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Richard Thomas Corlett
Professor

Department of Biological Sciences
National University of Singapore
14 Science Drive 4
Singapore 117543
Singapore

Phone: +65-65161285
E-mail: dbscrt@nus.edu.sg

PhD Australian National University, MA BA University of Cambridge

Research Areas:

Terrestrial Ecology, 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 deforested 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 eight 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.

My other 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.

Plans for the future include combining my ecological and biogeographical interests and applying them to the urgent problem of predicting vegetation responses to climate change. 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:

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  

Representative Publications:

BOOKS

  • Corlett, R.T. (2009) The Ecology of Tropical East Asia. Oxford University Press, UK. [Almost finished]
  • 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.
  • Primack, R.B. and R.T. Corlett (2005) Tropical Rainforests:  An Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison. Blackwell Science, UK.
  • Dudgeon, D. and R.T. Corlett (2004) The Ecology and Biodiversity of Hong Kong. Joint Publishing, Hong Kong.
  • Wee, Y.C. and R.T. Corlett (1986) The Forest and the City: Plant Life in Urban Singapore. Singapore University Press, Singapore

ARTICLES 

  1. Corlett, R.T. and R.B. Primack (2008) Tropical rainforest conservation: a global perspective. In: W.P. Carson and S.A. Schnitzer (eds.) Tropical Forest Community Ecology. Blackwell Science, UK.

  2. Lee, E., Hau, B.C.H. and R.T. Corlett. (2008) Seed rain and natural regeneration in Lophostemon confertus plantations in Hong Kong, China. New Forests 35(2): 119-130.

  3. Wright, S.J., Stoner, K., Beckman, N., Corlett, R.T., Dirzo, R., Muller-Landau, H.C., Nuñez-Iturri, G., Peres, C.A. and B.C. Wang (2007) The plight of large animals in tropical forests and the consequences for forest structure and dynamics. Biotropica

  4. Corlett, R.T. (2007) The impact of hunting on the mammalian fauna of tropical Asian forests. Biotropica39 (3): 292-303

  5. 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.

  6. Corlett, R.T. (2007) Pollination or seed dispersal: which should we worry about most? In: Dennis, A.J., E.W. Schupp, R. J. Green, and D.W. Westcott (eds.) Seed dispersal: theory and its application in a changing world. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK.

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

  8. Buckley, Y.M., Anderson, S., Catterall, C.P., Corlett, R.T., Engel, T., Gosper, C.R., Nathan, R., Richardson, D.M., Setter, M., Speigel, O., Vivian-Smith, G., Voigt, F.A., Weir, J.E.S., and D.A. Westcott (2006) Management of plant invasions mediated by frugivore interactions. Journal of Applied Ecology43: 848-857.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.                        

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

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

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

  16. 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.

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

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

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

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

  22. 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.

  23. Corlett, R.T. (2003) Climate change and biodiversity in tropical East Asian forests. In: R.E. Green, M. Harley, L. Miles, J. Scharlemann, A. Watkinson and O. Watts (eds.) Global Climate Change and Biodiversity. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, pp. 9-10.

  24. Lucas, P.W., Corlett, R.T., Dominy, N.J., Essackjee, H.C., Riba-Hernandez, P. Stoner, K.E. and N. Yamashita (2003) Dietary analysis II: food chemistry. In: J. M. Setchell (ed.) Field and Laboratory Methods in Primatology: A Practical Guide. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 199-213.

  25. Hau, B.C.H. and R.T. Corlett (2003) Factors affecting the early survival and growth of native tree seedlings planted on a degraded hillside grassland in Hong Kong, China. Restoration Ecology 11: 1-6.

  26. Zhang, L. and R.T. Corlett (2003) Phytogeography of Hong Kong bryophytes. Journal of Biogeography 30: 1329-1337.

  27. Teo, D. H.L., H.T.W. Tan, R.T. Corlett, C.M. Wong and S. K.Y. Lum (2003) Continental rain forest fragmets in Singapore resist invasion by exotic plants. Journal Bio Biogeography 30: 305-310

  28. Ng, S.C. and R.T. Corlett (2003) The ecology of six rhododendron species (Ericaceae) with contrasting local abundance and distribution patterns in Hong Kong, China. Plant Ecology 164: 225-233.

  29. Kwok, H.K. and R.T. Corlett (2002) Seasonality of forest invertebrates in Hong Kong, China. Journal of Tropical Ecology 18: 637-644.

  30. Corlett, R.T. (2002) Frugivory and seed dispersal in degraded tropical East Asian landscapes. In: Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (eds. Levey, D.J., Silva, W.R., and M. Galetti). CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK, pp. 451-465.

  31. Shanahan, M., So, S., Compton, S.G. & Corlett, R. (2001) Fig-eating by vertebrate frugivores: a global review. Biological Reviews 76: 529-572.

  32. Wong, L.C., Corlett, R.T., Young, L. and S.Y. Lee (2001) Utilization of wetlands by ardeids in Starling Inlet, Hong Kong: a year-round study and a comparison between the census and flight-line methods. Waterbirds 24: 153-160.

  33. Corlett, R.T. (2001) Pollination in a degraded tropical landscape: a Hong Kong case study. Journal of Tropical Ecology 17: 155-161.

  34. Ng, S.C. and R.T. Corlett (2000) Genetic variation and structure in six Rhododendron species (Ericaceae) with contrasting local distribution patterns in Hong Kong, China. Molecular Ecology 9: 959-969.

  35. Ng, S.C. and R.T. Corlett (2000) Comparative reproductive biology of the six species of Rhododendron (Ericaceae) in Hong Kong, South China. Canadian Journal of Botany 78: 221-229.

  36. Kwok, H.K. and R.T. Corlett (2000) The bird communities of a natural secondary forest and a Lophostemon confertus plantation in Hong Kong, South China. Forest Ecology and Management 130: 227-234.

  37. Corlett, R.T. (2000) Environmental heterogeneity and species survival in degraded tropical landscapes. In: The Ecological Consequences of Environmental Heterogeneity (eds. M.J. Hutchings, E.A. John & A. Stewart). Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp. 333-355.

  38. Wong, L.C., Corlett, R.T., Young, L. and S.Y. Lee (1999) Foraging flights of nesting egrets and herons from a Hong Kong egretry, South China. Waterbirds 22: 424-434.

  39. Corlett, R.T. (1999) Environmental forestry in Hong Kong: 1871-1997. Forest Ecology and Management 116: 93-105.

  40. Kwok, H.K. and R.T. Corlett (1999) Seasonality of a forest bird community in Hong Kong, South China. Ibis 141: 70-79.

  41. Corlett, R.T. (1998) Frugivory and seed dispersal by vertebrates in the Oriental (Indomalayan) Region. Biological Reviews 73: 413-448. [5.33, 44]

  42. Corlett, R.T. and J.V. LaFrankie (1998) Potential impacts of climate change on tropical Asian forests through an influence on phenology. Climatic Change 39: 439-453.

  43. Lucas, P.W. and R.T. Corlett (1998) Seed dispersal by long-tailed macaques. American Journal of Primatology 45: 29-44.

 

 

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