Education
Ph.D. 1999. University of Connecticut. Ecology
A.B. 1994. Occidental College. Biology, Magna Cum Laude
Professional Experience & Training
Assistant Professor, Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, July 2004-present
Research Associate, Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, March 2003-June 2004
Instructor, Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, Spring 2003- Spring 2004
Research Associate, Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000-2003
Research Fellow, Organization for Tropical Studies and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Advanced Comparative Tropical Ecology, Fall 2001
Honors
Outstanding Scholar Award, University of Connecticut Graduate School, 1996-97
Phi Beta Kappa, Elected June 1994
Raymond Selle Award for Excellence in the Occidental Biology Department, October 1993
Mortarboard Honor Society, Elected May 1993
Grants and Fellowships
2006 NSF Division of Integrative Organismal Biology, Synergistic effects of light and water on physiological diversification in the Hawaiian lobeliads ($230,000 with Drs. Lawren Sack & Thomas Givnish, co-PIs)
2006 USDA NRI, Managing complex structure and wood productivity in Great Lakes pine ecosystems ($400,000; UM subcontract $179,525, with PI Brian Palik & Co-PI Peter Reich)
2006 NSF LTER. Biodiversity, environmental change and ecosystem function at the prairie-forest border. Tilman (PI), D., P. Reich, S. Hobbie, S. Polasky, J. Cavender-Bares, J. King, L. Kinkel, J. Knops, R. Montgomery, H. Muller-Landau, and J. Powers. $4,920,000; $20,000 per year to R. A. Montgomery.
2004 Grant-in-aid of Research. U Minnesota, Office of the Dean of the Graduate School, Tree physiological response to climate across a latitudinal gradient ($34,438)
2002 STRI/OTS Comparative Ecology Grant, The joint influences of climate, litter quality, and soil fauna in regulating the decomposition of leaf and root litter: a pan-tropical study ($6000, with Dr. Jennifer Powers, Co-PI)
2001 Davis Fund, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison ($1000)
2001 Andrew Mellon Foundation, Leaf phenology and hydraulic conductivity as determinants of shade tolerance in S. Appalachian trees (collaborator with PI Tom Givnish)
1999 Ronald Bamford Endowment to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology ($800)
1998 NSF Biodiversity Graduate Research Traineeship (Tuition waiver and stipend)
1998 Organization for Tropical Studies Fellowship (Mellon IV Ecosystem fund) ($3,000)
1997 NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant ($10,000)
1997 Ronald Bamford Endowment to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Connecticut ($500)
1996 NSF Biodiversity Graduate Research Traineeship (Tuition waiver and stipend)
1993 Ford Foundation/Hughes Fellowship ($3,000)
1993 Council for Undergraduate Research Fellowship ($3,000)
1992 Richter Fellowship ($4,000)
Publications
Dickie, I. A., R. A. Montgomery, P. B. Reich and S. A. Schnitzer. 2006. Physiological and phenological responses of oak seedlings to oak forest soil in the absence of trees. Tree Physiology 27: 133-140. pdf
Montgomery, R. A. 2004. Effects of understory vegetation on patterns of light attenuation near the forest floor. Biotropica 36: 33-39. pdf
Harms, K. E., J. S. Powers, R. A. Montgomery. 2004. Variation in small sapling density, understory cover and resource availability in four Neotropical forests. Biotropica 36: 40-51. pdf
Givnish T.J., R.A. Montgomery and G. Goldstein. 2004. Adaptive radiation of photosynthetic physiology in the Hawaiian lobeliads: light regimes, static light responses, and whole-plant compensation points. American Journal of Botany 91: 228-246. pdf
Montgomery, R. A. 2004. Relative importance of photosynthetic physiology and biomass allocation for tree seedling growth across a broad light gradient Tree Physiology 24:155–167. pdf
Nicotra, A. B., R. L. Chazdon & R. A. Montgomery. 2003. Sexes show contrasting patterns of leaf and crown carbon gain in a dioecious rainforest shrub. American Journal of Botany 90:347-355. pdf
Cabin, R. J., S. G. Weller, D. H. Lorence, S. Cordell, L. J. Hadway, R. Montgomery, D. Goo, and A. Urakami. 2002. Effects of light availability, alien grass, and native species additions on Hawaiian dry forest restoration. Ecological Applications 12:1595-1610. pdf
