Lecturer
Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA
Contact details
https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/dhdent
Lecturer in Tropical Ecology - University of Stirling
Research Associate - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
PhD - University of Aberdeen, 2005
BSc - University of Bristol, 1998
Tropical landscapes are rapidly shifting from continuous tracts of undisturbed forest to complex landscape mosaics, and secondary forests comprise increasing proportions of these dynamic landscapes. Tropical landscapes will continue to change over the coming decades and research needs to keep pace with these shifts in land use so that we fully understand the value of emerging tropical landscapes for species conservation and ecosystem processes. I am interested in how tropical forest communities recover after disturbance, the interactions between the regeneration of forest plant communities and the recovery of key ecosystem processes, and how we can maintain viable populations of forest species in human-modified tropical landscapes. My principal research projects and collaborations are listed below:
Barro Colorado Nature Monument chronosequence study, Panama: Exploring long-term trends in species diversity and ecosystem function in secondary forest succession.
2ndFOR Network: A network of >45 secondary forest sites spanning the Neotropics, enabling us to make regional scale estimates about forest recovery.
Conservation potential of selectively-logged forest, Malaysia: Investigating the long-term sustainability of production forests in Danum Valley Conservation Area and surrounding forests, Sabah, Malaysia.
The environmental impacts of mega-dams in Amazonia, Brazil: This UK-Brazil partnership investigates the persistence of multiple taxa on islands in the Balbina dam reservoir in central Amazonia.
Balancing species conservation and agricultural productivity in tropical landscapes, Panama: This project aims identify how tree and bird community composition, seed dispersal and recruitment vary across gradients of forest cover and disturbance.
The Functional Composition of Tree Communities in Regenerating Secondary Forests
PI: Dr Daisy Dent
Funded by: The Carnegie Trust
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Article
Uniting niche differentiation and dispersal limitation predicts tropical forest succession
Dent DH & Estrada-Villegas S (2021) Uniting niche differentiation and dispersal limitation predicts tropical forest succession. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 36 (8), pp. 700-708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.04.001
Article
Hayward RM, Banin LF, Burslem DFRP, Chapman DS, Philipson CD, Cutler MEJ, Reynolds G, Nilus R & Dent DH (2021) Three decades of post-logging tree community recovery in naturally regenerating and actively restored dipterocarp forest in Borneo. Forest Ecology and Management, 488, Art. No.: 119036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119036
Article
Demographic trade-offs predict tropical forest dynamics
Rüger N, Condit R, Dent DH, DeWalt SJ, Hubbell SP, Lichstein JW, Lopez OR, Wirth C & Farrior CE (2020) Demographic trade-offs predict tropical forest dynamics. Science, 368 (6487), pp. 165-168. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz4797
Article
Rapid assessment of avian species richness and abundance using acoustic indices
Bradfer-Lawrence T, Bunnefeld N, Gardner N, Willis SG & Dent DH (2020) Rapid assessment of avian species richness and abundance using acoustic indices. Ecological Indicators, 115, Art. No.: 106400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106400
Article
Jones IL, DeWalt SJ, Lopez OR, Bunnefeld L, Pattison Z & Dent DH (2019) Above- and belowground carbon stocks are decoupled in secondary tropical forests and are positively related to forest age and soil nutrients respectively. Science of The Total Environment, 697, Art. No.: 133987. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133987
Article
Guidelines for the use of acoustic indices in environmental research
Bradfer-Lawrence T, Gardner N, Bunnefeld L, Bunnefeld N, Willis SG & Dent DH (2019) Guidelines for the use of acoustic indices in environmental research. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 10 (10), pp. 1796-1807. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210x.13254
Article
