BIOGRAPHY

Education

University of Maryland, Postdoc, Coastal Oceanography, 1982
University of Florida, Ph.D., Botany/Systems Ecology, 1982
East Carolina University, M.S., Biology, 1976
East Carolina University, B.S., Biology, 1974

Research Interests

Ecosystem Ecology, Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems
Biogeochemistry of mangroves and tropical estuarine ecosystems
Ecosystem Management and Restoration of Coastal Regions

Experience

Director, Center for Ecology and Environment Technology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, July 1999 - June 2005
Professor, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, August 1995 - August 2000
Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Southwestern Louisiana, August 1988 - July 1995
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Southwestern Louisiana, January 1986 - August 1988
Research Associate, Horn Point Environmental Laboratories, University of Maryland, July 1983 - December 1985

Professional Awards

Distinguished Professor Award, 1999-2000, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Professional Societies

Ecological Society of America
Estuarine Research Federation
Society of Wetland Science
AAAS

Professional Activities

Editorial Board, Mangroves and Salt Marshes '97-
Editorial Board, Environmental Science and Policy, '97-
Guest Editor, Ecology, 'pp
Associate Editor of Estuaries, '93-95
Conference Co-Chair, Estuarine Research Federation '99 Biennual Meeting
Chair, International Chapter, Society of Wetland Scientists, '93-97
Board of Directors, Society of Wetland Scientists, '93-97

Selected Publications during the last five years (out of 71 total publications):

Twilley, R.R, Rivera-Monroy, V.H., Chen, R., Botero, L. 1999. Adapting an ecological mangrove model to simulate trajectories in restoration ecology. Marine Pollution Bulletin 37:404-419.

Twilley, R.R., R. Chen, and V. Rivera-Monroy. 1999. Formulating a succession model of mangrove wetlands in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico with emphasis on factors associated with global climate change. Current Topics in Wetland Biogeochemistry 3:118-141.

Chen, R. And R.R. Twilley. 1999. Patterns of mangrove forest structure associated with soil nutrient dynamics along the Shark River estuary. Estuaries 22:1027-1042.

Chen, R. and R. R. Twilley. 1999. A simulation model of organic matter and nutrient accumulation in mangrove wetland soils. Biogeochemistry 44:93-118.

Downing, J.A., M. McClain, R. Twilley, J.M. Melack, J. Elser, N.N. Rabalais, W.M. Lewis, Jr., G. Turner, J. Corredor, D. Soto, A. Yanez-Arancibia, J.A. Kopaska and R.W. Howarth. 1999. The impact of accelerating land-use change on the N-cycle of tropical aquatic ecosystems: Current conditions and projected changes. Biogeochemistry 46:109-148.

Corredor, J.E., Howarth, R.W., Twilley, R.R. And Morel, J. 1999. Nitrogen cycling and anthropogenic impact in the tropical interamerican seas. Biogeochemistry 46:163-178.

Rivera-Monroy, V.H., L.A. Torres, N. Bahamon, F. Newmark, R.R. Twilley. 1999. The potential use of mangrove forests as nitrogen sinks of shrimp aquaculture pond effluents: the role of denitrification. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 30:12-25.

Rivera-Monroy, V.H., C.J. Madden, J.W. Day, Jr., R.R. Twilley, R.Vera-Herrera, H. Alvarez-Guillen. 1998. Seasonal coupling of a tropical mangrove forest and an estuarine water column: enhancement of aquatic primary productivity. Hydrobiologia 379:41-53.

Twilley, R. R., J. Cowan, T. Miller-Way, and P. Montagna, and B. Mortazavi. 1999. Benthic fluxes of selected estuaries in the Gulf of Mexico, pp. 163-209. IN, T. Bianchi, J. Pennock and R. Twilley (eds). Biogeochemistry of Gulf of Mexico Estuaries. John Wiley and Sons.

Childers, D.L., S.E. Davis, R.R. Twilley, and V. Rivera-Monroy. 1999. Wetland-water column interactions and the biogeochemistry of estuary-watershed coupling around the Gulf of Mexico, pp. 211-235. IN, T. Bianchi, J. Pennock and R. Twilley (eds). Biogeochemistry of Gulf of Mexico Estuaries. John Wiley and Sons.

Bianchi, T., J. Pennock and R. Twilley. 1999. Biogeochemistry of Gulf of Mexico estuaries: implications to management, pp. 407-421. IN, T. Bianchi, J. Pennock and R. Twilley (eds). Biogeochemistry of Gulf of Mexico Estuaries. John Wiley and Sons.

Twilley, R.R. and R. Chen. A water budget and hydrology model of a basin mangrove forest in Rookery Bay, Florida. 1998. Australian Journal of Freshwater and Marine Research. 49:309-323.

Twilley, R.R., R, R. Gottfried, V.H. Rivera-Monroy, M. M. Armijos, A. Bodero. 1998. An approach and preliminary model of integrating ecological and economic constraints of environmental quality in the Guayas River estuary, Ecuador. Environmental Science and Policy 1:271-288.

Chen, R. And R. R. Twilley. 1998. A gap dynamic model of mangrove forest development along gradients of soil salinity and nutrient resources. Journal of Ecology 86:37-52.