Montgomery, R. A. and R. L. Chazdon. 2002. Light gradient partitioning by tropical tree seedlings in the absence of canopy gaps. Oecologia 131:165-174. pdf
Montgomery, R. A. and R. L. Chazdon. 2001. Forest structure, canopy architecture and light transmittance in old-growth and second-growth stands of lowland rainforest in NE Costa Rica. Ecology 82: 2707-2718. pdf
Chazdon, R. L., and R. A. Montgomery. 2001. La adquisición de carbono en las plantas. In: M. R. Guariguata and G. H. Kattan (Eds.) Ecología y Conservación de Bosques Neotropicales. Editorial Libro Universitario Regional, Costa Rica
Teaching Experience
Instructor, University of Minnesota, Northern Forests Field Ecology, August 2004-present
Instructor, University of Minnesota, Forest Ecology, Fall 2003-present
Resource Faculty, Organization for Tropical Studies, Tropical Biology 07-1, 2007
Instructor, University of Minnesota, Ecophysiology of Woody Plants, Spring 2003 and 2004
Resource Faculty, Organization for Tropical Studies, Undergraduate Semester Abroad Program, Spring 2003
Instructor, University of Connecticut, Current Topics in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 1999-2000
Instructor, University of Connecticut, Writing section of Evolutionary Biology, 1999
Resource Faculty, Organization for Tropical Studies, Biología Tropical 98-2, 1998
Teaching Assistant, University of Connecticut, Introductory Biology, 1994
Teaching Assistant, Occidental College, The Border: Environment, Economy, and Culture, 1993-1994
Resource Faculty, Organization for Tropical Studies, Tropical Biology 93-10, 1993
Instructor, Vantuna Research Group, Marine Ecology, on board the Research Vessel Vantuna, 1990-1993
Invited Seminars and Symposia
2006 Overstory and understory effects on tree regeneration: towards a mechanistic understanding of species interactions above- and belowground Michigan State University, Dept. of Forestry, East Lansing, MI
2005 Adaptive radiation of photosynthetic physiology in the Hawaiian lobeliads (Campanulaceae), University of Minnesota, Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, St. Paul, MN
2005 Adaptive radiation of photosynthetic physiology of the Hawaiian lobeliads, Dept of Biology, Grinnell College, Grinnell IA.
2004 Adaptive radiation of photosynthesis and life history traits in the Hawaiian lobeliads. Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Miami, FL
2002 Putting the "adaptive" into "adaptive radiation": divergence in light regime and photosynthetic adaptations in the Hawaiian lobeliads. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
2002 The role of leaf and whole plant carbon gain for growth of woody tropical seedlings across light gradients. Association for Tropical Biology, Panama City, Panama.
2001 Plant performance in heterogeneous light environments: evolutionary and ecological perspectives from Costa Rica and Hawaii. University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI.
2001 Ecology and evolution of the Hawaiian lobeliads. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Islands Institute of Forestry, Hilo, HI.
2001 Phylogenetic history of the Hawaiian lobeliads: potential relationships with the evolution of Hawaiian Drosophilidae. Pacific Entomological Society, Hilo, HI.
1999 Gap dynamics and tree diversity in neotropical forests. Mesa State College, Grand Junction, CO.
Selected Presentations
2006 R. A. Montgomery, T. J. Givnish & G. Goldstein. Adaptive radiation of photosynthesis and life history traits in the Hawaiian lobeliads. 14th New Phytologist Symposium - New directions in plant ecological development. The Royal Society, London, UK.
2005 Montgomery, Rebecca A., Ian Dickie, Stefan Schnitzer & Peter Reich. Belowground factors influence leafing phenology and photosynthesis of pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis) seedlings growing in an old field. Ecological Society of America, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2004 Montgomery, Rebecca A., Omar Lopez, Krista Farris Lopez and Thomas J. Givnish. Determinants of shade tolerance and its importance for local species distributions of S. Appalachian trees. Botanical Society of America, Snowbird, UT.
