Faculty of Science

Department of Biological Sciences
Richard Thomas Corlett

Professor

Contact Information:
Department of Biological Science
National University of Singapore
14 Science Drive 4
Singapore 117543
Phone: +65-65161285
E-mail: dbscrt@nus.edu.sg
Lab website

PhD Australian National University, MA BA University of Cambridge

Research Areas:

Terrestrial Ecology, Climate Change, Conservation Biology, Biogeography

Research Interests:

My research for the last 30 years has been largely concerned with the ecology of the deforested tropics. More than a third of the entire humid tropics and more than half of the East Asian tropics have been cleared of forest over the last millennium and the area increases every year. These are the landscapes in which most tropical people live and work, yet we know remarkably little about their ecology. The focus of my research group has been on understanding which wild species survive in these human-dominated landscapes and what factors determine the potential for landscape recovery when human impacts are reduced. For the last dozen years I have concentrated on the process of seed dispersal, since it is both a rate-limiting step in forest development and one that is particularly vulnerable to local extinctions of bird and mammal species.

My research group has also made significant contributions to two additional, more-or-less related, research areas. One is the ecology of alien invasive species of plants and animals in the tropics. Invasive aliens are a growing problem and we urgently need the sort of mechanistic understanding of the processes involved that will enable us to make useful predictions, rather than just reacting to crises as they occur. I am currently trying to use my experience in seed dispersal to identify fruit traits that reduce or enhance the risk of cultivated plants becoming invasive, so that potential invasives can be ‘screened out’ before they are imported.

Another major research area is the global biogeography of rainforest biotas. My contribution to this area has been largely in terms of theory and my collaboration with Richard Primack at Boston University in developing this has been one of my most stimulating research activities of the last few years. Tropical rainforests exist in five major regions that are distinct ecological and biogeographical entities, each with its own unique biota and interactions. These differences have both practical implications, for exploitation and conservation management, and considerable theoretical interest, since in some ways they can be treated as independent ‘experiments’ in rainforest assembly.

A new research focus is on understanding the likely impacts of climate change in the wet tropics. This project combines my ecological and biogeographical interests, and applies them to the urgent problem of predicting responses to the 3-4o warming projected for tropical East Asia, including Singapore, by 2080. Because of the massive carbon storage potential of tropical vegetation, what happens within the tropics has a disproportionate influence on global carbon cycles. Most research so far has focused on predicting future equilibrium states, but real-world ecosystem responses will be dominated by transient processes, including succession and migration, and this is where new research is needed. I also plan to devote more attention to the ecology of tropical Asia's growing area of ‘empty forests’: forests that still have a more-or-less intact structure and flora, but have lost the large vertebrates that are responsible for much of the seed dispersal, seed predation, browsing, and many other processes in pristine forest communities.

Other Positions:

I am a Lead Author for Chapter 24, ‘Asia’, in the Working Group 2 (WGII) contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), due in 2014.
Honorary Professor, University of Hong Kong, China
Visiting Professor, South China Agricultural University, China

Editorial Boards:

Editor, Biological Conservation
Editorial Board, Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore, Acta Botanica Yunnanica

NEW BOOKS

The Ecology of Tropical East Asia

Published by Oxford University Press in May, 2009

‘The Ecology of Tropical East Asia is the first book to describe the terrestrial ecology of the entire East Asian tropics and subtropics, from southern China to western Indonesia. It deals with plants, animals, and the ecosystems they inhabit, as well as the diverse threats to their survival and the options for conservation. This book provides the background knowledge of the region's ecology needed by both specialists and non-specialists to put their own work into a broader context.

The accessible style, comprehensive coverage, and engaging illustrations make this advanced textbook an essential read for senior undergraduate and graduate level students studying the terrestrial ecology of the East Asian tropics, as well as an authoritative reference for professional ecologists, conservationists, and interested amateurs worldwide.’

Tropical Rain Forests: an Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison

Published by Wiley-Blackwell in January, 2011

The first edition of this book exploded the myth of ‘the rain forest’ as a single, uniform entity. In reality, the major tropical rain forest regions, in tropical America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and New Guinea, have as many differences as similarities, as a result of their isolation from each other during the evolution of their floras and faunas. This new edition reinforces this message with new examples from recent and on-going research. After an introduction to the environments and geological histories of the major rain forest regions, subsequent chapters focus on plants, primates, carnivores and plant-eaters, birds, fruit bats and gliding animals, and insects. This is followed by a new chapter on the unique tropical rain forests of oceanic islands. The final chapter deals with the impacts of people on tropical rain forests and discusses possible conservation strategies. This exciting and very readable book, illustrated throughout with color photographs, will be invaluable reading for undergraduate students in a wide range of courses as well as an authoritative reference for graduate and professional ecologists, conservationists, and interested amateurs.

