Curriculum Vitae Porter Prescott Lowry Ii
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CURRICULUM VITAE PORTER PRESCOTT LOWRY II Born, Salem, Oregon, USA, October 27, 1956. US Citizenship; Resident in France. Married, two children. PRESENT POSITION Director of the Africa and Madagascar Program, Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA (Tel: 314-577- 9453; Fax: 314-577-9596; e-mail: [email protected]; url: http://www.mobot.org/staff/pete-lowry). Address in France (permanent posting): Institut de Systématique, Évolution et Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Case Postale 39, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France (Tel: +(33) 1-40-79-33-51; [email protected]). ASSOCIATE AND ADJUNCT POSITIONS Chercheur Associé, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (since 1989). Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA (since 2003). Member of the Institut de Systématique, Évolution et Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (since 2006). Responsable Scientifique de Collection, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (since 2009). Postgraduate Supervisor, University of Waikato, New Zealand (since 2015). f PREVIOUS POSITIONS 1986–1990 Assistant Curator, Coordinator, Madagascar Research and Conservation Program, Missouri Botanical Garden. 1990–1999 Associate Curator, and Head, Africa and Madagascar Department, Missouri Botanical Garden. 1999–2012 Curator, and Head, Africa and Madagascar Department, Missouri Botanical Garden. 2012–2014 Senior Curator, and Head, Africa and Madagascar Department, Missouri Botanical Garden. EDUCATION 1976 University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois; B.S. in Botany, with Highest Honors and Departmental Distinction. 1980 University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois; M.S. in Botany. Thesis advisor: Almut G. Jones. 1986 Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri; Ph.D. in Biology and Biomedical Sciences (Population Biology). Thesis advisor: Peter H. Raven. PROGRAMMATIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES Director, MBG’s Madagascar Research and Conservation Program (~100 staff members in Madagascar, 3 based at MBG, 4 in Paris). Main programmatic activities include: Extensive botanical exploration (ca. 200,000 collections made by staff and associates in the past 35 years). Systematic and taxonomic studies (ca. 350 papers published by program staff, students and collaborators). Multi-level training (>100 Malagasy students and professionals trained) and employment opportunities through MBG’s in-country program. Collaboration with 5 local counterpart institutions and numerous international organizations. Compilation of a comprehensive database on Malagasy plants and preparation of an on-line Catalogue of the Plants of Madagascar, integrating threat assessments using IUCN Red List criteria. Innovative approaches for applying botanical information to addressing conservation issues, including: GIS analysis of Priority Areas for Plant Conservation; evaluation of patterns of species richness and endemism; Curriculum Vitae Porter P. Lowry II Page 2 inventory of Madagascar’s East Coast Littoral Forests; and assessment of the impacts of climate change on Madagascar’s flora, testing mitigation measures and developing adaptation strategies. Community-based conservation projects at 12 newly established protected areas located at priority sites for plant conservation, each integrating the principles of sustainable natural resource management, ecological restoration, participatory management and social entrepreneurship. Participation in the G3D Project to identify species of rosewood (Dalbergia) and ebony (Diospyros) exploited for their precious wood and develop practical identification tools in support of efforts to establish a program of sustainable and equitable management. Development of botanical expertise for Environmental Impact Assessments and participation in selected EIA studies. Director of MBG’s Africa Program (3 staff members based at MBG; 4 based in Europe). Main programmatic activities include: West and Central Africa Program, established in 1983, has conducted botanical exploration work throughout the region, primarily in Gabon, but also in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé & Principe, Guinea Conakry, and Liberia. The Program has collaborated with and supported in-country partner institutions, contributed to conservation assessments, participated in the Central African Red List Authority and the West African Plant Red List Authority, led the identification of conservation priorities, and undertaken flora and vegetation studies for environmental impact assessments (Program Head: T. Stévart). Tanzania Program, which has trained >25 local botanists, conducted field work in dozens of