ROBERT STEPHEN UNNASCH
 
 
The Nature Conservancy 
Adaptive Management Program 
2404 Bank Drive, Suite 314 
Boise, ID 83705 
(208) 343-8826		 Home 
105 W. Curling Dr. 
Boise, ID 83702 
(208)331-9180
EDUCATION
 
Ph.D. Evolutionary Ecology.  Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook.  January, 1990.
 President's Award for Excellence in Research.  1987.

Organization for Tropical Studies.  Tropical Biology. Spring, 1983.
 Jesse Smith Noyes Fellowship, 1984.

M.S.  Ecology.  Graduate Group in Ecology, Rutgers University. January, 1983.

B.S.  Wildlife Ecology. Cook College, Rutgers University.  June, 1978. Graduated cum laude.
 George H. Cook Scholar.

POSITIONS

Director of Biological Management. August 1989 -- present. The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203

  • Directs the National Research and Monitoring Program, a program offering training, consultation, and data analysis services to Conservancy Field Offices and collaborating Heritage Programs.
  • Directs the Ecosystem Research Program, a program that annually distributes $1,000,000 in research funds.
  • Serves on TNC’s Measures of Success working group, a small group chartered to design a process for assessing conservation success.
  • Working in conjunction with USFS, incorporated TNC’s workshop Vegetation Monitoring in a Management Context into the USFS Continuing Education Program.
  • Directs Administration of Rodney Johnson and Katharine Ordway Stewardship Endowment Programs, a small grants program annually distributing in excess of $300,000 in funding for monitoring, research, and stewardship on TNC lands.
  • Member of several Bioreserve planning teams.  Provided scientific expertise in designing numerous TNC Bioreserve projects including, Smoke-hole / North Fork Mountain, Peconic Bay, Delaware Bayshores, Baraboo Hills, and Tallgrass Prairie.
    •  Assistant Professor, Adjunct. 1995- Present.  University of Maine, Orono.
  • Serves on academic advisory committee of Ms. Marcia Summers.
    •  George Mason University.  1993-1995.
  •  Served on academic advisory committee of Ms. Laura Pyle.
    •  Director, Lucius Pond Ordway Preserve/Devil's Den and Katharine Ordway Preserves.  August 1987 -- January 1990. The Nature Conservancy P.O. Box 1162, Weston, Connecticut.
  • Responsible for day-to-day operations of two preserves with an annual visitation of over 50,000.
  • Responsible for land-owner contact, and land protection for inholdings and lands neighboring preserves.
  • Responsible for raising funds for land acquisition and operations.
    •  Regional Research and Monitoring Technical Advisor. May 1989 -- January 1990.  The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Region.
  • Provided consultation services for TNC Field Offices in the Eastern Region on issues of ecological monitoring and research.
    •  Resident Caretaker, David Weld Sanctuary. May 1984 -- July 1987. The Nature Conservancy / SUNY.  Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
     

    PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
     

  • Steering Committee, Fairfax Cooperative Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resouces Divsision 1997- present.
  • Editorial Board, Renewable Resources Journal  1996-present.
  • The National Science and Technology Council,  Committee on Environmental Monitoring 1994-Present.
  • Board of Directors, Renewable Natural Resources Foundation 1994-present.
  • Natural Resources Conservation Service,  Blue Ribbon Panel on Natural Resource Inventory and Performance Measurement 1994-1995.
  • Scientific Board of Advisors, The Potomac Conservancy. 1992-present.
  • Ecological Society of America, Committee on Ecological Conservation, 1992-present.
  • President's Council on Environmental Quality 1992.
  • Board of Governors, Fairfax Audubon Society 1991- 1994.
  • Consultant, National Park Service, Southeast Region 1991-1995
  • Organized and chaired symposia for Ecological Society of America (1992) and Society for Conservation Biology (1991).
  • Reviewer for NATURAL AREAS JOURNAL, ECOLOGY, BIOTROPICA, THE AUK, National Science Foundation, National Geographic.
    •   

    RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

  • The Nature Conservancy.  1989 -- 1991.  Effects of white-tailed deer on the herbaceous flora of the eastern  deciduous forest.
  • Ecology and Evolution Department, S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook.  Dissertation Research.
  •  January, 1982 -- May 1987.  Performed research on the populations dynamics and recruitment of forest trees.  Also performed research on life history and population dynamics of Curculionid weevils and small mammals.  Ecology and Evolution Department, S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook.
  • Research Assistant with B. Bentley.  August, 1986 -- January, 1987.  Performed electrophoretic analyses of  Venezuelan termite populations. Ecology and Evolution Department,  S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook.
  • Research Assistant with R. Sokal.  September, 1981 -- September, 1986.  Computer programming and   statistical analysis of data with emphasis on analysis of spatial patterns of variation in natural   populations.
  • Organization for Tropical Studies. Winter, 1984.  Performed  research on the pollination ecology of Blakea chlorantha.
  • Department of Entomology and Economic Zoology, Rutgers University.
  •  September, 1979 -- June, 1980.  Research Assistant with D. Caccamise.  Performed vegetation analyses and surveys of roosting blackbirds.
  • Department of Entomology and Economic Zoology, Rutgers University.  Thesis research.
  •  September, 1978 -- June 1981.  Performed behavioral studies on red-winged blackbirds, Agelaius  phoeniceus.
    •  TEACHING EXPERIENCE
  • The Nature Conservancy / USDA Forest Service.  1990 -- present.  Vegetation Monitoring in a Management  Context.
  • The Nature Conservancy.  1995- present.  Biometrics for Natural Lands Managers, Ecological  Methods, Ecological Models, Natural Heritage Methodology.
  • S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook,  Department of Ecology and Evolution. Spring 1987.
  •  Biometry (graduate level).
  • Rutgers University,  Horticulture Department, Forestry and Wildlife Section.  1978 -- 1981.
  •   Instructed laboratory sections in Dendrology and General Ecology.
    •  INVITED SEMINARS
  • USDA Forest Service. 1995. Monitoring Programs for Ecosystem Management.
  • Environmental Protection Agency. 1994.  Developing Adequate Ecological Monitoring Programs.
  • Association of Ecological Research Stations. 1993. Conservation Research Priorities for Imperiled North   American Flora and Fauna.
  • State University of New York, Stony Brook. 1992. The Art and Science of Conservation; Why is it More   Art than Science?
  • Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.  1991.  Title:  Seed Dispersal, Seed Predation, and the limits  to recruitment in Pine Barrens Oaks.
  • National Zoological Park, Endangered Species Research Facility, Front Royal, VA.  1990.  Title: In Situ Conservation:  issues and problems.
  • University of Maryland, College Park.  1990.  Title: Scientific needs for Conservation.
  • Department of Biology, Rutgers University, Camden New Jersey. April, 1987.  Title: Fire, Seed Predation and species recruitment in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
  • Graduate Group in Ecology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.  February, 1982.  Title: Female mate  choice in the red-winged blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus: A test of the polygyny threshold model.
    •  PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
  • Ecological Society of America. Honolulu Hawaii.  August 1992.  Symposium chair and speaker.  Title: The  Art and Science of Conservation: Why is it More Art than Science.
  • Ecological Society of America. Honolulu Hawaii. August 1992.  Working Session Chair.
  •  Topic: Connection Academic Research and Applied Conservation.
  • Society for Conservation Biology. Madison Wisconsin.  July 1991.  Symposium chair and speaker.  Title: Applications of Conservation Biology: Science in The Nature Conservancy.
  • American Institute for Biological Sciences / Society for Conservation Biology,  August, 1989.  Panel member.  Title: Developing Conservation Policy - Cooperation among academia, federal agencies and environmental groups.
  • Ecological Society of America,  August, 1988.  University of California, Davis.  Title:  An
  •  experimental test of the role of competition following soil fertilization of an old-field community.
  • Ecological Society of America,  August, 1987.  Ohio State University.  Title: Seed Predation restricts recruitment by seed in two Pine Barrens Oaks, Quercus ilicifolia and Q. marilandica.
  • Ecological Society of America,  August, 1986.  Syracuse University.  Title:  Factors affecting
  •  recruitment by seed in two Pine Barrens oaks.
  • American Society of Mammalogists, June, 1985.  Title: Rodents as pollen vectors of Blakea
  •   chlorantha, a hemiepiphyte of the Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica.
  • American Ornithologists Union,  August, 1981.  University of Alberta, Calgary, Alberta.
  •  Title:  Correlations between male territory quality and female nesting success in the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus).
    •  PUBLICATIONS
  • Unnasch, R.S. and C.A. Langtimm, 1997.  Mice, birds, and pollination of Blakea chlorantha. In: Wheelwright, N.A. and N. Nadkarni eds. The Natural History of Monteverde. In Press.
  • Unnasch, R.S., Maddox, G.D., and K. Poiani. 1997. Evaluating Management Success: Using ecological  models to ask the right monitoring questions. In Rev.
  • Unnasch, R.S. The effects of seed predation on population recruitment in two Pine Barrens oaks, Quercus   ilicifolia and Quercus marilandica.  In Revision.
  • Unnasch, R.S.  Apparent lack of variation in infestation rates by Curculio weevils on acorns of Quercus   ilicifolia.  In Revision.
  • Sokal, R.R., R.S. Unnasch, and B.A. Thomson. 1991.  Pemphigus  revisited:  Changes in geographic variation  by constancy in variability and covariation.  Evolution 45:1585-1605.
  • Gurevitch, J., and R.S. Unnasch. 1989. Experimental removal of a dominant species at two levels of soil  fertility. Can. J. Bot. 1989:321-340.
  • Sokal, R.R., and R.S. Unnasch. 1988.  Geographic variation of hosts and parasites: evidence from Populus  and Pemphigus. Z. Zool. Syst. Evolut.-forsh. 26:73-88.
  • Sokal, R.R., T.J. Crovello, and R.S. Unnasch. 1986. Geographic variation of vegetative characters of Populus  deltoides.  Systematic Botany 11:419-432.
  • Harder, L.D., J.D. Thomson, M.B. Cruzan, and R.S. Unnasch. 1985. Sexual reproduction and variation in   floral morphology in an ephemeral vernal lily, Erythronium americanum.  Oecologia 67:286-291.
    •  PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

    Ecological Society of America.
    Society for the Study of Evolution.
    American Society of Naturalists.
    Society for Conservation Biology.
    Natural Areas Association.

     
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