2024 Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award
Dr. Robert Fletcher
Dr. Robert Fletcher, a professor of landscape ecology and conservation in the department of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida, was awarded the 2024 Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award by the North American Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE-NA) at the annual meeting, in Oklahoma City, April 1-5th. This is the highest honor bestowed by IALE-NA and recognizes those unique individuals whose thinking and scientific dedication have shaped the field of landscape ecology.
Dr. Fletcher received a Ph.D. from Iowa State University, with a major in ecology and evolutionary biology and a minor in statistics in 2003, and a BA from the University of Colorado in environmental, population, and organismic biology in 1996. Over the years, Dr. Fletcher has made remarkable contributions to the field of landscape ecology by way of developing theory, testing landscape concepts, advancing quantitative approaches, and applying quantitative tools to pressing conservation issues. Dr. Fletcher has addressed many central topics in the field of landscape ecology, including edge effects, matrix effects, habitat fragmentation, spatial scaling, connectivity, land-use change, metapopulations, and behavioral landscape ecology. Dr. Fletcher’s research continues to address contentious issues in landscape ecology while providing applied solutions to conservation biology including fragmentation effects on biodiversity and habitat connectivity assessments.
Aside from being a leading researcher in his field, Dr. Fletcher has continued to elevate the field of landscape ecology as a member of IALE for over two decades. Dr. Fletcher serves on the Landscape and Spatial Ecology section (2019-present) of Faculty of Opinions. He is an Associate Editor for Ecography (2012-present) and has reviewed over 250 manuscripts for dozens of journals. He has reviewed grants and served on panels for several funding agencies and served on the IUCN Corridor Conservation Specialist Group (2022-present).
Dr. Fletcher has published 138 research articles with papers published in Science and PNAS. He has over 9390 citations, an H-index of 48 on Google Scholar and has amassed over $12M in grant funding. Dr. Fletcher strives to make landscape ecology and conservation biology concepts accessible to emerging landscape ecologists which is evident in his and Dr Marie- Josée Fortin’s book Spatial Ecology and Conservation Modelling: Applications with R (Fletcher and Fortin 2018). In addition to being a leading researcher in his field, Dr. Fletcher also trains the next generation of landscape ecologists including 21 Ph.D. and 12 M.Sc. graduates.
Dr. Fletcher was recently awarded the Miriam Rothschild Professorship in Conservation Biology at the University of Cambridge and will be moving his lab there in 2024.
For more information about Dr. Fletcher, please visit the Fletcher Lab website and ResearchGate profile.
Dr. Robert Fletcher, a professor of landscape ecology and conservation in the department of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida, was awarded the 2024 Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award by the North American Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE-NA) at the annual meeting, in Oklahoma City, April 1-5th. This is the highest honor bestowed by IALE-NA and recognizes those unique individuals whose thinking and scientific dedication have shaped the field of landscape ecology.
Dr. Fletcher received a Ph.D. from Iowa State University, with a major in ecology and evolutionary biology and a minor in statistics in 2003, and a BA from the University of Colorado in environmental, population, and organismic biology in 1996. Over the years, Dr. Fletcher has made remarkable contributions to the field of landscape ecology by way of developing theory, testing landscape concepts, advancing quantitative approaches, and applying quantitative tools to pressing conservation issues. Dr. Fletcher has addressed many central topics in the field of landscape ecology, including edge effects, matrix effects, habitat fragmentation, spatial scaling, connectivity, land-use change, metapopulations, and behavioral landscape ecology. Dr. Fletcher’s research continues to address contentious issues in landscape ecology while providing applied solutions to conservation biology including fragmentation effects on biodiversity and habitat connectivity assessments.
Aside from being a leading researcher in his field, Dr. Fletcher has continued to elevate the field of landscape ecology as a member of IALE for over two decades. Dr. Fletcher serves on the Landscape and Spatial Ecology section (2019-present) of Faculty of Opinions. He is an Associate Editor for Ecography (2012-present) and has reviewed over 250 manuscripts for dozens of journals. He has reviewed grants and served on panels for several funding agencies and served on the IUCN Corridor Conservation Specialist Group (2022-present).
Dr. Fletcher has published 138 research articles with papers published in Science and PNAS. He has over 9390 citations, an H-index of 48 on Google Scholar and has amassed over $12M in grant funding. Dr. Fletcher strives to make landscape ecology and conservation biology concepts accessible to emerging landscape ecologists which is evident in his and Dr Marie- Josée Fortin’s book Spatial Ecology and Conservation Modelling: Applications with R (Fletcher and Fortin 2018). In addition to being a leading researcher in his field, Dr. Fletcher also trains the next generation of landscape ecologists including 21 Ph.D. and 12 M.Sc. graduates.
Dr. Fletcher was recently awarded the Miriam Rothschild Professorship in Conservation Biology at the University of Cambridge and will be moving his lab there in 2024.
For more information about Dr. Fletcher, please visit the Fletcher Lab website and ResearchGate profile.