key sites, played a leading role in the East Africa Red List Authority’s work, carried out a collaborative, multi-institutional CEPF-funded project on Red List assessments of threatened species and identification of priority conservation areas, and participated in an analysis of climate change and its implications for conservation (Program Head: R. Gereau). Systematics of African Orchidaceae, a multi-institutional effort involving a half dozen collaborators (participating staff: T. Stévart, B Ramandimbisoa). Maintaining and expanding North America’s largest and most comprehensive collection and associated data on plants from Africa and Madagascar as a resource for the research community. Conducting the flora and vegetation components of baseline and Environmental Impact Assessments at sites in multiple countries. MBG Liaison based at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, coordinating MBG collaborative involvement in research within the Institute de Systématique, Évolution et Biodiversité (ISYEB) on the floras of Madagascar, New Caledonia, and Africa; contributing to MNHN research activities; and facilitating collaboration and visits to Paris by scientists from the U.S., Madagascar, Africa and elsewhere. Coordinator of MBG’s environmental impact assessment and mitigation/offset consulting activities, which include botanical baseline inventory work and risk of extinction assessments to identify potential impacts; advice on the design and implementation of appropriate mitigation and offset actions to ensure compliance with accepted standards, including no net loss or a net positive impact on biodiversity; and development of an HCV (High Conservation Value) methodology and tools for flora and vegetation. CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS Systematics of Araliaceae – current research activities include: Floristic treatments in preparation: New Caledonia, Madagascar, Central Africa, Indochina. Taxonomic revisions and descriptions of new taxa in the following groups: the recently expanded genus Plerandra and the newly recognized genera Astropanax and Neocussonia (with G. M. Plunkett), as well as the newly resurrected genera Crepinella (32 spp.) and Sciodaphyllum (>250 spp.)( G. M. Plunkett, M. M. Mora and others); Polyscias (ca. 270 spp.; with G.M. Plunkett); Meryta (ca. 40 spp.; with F. Tronchet), etc. Development of Araliaceae Central, an on-line resource for information on the genera and species belonging to the family. Phylogeny: broad relationships within the family (with G.M. Plunkett and others); re-circumscription of Schefflera sensu lato, now completed (with G.M. Plunkett); inter-specific relationships in Meryta (with F. Tronchet and G.M. Plunkett) and Cussonia (with B. De Villiers), etc. Historical biogeographic studies, focusing on the SW Pacific and the Afro-Malagasy region (with G.M. Plunkett). Ongoing field exploration (recent trips to Madagascar, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). Curriculum Vitae Porter P. Lowry II Page 3 Analyses of morphological and anatomical features in a phylogenetic context (with G.M. Plunkett and others). Risk of extinction assessments (with G.M. Plunkett). Systematics of other groups within Apiales, including Myodocarpaceae (with G. M. Plunkett) and Pittosporaceae (with C. Gemmill and J. Munzinger). Flora and vegetation of Madagascar – current activities include: Taxonomic revisions and descriptions of new taxa (numerous groups in many families; see Publications in Press or in Review and Papers in Preparation below). Implementation and expansion of the Catalogue of the Plants of Madagascar (with P. B. Phillipson, G. E. Schatz, S. Andriambololonera, M. Rabarimanarivo, and others). Evolution and diversification of the New Caledonian flora, including Araliaceae (with G. M. Plunkett), Pittosporaceae (with C. Gemmill and J. Munzinger), Sapindaceae (with S. Buerki, M. Callmander and J. Munzinger), Winteraceae (with C. Gemmill and J. Munzinger), etc. Application of botanical information to conservation planning and management. Environmental impact assessment, mitigation and conservation planning at selected high biodiversity mine projects (Madagascar, Panama, Gabon, Guinea Conakry, and Indonesia) to ensure that robust, accurate botanical information is incorporated into planning and offsets in order to achieve a Net Positive Impact. CONSULTING EXPERIENCE 1989–91 Principal Consultant, Flora and Vegetation Environmental Impact Assessment Study for QIT - Madagascar Minerals Project, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This study involved a team of seven scientists and was carried out in 3 phases between March, 1989 and January, 1991. 1995 Coordinator, Plant Specialist Group, Madagascar Conservation Priority Setting Workshop, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). 1996