Ewel, K., R.R. Twilley , and J.E. Ong. 1998. Different kinds of mangrove forests provide different goods and services. Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters 7:83-94.

Pelegri, S.P. And R.R. Twilley. 1998. Heterotrophic nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) during leaf-litter decomposition of two mangrove species from south Florida, USA. Marine Biology 131:53-61.

Twilley, R.R., M. Pozo, V.H. Garcia, V.H. Rivera-Monroy, R. Zambrano, and A. Bodero. 1997. Litter dynamics in riverine mangrove forests in the Guayas River estuary, Ecuador. Oecologia 111:109-122.

Twilley, R.R. 1997. Mangrove wetlands, pp. 445-473. In, M.Messina and W. Connor (eds.), Southern Forested Wetlands: Ecology and Management, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.

Boustany, R.G., C.R. Crozier, J.M. Rybczyk, and R.R. Twilley. 1997. Denitrification in a South Louisiana wetland forest receiving treated sewage effluent. Wetlands Ecology and Management 4:273-283.

Pelegri, S.P., V.H.Rivera-Monroy, R.R. Twilley. 1997. A comparison of nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) among three species of mangrove litter, sediments, and pneumatophores in south Florida, USA. Hydrobiologia 356:73-79.

Twilley, R. R., Snedaker, S. C., Yañez-Arancibia, A., Medina, E. 1996. Biodiversity and ecosystem processes in tropical estuaries: perspectives from mangrove ecosystems, pp. 327-370. In: Mooney, H., Cushman, H., Medina, E. Biodiversity and ecosystem functions: a global perspective. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Caffrey, J.M., D.E. Hammond, J.S. Kuwabara, L.G. Miller, and R.R. Twilley. 1996. Benthic processes in south San Francisco Bay: the role of organic inputs and bioturbation, pp. 425-442. In: J.T. Hollibaugh (ed.), San Francisco Bay: The Ecosystem. AAAS Press, San Francisco, CA.

Miller-Way, T. and R. R. Twilley. 1996. A comparison of batch and continuous flow methodologies for determining benthic fluxes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 142:257-269.

Rivera-Monroy, V.H., and R.R. Twilley. 1996. The relative role of denitrification and immobilization on the fate of inorganic nitrogen in mangrove sediments of Terminos Lagoon, Mexico. Limnology and Oceanography 41:284-296.

Ellison, A.M., E.J. Farnesworth, and R.R. Twilley. 1996. Facultative mutualism between red mangroves and root-fouling sponges in Belizean mangal. Ecology 77: 2431-2444.

Cifuentes, L.A., R.B. Coffin, L. Solarzano, W. Cardenas, J. Espinosa and R.R. Twilley. 1996. Isotopic and elemental variations of carbon and nitrogen in a mangrove estuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 43:781-800.

Day, J.W., C. Coronado-Molina, F. R. Vera-Herrera, R. R. Twilley, V. H. Rivera-Monroy, H. Alvarez-Guillen, R. Day, and W. Conner. 1996. A seven-year record of aboveground net primary production in a mangrove forest bordering Terminos Lagoon. Aquatic Botany 55:39-60.

Twilley, R.R. 1995. Properties of mangrove ecosystems in relation to the energy signature of coastal environments, pp. 43-62. IN: C.A.S. Hall, (ed.), Maximum Power. University Press of Colorado, Niwot.

Twilley, R.R., Snedaker, S. C., Yañez-Arancibia, A., Medina, E. 1995. Mangrove systems, pp. 387-393. In: V.H. Heywood and R.T. Watson (eds.), Global Biodiversity Assessment. United Nations Environment Programme, Cambridge University Press, Great Britian.

Rivera-Monroy, V.H., R.R. Twilley, R. Boustany, J.W. Day, Jr., F.Vera-Herrera, M. Ramirez. 1995. Direct denitrification in mangrove sediments in Terminos Lagoon, Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series 126:97-109.

Current Funding

National Science Foundation/LTER Program. COERCE LTER - Coastal Oligotrophic Ecosystems Research, the Coastal Everglades. Subcontract with FIU. March 2000 to February 2006. $299,366.

USGS/NWRC, "Integrative Management and Rehabilitation of Mangrove Resources to Develop Sustainable Shrimp Mariculture in the Gulf of Fonseca, Honduras", January 2000 to December 2001, PI/PD: Robert Twilley; Co-PI's: Victor Rivera-Monroy. $72,406.

National Science Foundation/Environmental Protection Agency, "Pulses - The Importance of Pulsed Physical Events for Watershed Sustainability in coastal Louisiana", Subcontract with LSU. February 2000 to January 2003, $124,486.

US Department of Energy, " Restoration and rehabilitation of wetland ecosystems to sustain energy technologies in coastal environments" June 1999 to June 2002. Funded. $999,815.

USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, "Predicting the impacts of sea level rise on Micronesian mangrove forests", June 1997 to June 2001. Funded $42,500.

COLCIENCIAS, Colombia, "Structure and Function of a Mangrove Ecosystem Along a Trajectory following landscape-Level Disturbance. March 1998 to April 2001. Funded. $135,000.

NBS/USGS, Everglades Restoration Program, "Interfacing the MANGAL Model with the Mangrove Research and Landscape Modelling Efforts of the Everglades Watershed". Funded Jan 2001 to Sept 2002. $175,000.