Dr C. E. Timothy Paine

Adjunct Senior Lecturer Ecology - School of Environmental and Rural Science

Biography

I am a community ecologist who studies the structure and dynamics of plant communities in species-rich ecosystems. I am fascinated by diversity and the coexistence of species, from both conceptual and applied angles. Conceptually, the persistence of rare species remains a puzzle: why do they not go extinct?

Practically, it is these rare species that are at greatest risk of extinction and that provide irreplaceable ecosystem functions. Beginning with my PhD research in the rain forests of Manu National Park, Peru, I have used observational studies and manipulative experiments to dissect the ecological interactions that maintain diversity in the process of seedling recruitment, and later ontogenetic stages.

To gain broader insight into the mechanisms that generate community structure, I have also focused on adult trees, using the lenses of functional traits and phylogenetic history, beginning with my first post-doc at UMR EcoFoG in French Guiana, and continuing through a second post-doc at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and a lectureship at the University of Stirling, Scotland.

Recently, I have shifted focus from examining current-day community structure to the prediction of community dynamics. Accurate mechanistic predictions of community dynamics is essential to forecast the consequences of anthropogenic and natural disturbances into the future. Making accurate mechanistic predictions of community dynamics requires integrating the vital rates of growth, survival, fecundity, and recruitment over the life cycle. In making this transition, I am excited to study the ecosystems of Australia!

Finally, I am fascinated by the process by which research is processed through the academic publishing system to become peer-reviewed articles. This “meta-research” is interesting, as all investigators interact with the publishing system, as authors, reviewers or editors, but rarely is broader insight into its patterns, processes, and biases made evident.

Through data-mining and questionnaires, I have gained substantial insight into the effectiveness of journals as arbiters of scientific quality and the effects of article length on publications. Currently, and perhaps most interestingly, I’m investigating the geographical and gender-based biases in the academic publishing system.

Qualifications

BA 1999, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire USA
PhD 2007, University of Louisiana, Louisiana USA

Primary Research Area/s

Community Ecology; Academic publishing; Plant Growth

Research Interests

Selected Competitive Grants:

2019: NSW OEF Saving our Species: $350,000

2018: Robine Enid Wilson Small Grants Scheme: $19,269

2015: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) IAPETUS DTP: £60,000

2014: NERC/University of Stirling: £55,000

Publications

Selected Recent Publications:

C Baraloto, J Vleminckx, J Engel , P Petronelli, N Dávila, M Ríos, EH Valderrama-Sandoval, I Mesones, JE Guevara-Andino, C Fortunel, E Allie, CET Paine, A Dourdain, J-Y Goret, OJ Valverde-Barrantes, F Draper, PVA Fine. (2021). Biogeographic history and habitat specialization shape floristic and phylogenetic composition across Amazonian forests. Ecological Monographs.

FC Draper, ... CET Paine, and ~100 co-authors. (2021). Amazon tree dominance across forest strata. Nature Ecology and Evolution.

NCA Pitman, … 28 co-authors…, CET Paine, RT de Queiroz, K Romoleroux. (2021). Where are the field photographs of the American vascular flora? Nature Plants.

K Hazelwood, CET Paine, FC Valverde, EG Pringle, H Beck, J Terborgh. (2020). Changes in tree community structure in defaunated forests are not driven only by dispersal limitation. Ecology and Evolution.

MA Danks, N Simpson, TF Elliott, CET Paine, K Vernes. (2020). Modeling mycorrhizal fungi dispersal by the mycophagous swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor). Ecology and Evolution.

M Blyth, Paine CWE, Paine CET (2019). The Decline in Nesting Success of Tachycineta bicolor (Tree Swallow) Over 38 Years on Hardwood Island, Maine. Northeastern Naturalist.

CW Fox & Paine CET (2019). Gender differences in peer review outcomes and manuscript impact at six journals of ecology and evolution. Ecology and Evolution.

Paine CET & Fox CW (2018). The effectiveness of journals as arbiters of scientific impact. Ecology and Evolution.

To view more publications please see my Google Scholar page

Memberships

Ecological Society of America

Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation

British Ecological Society