystems.
Education and honors[]
Education[]
Enquist received a bachelors with distinction in Biology in 1991 before obtaining his M.S. and PhD in Biology in 1995 and 1998 respectively:
- Bachelor of Arts, Biology, 1991, Colorado College
- Ph.D., Biology, 1998, University of New Mexico
- D.Sci,[16] 2007, Colorado College[17]
Honors[]
- ESA Fellow[18] Ecological Society of America, (2018)
- Visiting Fellow [19] Oxford Martin School, Oxford University, UK, (2017)
- Fellow [20] American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow, (2012)
- College of Science Galileo Circle Fellow,[21] University of Arizona (2011)
- Eminent Ecologist, Kellogg Biological Station,[22] (2010)
- International Mobility Fellow, Charles University, Center for Theoretical Study, Prague,[23] Czech Republic (2009).
- CNRS Associate Research Fellow, Montpellier, France, (2009).[citation needed]
- Honorary Degree, PhD in Science, Colorado College, (2007). [24]
- Popular Science Magazine – "Top 10 Brilliant Young Minds.[25] (2004).
- National Science Foundation CAREER ‘Young Investigators’ Award (2002-2007). [26]
- George Mercer Award[27] (Ecological Society of America), (2001)
- Fulbright Fellowship, Costa Rica (1995-1996).[citation needed]
See also[]
- Metabolic theory of ecology
- Allometry
- Functional Ecology
- Macroecology
References[]
- ^ EEB Faculty Page
- ^ SFI Faculty Page
- ^ Popular Science 'Brialliant 10'
- ^ '2012 AAAS Fellows Announcement'
- ^ 'Bulletin of The Ecological Society of America Announces 2018 Fellows'
- ^ McGill, B. J.; Enquist, B.J.; Weiher, W. (January 2006). "Rebuilding community ecology from functional traits". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 21 (4): 178–185. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2006.02.002. PMID 16701083.
- ^ Enquist, B. J.; Norberg, J.; Bonser, S.P.; Violle, C.; Webb, C.T.; Henderson, A.; Sloat, L.L.; Savage, V.M. (2015). "Scaling from Traits to Ecosystems: Developing a General Trait Driver Theory via Integrating Trait-Based and Metabolic Scaling Theories". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 52: 249–318. arXiv:1502.06629. doi:10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.02.001. S2CID 477665.
- ^ Convergence of terrestrial plant production across global climate gradients
- ^ "Of Mice and Elephants: a Matter of Scale".
- ^ The Fourth Dimension of Life: Fractal Geometry and Allometric Scaling of Organisms
- ^ A general model for ontogenetic growth
- ^ Allometric scaling of plant energetics and population density
- ^ Brown, Enquist, B.J., Norberg, J., Bonser, S.P., Violle, C., Webb, C.T., Henderson, A., Sloat, L.L. & Savage, V.M. (2015). "Scaling from traits to ecosystems: developing a general trait driver theory via integrating trait-based and metabolic scaling theories". Advances in Ecological Research. 52: 249–318). arXiv:1502.06629. doi:10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.02.001. S2CID 477665.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ^ "Rare plant species are especially vulnerable to climate change, and rarity is more common than previously understood".
- ^ "How to Dramatically Curb Extinction - A new model suggests a way to save half of tropical species".
- ^ , Wikipedia, 2020-12-18, retrieved 2020-12-21
- ^ "Recipients • Academic Events Committee Colorado College". www.coloradocollege.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^ ESA Fellow
- ^ "Visiting Fellow". Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
- ^ American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow, (2012)
- ^ College of Science Galileo Circle Fellow
- ^ Eminent Ecologist, Kellogg Biological Station
- ^ Center for Theoretical Study, Prague
- ^ https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/academic-events-committee/honorary-degrees/recipients.html
- ^ Popular Science Magazine – "Top 10 Brilliant Young Minds."
- ^ https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0133974&HistoricalAwards=false
- ^ George Mercer Award
External links[]
- Home Page
- "New York Times" article about Dr.Enquist's work on biological scaling
- "Dr. Enquist's work on the origin of biological scaling laws featured on PBS NOVA special 'Hunting the Hidden Dimension' on YouTube
- " 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival - Climate change and the fate of our forests
- " 2017 Oxford Martin School Lectures - The concept of time in biology, and the unity of life
- "Dr. Enquist's 2015 public lecture 'Life on Earth: By Chance or By Law?'
- Colorado College alumni
- University of New Mexico alumni
- Living people
- American ecologists
- 1969 births
- University of Arizona faculty
- Fellows of the Ecological Society of America