Since July 2002 I have been working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on the biological properties of stingless bee honey. In particular we are investigating the correlation between honey chemistry, the species of bee and the botanical origins of the honey. Local people have always used honey in the traditional remedies and hence the project has possible relevance to medicine and for development projects in protected areas.
|
|
Dave Roubik collecting a nest of stingless bees |
My post-graduate studies were based at Lambir Hills National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, one of the most diverse tropical rain forests in the world, where I focused on the fig - fig pollinator interaction. I continue to conduct research on figs and I currently have a small project on Barro Colorado Island, Panama looking at fig wasp dispersal. During a general flowering in Lambir Hills in 1996 I participated in a study on the pollination biology of canopy species, especially Dipterocarpus. During my stay in Sarawak I was also an active member of the local branch of the Malaysian Nature Society and in 1998 led a team of volunteers to conduct a preliminary inventory of the proposed Pulong Tau National Park. Then in 1999 I joined an expedition to study the colonization of a volcano (Long Island, Papua New Guinea) that erupted in c.1645 and an islet, Motmot, that emerged in 1968 from its freshwater, caldera lake.
Publications
Harrison, R. D. (2000) Phenology and wasp population dynamics of several species of dioecious fig in a lowland tropical rain forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. Doctorate Thesis, Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Harrison, R. D. (2000) Repercussions of El Niño: Drought causes extinction and the breakdown of mutualism in Borneo. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 267: 911-915.Download pdf
Harrison, R. D. (2001) Drought and the consequences of El Niño in Borneo: A case study of figs. Population Ecology 43: 63-76.
Harrison, R. D. (2003) Fig wasp dispersal and the stability of a keystone plant resource in Borneo. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B (Suppl.) Download pdf
Harrison, R. D., Yamamura, N. & Inoue, T. (2000) The phenology of a common roadside fig in Sarawak. Ecological Research 15: 47-61.
Harrison, R. D., Thornton, I. W. B., Yumuna, R. & Shanahan, M. (2001) Colonization of an island volcano, Long Island, Papua New Guinea, and an emergent island, Motmot, in its caldera lake. II. The vascular flora. Journal of Biogeography 28: 1311-1338.Download pdf
Harrison, R. D., Hamid, A. A., Kenta, T., LaFrankie, J., Lee, H-S, Nagamasu, H., Nakashizuka, T., Palmiotto, P. & Teo, S. (2003) The diversity of hemi-epiphytic figs (Ficus, Moraceae) in a Bornean lowland rain forest. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 78: 439-456.
Harrison, R. D. & Yamamura, N. (2003) A few more hypotheses for the evolution of dioecy in figs. Oikos 100: 628-635.
Kameyama, T., Harrison, R. & Yamamura, N. (1999) Persistence of a fig wasp population and evolution of dioecy in figs: A simulation study. Researches on Population Ecology 41: 243-252.
Momose, K., Yumoto, T., Nagamitsu, T., Kato, M., Nagamasu, H., Sakai, S., Harrison, R. D., Itioka, T., Hamid, A. A. & Inoue, T. (1998) Pollination biology in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. I. Characteristics of the plant-pollinator community in a lowland dipterocarp forest. American Journal of Botany 85: 1477-1501.
Nagamitsu, T., Harrison, R. D. & Inoue, T. (1999) Beetle pollination of Vatica parvifolia (Dipterocarpaceae) in Sarawak, Malaysia. Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 51: 43-54.
Roubik, D. W., Inoue, T., Hamid, A. & Harrison, R. D. (1999) Height communication by Bornean honey bees. Kansas Entomological Society72: 256-261.
Shanahan, M., Harrison, R. D., Hart, S., Storey, M. & Allman-ward P. (2001) Vertebrate fauna of the recently gazetted Pulong Tau National Park, Sarawak: Findings of a Malaysian Nature Society Expedition. Malaysian Nature Journal 54: 329-340.
Shanahan, M., Harrison, R. D., Yamuna, R. & Thornton, I. W. B. (2001) Colonization of an island volcano, Long Island, Papua New Guinea, and an emergent island, Motmot, in its caldera lake. V. Colonization by figs (Ficus spp.), their dispersers and pollinators. Journal of Biogeography 28: 1365-1377.Download pdf
Thornton, I. W. B., Edwards, J., Cook, S., Harrison, R. D., Shanahan, M. & Scipper C. (2001) Colonization of an island volcano, Long Island, Papua New Guinea, and an emergent island, Motmot, in its caldera lake. VII. Overview and discussion. Journal of Biogeography 28: 1389-1408.Download pdf
Other documents
Harrison, R. D. & Munro, K. (1991) Durham University Expedition
to Tambopata-Candamo. Durham: Durham University.
Harrison, R. D. (1994) Bolivia '93 - A study of Mercury Pollution. La Paz, Bolivia: British Embassy
Harrison, R. D. (1996) The Wilderness of Lambir Hills National Park. Borneo Magazine 7: 34-44.
Harrison, R. D. (1999) Pulong Tau: Our forest. Malaysian Naturalist 53: 32-37.
Harrison, R. D. & Sakai, S. (1999) Drought and reproductive phenology in a lowland Dipterocarp forest. Inside CTFS Summer 1999: 4.
Malaysian Nature Society, Miri Branch (1998) Malaysian Nature Society 1998 Expedition to the proposed Pulong Tau National Park Sarawak, Malaysia. Malaysian Nature Society, Miri Branch, Miri, Sarawak.
Return to top | Return to main page
Curriculum Vitae
Education
1988 – 1991 University of Durham United Kingdom
Bachelor of Science, Honors, Zoology 2:11990 Led undergraduate expedition to Tambopata-Candamo Reserve, SE Peru
1994 – 2000 Kyoto University Japan
Master of Science, 1996
Doctor of Philosophy, 2000Member of Biological Expedition to Long Island and Motmot, Papua New Guinea 1999 to investigate biotic colonisation of a volcanic island
Work experience
Current Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
Post-doctoral fellow
Project title ‘Fig wasp dispersal and the stability of a tropical keystone resource’
2000 – 2002 CER, Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan
Post-doctoral fellow1993 – 1994 British Embassy La Paz, Bolivia
Volunteer researcher
Conducted a small project in collaboration with the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz on mercury pollution and the gold mining industry1992 – 1993 Brown & Root Environmental Surrey, U.K.
Environmental Consultant
Conducted EIAs for a number of small oil & gas and civil engineering projects
Languages
English, Spanish, Japanese, Malay
Rhett D. Harrison,
Ph.D.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
Unit 0948, APO AA 34002, USA email: harrisonr@tivoli.si.edu
Return to top
Return to main page