Other recent publications:

Books

  • Ng, P.K.L., R.T. Corlett and H.T.W. Tan (2011) (eds.) Singapore Biodiversity: An Encyclopedia of the Natural Environment and Sustainable Development. Editions Didier Millet, Singapore.

  • Chong, K.Y., H.T.W. Tan and R.T. Corlett (2009) A Checklist of the Total Vascular Plant Flora of Singapore: Native, Naturalised and Cultivated Species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

  • Jim, C.Y. and R.T. Corlett (2006) (eds.) Sustainable Management of Protected Areas for Future Generations. IUCN, Switzerland, and Friends of the Country Parks, Hong Kong.

  • Dudgeon, D. and R.T. Corlett (2004) The Ecology and Biodiversity of Hong Kong. Joint Publishing and Friends of the Country Parks, Hong Kong.

    • Journal articles and book chapters

  • Corlett, R.T. (2011) Impacts of warming on tropical lowland rainforests. Trends in  Ecology & Evolution in press

  • Corlett, R.T. (2011) The importance of animals in the forest. In: Managing the future of Southeast Asia's valuable tropical rainforests. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, in press

  • Corlett, R.T. (2011) Seed dispersal in Hong Kong: past, present and possible futures. Integrative Zoology 6:6:97-109

    Corlett, R.T. (2011) How to be a frugivore (in a changing world). Acta Oecologica in press

  • Tan, C.K.W, & R.T. Corlett (2011) Scavenging of dead invertebrates along an urbanization gradient in Singapore. Insect Conservation and Diversity in press

  • Chong, K.Y., Corlett, R.T., Yeo, D.C.J., & H.T.W. Tan (2011) Towards a global database of weed risk assessments: a test of transferability in the tropics. Biological Invasions13: 1571-1577.

  • Duncan, R.P., Clements, S.E., Corlett, R.T., et al. (2011) Plant traits and extinction in urban areas: a meta-analysis of eleven cities. Global Ecology & Biogeography 20: 509-519.

  • Lucas, P.W., Corlett, R.T., Dominy, N.J., et al. (2011) Dietary analysis II: food chemistry. In: Field and Laboratory Methods in Primatology: A Practical Guide, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 255-270.

  • Corlett, R.T. (2010) Trouble with the grey literature. Biotropica 43:3-5.

  • Posa, M.R.C., Wijedasa, L.S., Corlett, R.T. (2011) Biodiversity and conservation of tropical peat swamp forests. BioScience 61:49-57

  • Corlett, R.T. (2011) Honeybees in natural ecosystems. In: Hepburn, H.R. & S.E. Radloff (eds) Honeybees of Asia. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 215-225.

  • Pei, K. J.-T., Lai, Y.C., Corlett R.T. and K.-Y. Suen (2010) The larger mammal fauna of Hong Kong: species survival in a highly degraded landscape. Zoological Studies 49:253-264.

  • Corlett, R.T. (2010) Megafaunal extinctions and their consequences in the tropical Indo-Pacific. In: Terra Australis 32: Altered Ecologies: Fire, Climate and Human Influence on Terrestrial Landscapes. ANU E-Press, Canberra, pp. 117-131.

  • Nichol, J.E., Wong, M.S., Corlett, R.T. and D.W. Nichol (2010) Assessing avian habitat fragmentation in urban areas of Hong Kong (Kowloon) at high spatial resolution using spectral unmixing. Landscape and Urban Planning 95:54-60.

  • Corlett, R.T. (2010) Invasive aliens on tropical East Asian islands. Biodiversity and Conservation 19: 411-423

  • Hahs, A.K., McDonnell, M.J., McCarthy, M.A., Vesk, P.A., Corlett, R.T., et al. (2009) A global synthesis of plant extinction rates in urban areas. Ecology Letters 12:1165-1173.

