Mark Westoby

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Mark Westoby (born 21 September 1947) is an Australian evolutionary ecologist, emeritus professor at Macquarie University, and a specialist in trait ecology.

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He is best known for an approach to ecological strategy schemes that arranges plant species along dimensions of measurable traits. This research investigated important trade-offs that govern diversification of strategies of plants in order to understand the similarities and differences across species. Westoby was a leader in the communal effort to compile trait data worldwide, and is currently working on a similar approach to ecological strategies across bacteria and archaea. Earlier in his career Westoby created a state-and-transition approach to managing ecosystem change that has been widely adopted (for example, being mandatory throughout rangelands in the U.S.). He also initiated the linear programming approach to diet optimization under multiple constraints, and the kin-conflict interpretation of the triploid endosperm of angiosperms.

Early life and education

Westoby was born 21 September 1947, in London, England to Florence May (née Jackson) and Jack Cecil Westoby. The family moved to Geneva when he was 4, and subsequently to Rome. He went to boarding school at Caterham, south of London, then to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland to complete a Bachelor of Science in 1970. [1] He then moved to America to undertake a PhD in wildlife ecology at Utah State University, [1] which is where he met plant ecologist and fellow PhD candidate, Barbara Louise Rice (1944–2009). [2] Westoby attained his PhD from Utah State University in 1973; in late 1974 he and Rice married before moving to Australia in early 1975. [2] When Westoby began a lectureship at Macquarie University, Sydney, he started the Macquarie Ecology Group which, over time, became a leading influence in Australian plant ecology. [2]

Research

Westoby's research field is evolutionary ecology. He is most noted for his research on ecological strategy schemes, "trait ecology", [3] the leaf economic spectrum, [4] and the seed-size number trade-off. [5] He chose to focus on plants because they have strong control over terrestrial ecosystems, providing resources and habitat for all the other species present.

The ecological strategies of plants can be understood in terms of cost-benefit trade-offs, with natural selection suppressing strategies that are less efficient or less competitive. Strategy theory aims to arrange plant species in patterns according to their ecologies. It plays a role similar to personality theories in psychology or the colour-magnitude diagram in astronomy.

Westoby began his career researching the diets of herbivores in American arid zones and originated the pulse-reserve paradigm used by Noy-Meir [6] [7] to interpret life-histories in arid zones. His model for herbivore diet optimization under multiple constraints [8] [9] subsequently stimulated the "nutritional geometry" of Simpson and Raubenheimer. [10] His experimental work on plant mortality in relation to growth in crowded stands (the "self-thinning rule"), [11] subsequently has found use in vegetation models. [12] He put forward an interpretation of the triploid endosperm of angiosperms based on parent-offspring conflict and kinship coefficients. [13] This gave rise to the parent-offspring conflict interpretation of genomic imprinting. [14] [15] He proposed state-and-transition language for managing vegetation dynamics on rangelands. [16] [17] This approach is now mandated by Congress for management of US federal rangelands. State-and-transition thinking flowed also into resilience concepts, [18] [17] notably through the Stockholm-based Resilience Alliance which has applied them to boundaries of the earth system.

From the 1990s onward, he carried ecological strategy research into a new phase by shifting focus away from abstract concepts such as "stress" and instead onto measurable traits such as leaf thickness [19] or seed size. [5] This made it possible to express species differences along trait-dimensions. [20] He has also worked on clarifying particular dimensions of ecological variation. For example, leaf construction cost can link to leaf lifespan and nutrient economy and ultimately to plant growth trajectories (the so-called "leaf economic spectrum"). [4]

One of Westoby's distinct contributions has been to establish and nurture international collaborative networks. From 2005 to 2010 Westoby led the Australian Research Council Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function which mentored postgraduate students and early career researchers from across Australia and overseas. Over the life of the Network 134 postgraduate students and early career researchers participated in a range of working groups.

Westoby’s current work [21] aims for ecological strategy schemes across bacteria and archaea.

Selected works

Supervision and influences beyond his own lab

Together Westoby and Rice collaborated on research and mentored many early career researchers in the Macquarie Ecology Group. Fifty-two members of the Ecology Group have entered continuing careers in universities or research agencies, both in Australia and overseas. [22]

Postgraduate research students supervised

Notable postgraduate students of his include David Haig (Harvard), Lesley Hughes (Macquarie University), David Warton (UNSW, who received the Christopher Heyde Medal), Daniel Falster (University of Sydney, who received the Fenner Medal Australian Academy of Science), Michelle Leishman (Macquarie University, who also received the Clarke Medal [23] ), Ian Wright (Macquarie University who is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science [24] ), and Angela Moles (UNSW, awarded the Nancy Millis Medal [25] ).