Poorter L, Rozendaal DMA, Bongers F, de Almeida-Cortez JS, Almeyda Zambrano AM, Alvarez FS, Andrade JL, Villa LFA, Balvanera P, Becknell JM, Bentos TV, Bhaskar R, Boukili V, Brancalion PHS & Dent DH (2019) Wet and dry tropical forests show opposite successional pathways in wood density but converge over time. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, pp. 928-934. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0882-6
Article
Mayhew RJ, Tobias JA, Bunnefeld L & Dent DH (2019) Connectivity with primary forest determines the value of secondary tropical forests for bird conservation. Biotropica, 51 (2), pp. 219-233. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12629
Article
Biodiversity recovery of Neotropical secondary forests
Rozendaal DMA, Bongers F, Aide TM, Alvarez-Davila E, Ascarrunz N, Balvanera P, Becknell JM, Bentos TV, Brancalion PHS, Cabral GAL, Calvo-Rodriguez S, Chave J, Cesar RG, Chazdon RL & Dent DH (2019) Biodiversity recovery of Neotropical secondary forests. Science Advances, 5 (3), Art. No.: eaau3114. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau3114
Article
Jones I, Peres C, Benchimol M, Bunnefeld L & Dent D (2019) Instability of insular tree communities in an Amazonian mega-dam is driven by impaired recruitment and altered species composition. Journal of Applied Ecology, 56 (3), pp. 779-791. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13313
Article
Legume abundance along successional and rainfall gradients in Neotropical forests
Gei M, Rozendaal DMA, Poorter L, Bongers F, Sprent JI, Garner MD, Aide TM, Andrade JL, Balvanera P, Becknell JM, Brancalion PHS, Cabral GAL, Cesar RG, Chazdon RL & Dent DH (2018) Legume abundance along successional and rainfall gradients in Neotropical forests. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2 (7), pp. 1104-1111. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0559-6
Article
Bradfer-Lawrence T, Gardner N & Dent D (2018) Canopy bird assemblages are less influenced by habitat age and isolation than understory bird assemblages in Neotropical secondary forest. Ecology and Evolution, 8 (11), pp. 5586-5597. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4086
Article
Jones IL, Peres CA, Benchimol M, Bunnefeld L & Dent DH (2017) Woody lianas increase in dominance and maintain compositional integrity across an Amazonian dam-induced fragmented landscape. PLoS ONE, 12 (10), Art. No.: e0185527. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185527
Article
Kirkpatrick L, Maher SJ, Lopez Z, Lintott PR, Bailey S, Dent D & Park K (2017) Bat use of commercial coniferous plantations at multiple spatial scales: Management and conservation implications. Biological Conservation, 206, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.11.018
Article
Dent D & Burslem DFRP (2016) Leaf traits of dipterocarp species with contrasting distributions across a gradient of nutrient and light availability. Plant Ecology and Diversity, 9 (5-6), pp. 521-533. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2016.1265018
Article
Extinction debt on reservoir land-bridge islands
Jones IL, Bunnefeld N, Jump A, Peres CA & Dent D (2016) Extinction debt on reservoir land-bridge islands. Biological Conservation, 199, pp. 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.036
Article
Carbon sequestration potential of second-growth forest regeneration in the Latin American tropics
Chazdon RL, Broadbent EN, Rozendaal DMA, Bongers F, Almeyda Zambrano AM, Aide TM, Balvanera P, Becknell JM, Boukili V, Brancalion PHS, Craven DJ, Almeida-Cortez JS, Cabral GAL, de Jong B & Dent D (2016) Carbon sequestration potential of second-growth forest regeneration in the Latin American tropics. Science Advances, 2 (5), Art. No.: e1501639. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501639
Article
Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests
Poorter L, Bongers F, Aide TM, Almeyda Zambrano AM, Balvanera P, Becknell JM, Boukili V, Brancalion PHS, Broadbent EN, Chazdon RL, Craven DJ, Almeida-Cortez JS, Cabral GAL, de Jong B, Denslow JS & Dent D (2016) Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests. Nature, 530 (7589), pp. 211-214. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16512
Article
Wolfe BT, Dent D, Deago J & Wishnie MH (2015) Forest regeneration under Tectona grandis and Terminalia amazonia plantation stands managed for biodiversity conservation in western Panama. New Forests, 46 (1), pp. 157-165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-014-9448-2
Article
