Professional History:

I am originally from Gulf Breeze, a small city near Pensacola, Florida. I received a BS in Biology from Eckerd College in 1993. During my time at Eckerd I had the opportunity to do research with faculty members in Costa Rica and Panama. In addition, I spent a semester in Antarctica as a research assistant through a program sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America and the National Science Foundation. After graduating from Eckerd, I earned a MS in Zoology (1998) from the University of Florida. During this time my wife and I spent a year living at a field station in Uganda, East Africa. I went on to earn a PhD in Zoology (2001) from UF in the lab of Dr. Colin Chapman. My research focus for both my MS and PhD was the restoration of tropical forests where these forests have been cleared. After a year of teaching at UF, I started teaching at Birmingham-Southern College in the fall 2002 in a tenure-track position.

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles and Book Chapters

 

Levey, D.J., R.S. Duncan, and C.J. Levins. 2004. Use of dung as a tool by burrowing owls. Nature 421:39, 2 September 2004.

 

Duncan, R.S. and C. Chapman. 2003. Tree-shrub interactions during early secondary forest succession in Uganda. Restoration Ecology 11:198-207.

Duncan, R.S. and C. Chapman. 2003. Consequences of plantation harvest during tropical forest restoration in Uganda. Forest Ecology and Management 173: 235-250.

Duncan, R.S. Wenny, D.G., M.D. Spritzer and C.J. Whelan. 2002. Does human scent bias seed predation studies? Ecology 83:2630-2636.

Duncan, R.S. and C.A. Chapman. 2001. Limitations of animal seed dispersal for enhancing forest succession on degraded lands. in D.J. Levey, M. Galetti and W.R. Silva (eds). Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. CAB International, Wallingford, U.K.

Duncan, R.S. and V.E. Duncan. 2000. Forest succession and distance from forest edge in an Afro- tropical grassland. Biotropica 32:33-41.

Duncan, R.S. and C.A. Chapman. 1999. Seed dispersal and potential forest succession in abandoned agriculture in tropical Africa. Ecological Applications 9:998-1008.

Duncan, R.S. and W.A. Szelistowski. 1998. Influence of puffer predation on vertical distribution of mangrove littorinids in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica. Oecologia 117:433-442.

Dissertations/Theses:

Duncan, R.S. 2001. Tropical forest succession: integrating theory and application in forest restoration. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Duncan, R.S. 1997. Seed dispersal in a degraded agricultural tropical landscape: the first steps toward reforestation. M.S. Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Duncan, R.S. 1993. Predation on supratidal mangrove littorinids by puffer fishes (Tetraodontidae) in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica. Senior Thesis, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.

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