Contributions to research training beyond own lab

Between 2001 and 2012 Westoby initiated and organised annual one-day courses for Australian postgraduate students which focused on current research in ecology and evolution. They continue in association with annual meetings of Ecological Society of Australia and attract around 100 research students each year.

From 2005 to 2016, he led and promoted the Macquarie University Genes to Geoscience Research Enrichment Program. [26] This was a federation of labs mainly at Macquarie University that offered 15–20 masterclasses each year for PhD students and postdocs. The success of the program for training life scientists was acknowledged in 2012 when the team running the program with Westoby were awarded the Australian Award for University Teaching for "programs that enhance learning" in the category of Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching. [27] From 2017 to 2019 the program was rolled out across Macquarie University as a broader Research Enrichment Program that bridged into humanities, medicine and cognitive science.

Awards and recognition

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References

  1. 1 2 3 BBVA (February 2021). "Frontiers of Knowledge Awards". BBVA Foundation: Frontiers of knowledge Award.
  2. 1 2 3 Biological Sciences (16 March 2015). "Barbara Louise Rice, 1944–2009". Macquarie University.
  3. ↑ Westoby, M., & Wright, I.J. (2006). "Land-plant ecology on the basis of functional traits". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 21 (5): 261–268. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2006.02.004. PMID   16697912 – via Elsevier Science Direct.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. 1 2 Wright, I.J., Reich, P.B., Westoby, M., Ackerly, D.D., Baruch, Z., Bongers, F., Cavender-Bares, J., Chapin, F.S., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Diemer, M., Flexas, J., Garnier, E., Groom, P.K., Gulias, J., Hikosaka, K., Lamont, B.B., Lee, T., Lee, W., Lusk, C., Midgley, J.J., Navas, M.-L., Niinemets, Ü., Oleksyn, J., Osada, N., Poorter, H., Poot, P., Prior, L., P'yankov, V.I., Roumet, C., Thomas, S.C., Tjoelker, M.G., Veneklaas, E.J. & Villar, R. (2004). "The world-wide leaf economics spectrum". Nature. 428 (6985): 821–827. Bibcode:2004Natur.428..821W. doi:10.1038/nature02403. hdl: 11299/176900 . PMID   15103368. S2CID   4326028.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 Westoby, M., Jurado, E. & Leishman, M. (1992). "Comparative evolutionary ecology of seed size". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 7 (11): 368–372. doi:10.1016/0169-5347(92)90006-W. PMID   21236070 – via Elsevier Science Direct.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Noy-Meir, Imanuel (1974). "Desert ecosystems: higher trophic levels". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 5: 195–214. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.05.110174.001211 – via Annual Reviews.
  7. ↑ Noy-Meir, Imanuel (1973). "Desert ecosystems: environment and producers". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 4: 25–51. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000325 – via Annual Reviews.
  8. ↑ Westoby, Mark (1974). "An analysis of diet selection by large generalist herbivores". The American Naturalist . 108 (961): 627–631. doi:10.1086/282908. JSTOR   2459892. S2CID   85028290 – via JSTOR.
  9. ↑ Westoby, Mark (1978). "What are the biological bases of varied diets?". The American Naturalist. 112 (985): 290–304. doi:10.1086/283303. JSTOR   2460129. S2CID   84319476 – via JSTOR.
  10. ↑ Stephen J. Simpson & David Raubenheimer (2012). The nature of nutrition: a unifying framework from animal adaptation to human obesity. Princeton University Press. ISBN   9780691145655.
  11. ↑ Westoby, Mark (1984). "The self-thinning rule". Advances in Ecological Research. 14: 167–226. doi:10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60171-3. ISBN   9780120139149 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  12. ↑ Falster DS, Brannstrom A, Westoby M, & Dieckmann U (2017). "Multi-trait successional dynamics enable rich competitive coexistence in forests". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114 (13): E2719–E2728. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1610206114 . PMC   5380092 . PMID   28283658.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Westoby, M. and B. Rice. (1982). "Evolution of the seed plants and inclusive fitness of plant tissues". Evolution. 36 (4): 713–724. doi:10.2307/2407884. JSTOR   2407884. PMID   28568226 – via JSTOR.
