Forest Canopies

Biographical SketchMARGARET DALZELL LOWMANChief Scientist, TREE FoundationIn October 1999, Meg Lowman became the Chief Executive Officer of Selby Botanical Gardens, an institution that specializes in tropical plants, especially epiphytes. Under her leadership, the Gardens expanded membership by 45% and fund-raising by over 100%. For eight years prior, she had been the Director of Research and Conservation there, overseeing a staff of scientists and educators. Her expertise involves canopy ecology, particularly plant-insect relationships, and spans over 25 years in Australia, Peru, Africa, the Americas, and the South Pacific. She has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications and three books. After eleven years of service, she resigned from Selby Gardens to devote more time to her passions for public science, pursuing research, education and conservation with TREE Foundation. Prior to joining Selby, Meg was an assistant professor in Biology and Environmental Studies at Williams College, Massachusetts where she pioneered several aspects of temperate forest canopy research and built the first canopy walkway in North America. From 1978-89, she lived in Australia and worked on canopy processes in both rain forests and dry sclerophyll forests. She was instrumental in determining the causes of the eucalypt dieback syndrome that destroyed millions of trees in rural Australia, and assisted with conservation programs for tree regeneration. She is also involved in long-term studies of rain forest regeneration.Meg has developed an expertise for the use of different canopy access techniques, including ropes, walkways, hot air balloons, construction cranes, and combinations of these methods. She frequently speaks about her jungle adventures and about rain forest conservation to educational groups, ranging from elementary classes to corporate executives to international conferences. She continues to travel worldwide to "map the canopy for biodiversity,H. Bruce RinkerDirector of Research & ConservationAdministrator, Center for Canopy EcologyMarie Selby Botanical Gardens811 South Palm AvenueSarasota, FL 34236 U.S.A.941-955-7553 ext. 15 (Voice)941-951-1474 (Facsimile)brinker@selby.orgH. Bruce Rinker, a 1979 graduate of VA TECH's College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources (Blacksburg, VA), is a doctoral candidate in environmental studies at Antioch New England Graduate School (Keene, NH). He was elected a National Fellow of the Explorers Club in March 1998, a Switzer Environmental Fellow in May 2000, and a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences in 2002. In September 2000, he became the director of canopy ecology at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, FL. In July 2002, Bruce was appointed the fifth director of research and conservation in the Gardens' history.Mr. Rinker is a member of the research board of directors for the Amazon Conservatory for Tropical Studies (ACTS) near Iquitos, Peru. On the editorial boards for BioScience Productions, Inc. and the international periodical, Selbyana, Mr. Rinker is also a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Florida Academy of Sciences, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Organization of Tropical Studies, the Association for Tropical Biology, the Aldo Leopold Society, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, the Society for Conservation Biology, and others. He has authored and co-authored numerous articles and has made presentations to audiences all over the world. Mr. Rinker's scientific expeditions include various trips to the Galápagos Islands; into the High Andes of Ecuador and Peru; the Amazon Basin of Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru; the rainforests of Australia, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Costa Rica and French Guyana; the Congo Basin of Cameroon, West Africa; the deserts and reefs of the Middle East; the sub-arctic regions of Labrador; and other places.