  • Corlett, R.T. (2009) Seed dispersal distances and plant migration potential in Tropical East Asia. Biotropica 41: 592-598

  • Williams, N.S.G., Schwartz, M.W., Vesk, P.A., McCarthy, M.A., Hahs, A.K., Clemants, S.E., Corlett, R.T., et al. (2009) Future directions. A conceptual framework for predicting the effects of urban environments on floras. Journal of Ecology 97: 4-9

  • Leung, G.P.C., Hau, B.C.H. and R.T. Corlett (2009) Exotic plant invasion in upland semi-natural plant communities of Hong Kong, China. Biodiversity & Conservation 18: 191-202

  • Corlett, R.T. and R.B. Primack (2008) Tropical rainforest conservation: a global perspective. In: Tropical Forest Community Ecology. Blackwell Science, UK, pp. 442-457.

  • Sodhi, N.S., Koh, L.P.,Peh, S.-H., Tan, H.T.W., Chazdon, R.L., Corlett, R.T., et al. (2008) Correlates of extinction proneness in tropical angiosperms. Diversity and Distributions 14: 1-10

  • Wright, S.J., Stoner, K., Beckman, N., Corlett, R.T., et al. (2007) The plight of large animals in tropical forests and the consequences for forest structure and dynamics. Biotropica 39: 289-291.

  • Corlett, R.T. (2007) The impact of hunting on the mammalian fauna of tropical Asian forests. Biotropica 39 (3): 292-303

  • Corlett, R.T. and R.B. Primack (2006) Tropical rain forests: why cross-continental comparisons are needed. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 21 (2): 104-110.

  • Corlett, R.T. (2007) Pollination or seed dispersal: which should we worry about most? In: Seed dispersal: theory and its application in a changing world. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK, pp. 525-544.

  • Corlett, R.T. (2006) Conservation of biodiversity in a highly degraded landscape: problems and prospects. In: Sustainable Management of Protected Areas for Future Generations. IUCN, Switzerland, and Friends of the Country Parks, Hong Kong, pp. 77-92.

  • Buckley, Y.M., Anderson, S., Catterall, C.P., Corlett, R.T., et al. (2006) Management of plant invasions mediated by frugivore interactions. Journal of Applied Ecology 43: 848-857.

  • Chung, K.P.S. and R.T. Corlett (2006) Rodent diversity in a highly degraded tropical landscape: Hong Kong, South China. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 4521-4532 

  • Weir, J.E.S. and R.T. Corlett (2007) How far do birds disperse seeds in the degraded tropical landscape of Hong Kong, China? Landscape Ecology 22: 131-140

  • Au, A.Y.Y., Corlett R.T. and B.C.H. Hau (2006) Seed rain into upland plant communities in Hong Kong, China. Plant Ecology 186: 13-22           

  • Corlett, R.T. (2006) Figs (Ficus, Moraceae) in urban Hong Kong, South China. Biotropica 38 (1): 116-121

  • Tsang, A.C.W. and R.T. Corlett (2005) Reproductive biology of the Ilex species (Aquifoliaceae) in Hong Kong, China. Canadian Journal of Botany 83: 1645-1654

  • Yip, Y., Corlett, R.T. and D. Dudgeon (2006) Selecting small reserves in a human-dominated landscape: a case study of Hong Kong, China. Journal of Environmental Management 78: 86-96

  • Corlett, R.T. (2005) Vegetation. In: A. Gupta (ed.) The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 105-119.

  • Lee, E., Hau, B.C.H. and R.T. Corlett. (2005) Natural regeneration in exotic tree plantations in Hong Kong, China. Forest Ecology and Management 212: 358-366

  • Corlett, R.T. (2005) Interactions between birds, fruit bats and exotic plants in urban Hong Kong, South China. Urban Ecosystems 8: 275-283

  • Hau, B.C.H., D. Dudgeon and R.T. Corlett (2005) Beyond Singapore: what does Hong Kong tell us about the prospects for Asian biodiversity? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 20: 281-282

  • Tang, A.M.C., Corlett, R.T, and K.D. Hyde (2005) The persistence of ripe fleshy fruits in the presence and absence of frugivores. Oecologia 142: 232-237

  • Corlett, R.T. (2004) Flowers visitors and pollination in the Oriental (Indomalayan) Region. Biological Reviews 79: 497-532.

  • Leven, M.R. and R.T. Corlett (2004) Invasive birds in Hong Kong, China. Ornithological Science 3: 43-55.

  • Yip, Y., Corlett, R.T. and D. Dudgeon (2004) A fine-scale gap analysis of the existing protected area system in Hong Kong, China. Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 943-957.

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