September  2000 - August 2002
Campbell Webb, Ph.D.

Research Progress Report

Gaylord Donnelley Environmental Fellowship
January 2001

COMPARATIVE PHYLOGENETIC STRUCTURE OF RAIN FOREST TREE COMMUNITIES

Submitted by: Dr. Campbell Webb 

Yale Faculty Sponsors:  Michael J. Donoghue, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Mark S. Ashton, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

BACKGROUND

My research explores the origin and maintenance of tree species diversity in tropical forests. I have assessed a number of hypotheses for the contemporary coexistence of tree species, and found evidence that there exists a `balance of nature' in Bornean forests, in that regeneration of common species is less successful than that of rare species. Recently, I have started to examine the potential for modern phylogenetic analyses to be used in our investigation of ecological community structure. Since I have started at Yale, Michael Donoghue and I have begun to develop the tools and theories needed for this new approach. While my primary research focus is on the theory of forest community structure, I have long been active in rain forest conservation, particularly in the inventory and mapping of threatened forest areas.

PHYLOGENY AND COMMUNITY ECOLOGY

Any analysis of the phylogenetic structure of communities will depend upon having phylogenies for the taxa in the communities. However, very few of these taxa will have ever been the subject of detailed molecular analysis. We must depend therefore on constructing `supertrees' of the communities, using published phylogenies of closely related species. I have developed a system for assembling these supertrees that includes a frequently-updated `backbone' phylogeny for the higher plants. See the project website at http://pantheon.yale.edu/~cw252/ttp.

The analyses of community phylogenetic structure that we plan depend upon specialized software. This software is based on code that I wrote before arriving at Yale, but it must be continually modified and upgraded.

MINOR PROJECTS (JUL-DEC 2000)

WIRELESS BIOLOGICAL INVENTORY: With a small NSF grant to Michael Donoghue and myself, I have started to assemble a wireless system that links a field collector with the global systematics and education community. This will enable the collector to more efficiently inventory taxa outside their area of expertise, and will also be a powerful tool for engaging students in biodiversity studies.

HANDHELD COMPUTER IDENTIFICATION TOOLS: Computer-based, taxonomic identification keys provide a powerful tool for anyone trying to identify unknown taxa. However, even laptops are too cumbersome to carry to the field, where identification is most needed. However, `palm-tops' are small enough, and I developed a simple identification application for the PalmPilot, called `PalmKey.' The tool can be downloaded for free via: http://pantheon.yale.edu/~cw252.