Philipson CD, Dent D, O'Brien MJ, Chamagne J, Dzulkifli D, Nilus R, Philips S, Reynolds G, Saner P & Hector A (2014) A trait-based trade-off between growth and mortality: Evidence from 15 tropical tree species using size-specific relative growth rates. Ecology and Evolution, 4 (18), pp. 3675-3688. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1186
Article
Dent D, DeWalt SJ & Denslow JS (2013) Secondary forests of central Panama increase in similarity to old-growth forest over time in shade tolerance but not species composition. Journal of Vegetation Science, 24 (3), pp. 530-542. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2012.01482.x
Article
Mascaro J, Asner GP, Dent D, DeWalt SJ & Denslow JS (2012) Scale-dependence of aboveground carbon accumulation in secondary forests of Panama: A test of the intermediate peak hypothesis. Forest Ecology and Management, 276, pp. 62-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2012.03.032
Article
Craven DJ, Dent D, Braden D, Ashton MS, Berlyn GP & Hall JS (2011) Seasonal variability of photosynthetic characteristics influences growth of eight tropical tree species at two sites with contrasting precipitation in Panama. Forest Ecology and Management, 261 (10), pp. 1643-1653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.09.017
Article
van Breugel M, Hall JS, Craven DJ, Gregoire TG, Park A, Dent D, Wishnie MH, Mariscal E, Deago J, Ibarra D, Cedeno N & Ashton MS (2011) Early growth and survival of 49 tropical tree species across sites differing in soil fertility and rainfall in Panama. Forest Ecology and Management, 261 (10), pp. 1580-1589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.08.019
Article
Defining the conservation value of secondary tropical forests
Dent D (2010) Defining the conservation value of secondary tropical forests. Animal Conservation, 13 (1), pp. 14-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2010.00346.x
Article
The future of tropical species in secondary forests: A quantitative review
Dent D & Wright SJ (2009) The future of tropical species in secondary forests: A quantitative review. Biological Conservation, 142 (12), pp. 2833-2843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.05.035
Article
The Potential for Species Conservation in Tropical Secondary Forests
Chazdon RL, Peres CA, Dent D, Sheil D, Lugo AE, Lamb D, Stork NE & Miller SE (2009) The Potential for Species Conservation in Tropical Secondary Forests. Conservation Biology, 23 (6), pp. 1406-1417. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01338.x
Article
Dent D & Burslem DFRP (2009) Performance Trade-offs Driven by Morphological Plasticity Contribute to Habitat Specialization of Bornean Tree Species. Biotropica, 41 (4), pp. 424-434.
Article
Kim TJ, Montagnini F & Dent D (2008) Rehabilitating abandoned pastures in Panama: Control of the invasive exotic grass, saccharum Spontaneum L., using artificial shade treatments. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 26 (3), pp. 192-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/10549810701879719
Article
Explaining leaf herbivory rates on tree seedlings in a Malaysian rain forest
Eichhorn MP, Fagan KC, Compton SG, Dent D & Hartley SE (2007) Explaining leaf herbivory rates on tree seedlings in a Malaysian rain forest. Biotropica, 39 (3), pp. 416-421. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2007.00264.x
Article
Wishnie MH, Dent D, Mariscal E, Deago J, Cedeno N, Ibarra D, Condit R & Ashton MS (2007) Initial performance and reforestation potential of 24 tropical tree species planted across a precipitation gradient in the Republic of Panama. Forest Ecology and Management, 243 (1), pp. 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.02.001
Article
Craven DJ, Braden D, Ashton MS, Berlyn GP, Wishnie MH & Dent D (2007) Between and within-site comparisons of structural and physiological characteristics and foliar nutrient content of 14 tree species at a wet, fertile site and a dry, infertile site in Panama. Forest Ecology and Management, 238 (1-3), pp. 335-346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.10.030
Article
Dent D, Bagchi R, Robinson D, Majalap-Lee N & Burslem DFRP (2006) Nutrient fluxes via litterfall and leaf litter decomposition vary across a gradient of soil nutrient supply in a lowland tropical rain forest. Plant and Soil, 288 (1-2), pp. 197-215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9108-1
Article
Kim TJ, Montagnini F, Cedeno N, Dent D & Mariscal E (2006) Investigation of shading as a method for controlling wild sugarcane on abandoned lands (Panama) (Notes and Abstracts). Ecological Restoration, 24 (3), pp. 203-204. http://er.uwpress.org/content/24/3.toc