  14. ↑ Haig, D. and M. Westoby (1989). "Parent-specific gene expression and the triploid endosperm". The American Naturalist. 134 (1): 147–155. doi:10.1086/284971. JSTOR   2462281. S2CID   84996122 – via JSTOR.
  15. ↑ Haig, D., and M. Westoby (1991). "Genomic imprinting in endosperm: its effect on seed development in crosses between species, and between different ploidies of the same species, and its implications for the evolution of apomixis". Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences. 333 (1266): 1–13. Bibcode:1991RSPTB.333....1H. doi:10.1098/rstb.1991.0057. JSTOR   55515 – via JSTOR.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ Westoby, M., B.H. Walker and I. Noy-Meir (1989). "Opportunistic range management for rangelands not at equilibrium". Journal of Range Management. 42: 266–274. doi:10.2307/3899492. hdl: 10150/645053 . JSTOR   3899492.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. 1 2 Walker BH, Westoby M (2020). "Past, present and future of state and transition language". The Rangeland Journal. 42: 71–72. doi:10.1071/RJ20020. S2CID   216332622 – via CSIRO Publishing.
  18. ↑ Walker B.H., and Westoby M. (2011). "States and transitions: the trajectory of an idea". Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution. 57: 17–22. doi:10.1560/IJEE.57.1-2.17 – via BRILL.
  19. ↑ Cunningham, S.A., B. Summerhayes and M. Westoby (1999). "Evolutionary divergences in leaf structure and chemistry, comparing rainfall and soil nutrient gradients". Ecological Monographs. 69 (4): 569–588. doi:10.1890/0012-9615(1999)069[0569:EDILSA]2.0.CO;2 – via ESA.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ Lenters, T.P, Henderson, A., Dracxler C.M., Elias, G.A., Mogue Kamga, S., Couvreure, T.L.P., and Kissling, W.D (2021). "Integration and harmonization of trait data from plant individuals across heterogeneous sources". Ecological Informatics. 62: 101206. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2020.101206 . S2CID   233375150.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ Madin JS, Nielsen DA, Brbic M, Corkrey R, Danko D, Edwards K, Engqvist MKM, Fierer N, Geoghegan JL, Gillings M, Kyrpides NC, Litchman E, Mason CE, Moore L, Nielsen SL, Paulsen IT, Price ND, Reddy TBK, Richards MA, Rocha EPC, Schmidt TM, Shaaban H, Shukla M, Supek F, Tetu SG, Vieira-Silva S, Wattam AR, Westfall A, Westoby M. (2020). "A synthesis of bacterial and archaeal phenotypic trait data". Scientific Data. 7 (1): 170. Bibcode:2020NatSD...7..170M. doi:10.1038/s41597-020-0497-4. PMC   7275036 . PMID   32503990.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ Westoby, Mark (2021). "Previous Lab Members" . Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "Michelle Leishman Awarded the Clarke Medal".
  24. ↑ "Ian Wright".
  25. ↑ "2021 awardees | Australian Academy of Science".
  26. ↑ Westoby, Mark (2020). "CV". mark Westoby Wordpress site.
  27. 1 2 "Australian Awards for University Teaching" (PDF). Universities Australia. 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  28. ↑ "Mark Westoby". American Academy of Arts and Sciences members directory. 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  29. ↑ ANU (21 February 2017). "Inaugural Ralph Slatyer medal awarded to Mark Westoby". Research School of Biology, ANU College of Science. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  30. ↑ Richard Bardgett, Amy Austin, Yvonne Buckley, Jane Catford, David Gibson and Mark Rees (2016). "Eminent Ecologist Award". British Ecological Society: Journal of Ecology. Retrieved 10 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  31. ↑ NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer (20 October 2014). "State's leading scientists, engineers honoured at prestigious awards". Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  32. ↑ Australian Academy of Science (2021). "Professor Mark Westoby". Australian Academy of Science. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  33. ↑ The Royal Society of NSW (2021). "The Clarke Medal". The Royal Society of NSW. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  34. ↑ Ecological Society of Australia (2021). "ESA Gold Medal Past Winners". Ecological Society of Australia.
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