2002 Montgomery, Rebecca A. and Thomas J. Givnish. Photoinhibition in the Hawaiian lobeliads across field and greenhouse light gradients. Ecological Society of America, Tuscon, AZ.
2001 Montgomery, Rebecca A. and Thomas J. Givnish. Adaptation to different light levels in the Hawaiian lobeliads: dynamic photosynthetic light responses and the outcome of “in silico” transplants. Ecological Society of America, Madison, WI.
2000 Montgomery, Rebecca A. Leaf-level and whole-plant assimilation as predictors of tree seedling growth across a broad light gradient. Ecological Society of America, Snowbird, UT.
1999 Montgomery, Rebecca A. Mortality and growth response of tree seedlings to light heterogeneity in tropical secondary forest and plantations. Ecological Society of America, Spokane, WA.
1998 Montgomery, Rebecca. A. El ambiente de luz en bosques secundarios y plantaciones de arboles y su efecto sobre el crecimiento y la regeneración de plántulas de especies leñosas” IV Congreso Latinoamericano de Ecología; Arequipa, Perú.
Montgomery, Rebecca. A. Scaling leaf-level to whole-plant assimilation for three tropical tree species across a light gradient Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
1997 Montgomery, Rebecca A., Robin L. Chazdon, and Katherine S. Miller. Predicting understory light availability in tropical wet forest from measures of stand structure Association for Tropical Biology Annual Meeting; San Jose, Costa Rica.
1994 Montgomery, Rebecca A. and H. Elizabeth Braker. Diet selection in the leaf-cutter ant, Atta cephalotes Association for Tropical Biology Annual Meeting; Guadalajara, Mexico.
1993 Montgomery, Rebecca A. Dark-like fixation in the marine algae, Ascophyllum nodosum International Symposium on Crassulacean Acid Metabolism; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; Panama City, Panama.
Research in Progress
Tree physiological response to climate across a latitudinal gradient
The role of above and belowground competition from shrubs for tree regeneration in red pine forests & oak savannas(with Peter Reich –U Minnesota and Brian Palik –USDA Forest Service; Brian Pelc – U Minnesota)
Evolution and ecology of photosynthetic physiology in the Hawaiian lobeliads (with Tom Givnish- U Wisconsin and Lawren Sack- U Hawaii)
Collaborators & training
Collaborators: Robert Cabin (SUNY-Plattsburgh), Jeannine Cavender-Bares (U Minnesota), Robin Chazdon (U Connecticut), Susan Cordell (USDA FS), Saara DeWalt (Rice U), Ian Dickie (LandCare NZ), Thomas Givnish (U Wisconsin), Guillermo Goldstein (U Miami), Lisa Hadway (HI Div. For. & Wildlife), Kyle Harms (LSU), Sarah Hobbie (U Minnesota), Christel Kern (USDA FS), Linka Kinkel (U Minnesota), Jean Knops (U Nebraska), Helene Muller-Landau (U Minnesota), Omar Lopez (STRI), Rebecca Ostertag (UH-Hilo), Adrienne Nicotra (Australia Nat. U), Brian Palik (USDA FS), Horacio Paz (UNAM), Lourens Poorter (Wageningen), Jennifer Powers (U Minnesota), Lawren Sack (UH-Manoa), Peter Reich (U Minnesota), David Tilman (U Minnesota).
Graduate thesis advisor: Kala Peebles, Brian Pelc, Christel Kern, Stacey Olszewski
Undergraduate research & honors advisor: Brandon Gallagher (2005), Melissa Maxa (2006), Kathryn Smith (2005-2006), Daniel Heneley (2006), John Berini (2006-present).
Professional Service
Reviewer for American Journal of Botany, Biotropica, Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Ecology, Forest Science, Functional Ecology, Journal of Ecology, Journal of Forestry, Journal of Vegetation Science, Journal of Tropical Ecology, New Phytologist, Oecologia, Restoration Ecology, Tree Physiology
Languages
Spanish (conversational-fluent)
