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Professor Robert J. Whittaker

• Academic Profile
• Current Research
• Current Teaching
• Publications

Academic Profile

Rob Whittaker has a BSc in Botany and Geography from the University of Hull (1980), an MSc in Ecology from University College North Wales (1982), and a doctorate from University College Cardiff (1985), where he studied vegetation succession on recently deglaciated terrain, in the Jotunheimen, Norway. He joined the Oxford School of Geography and the Environment in 1986, having previously worked for a year as a research officer at Birkbeck College, London. In 1990 he was appointed to a university lectureship and a fellowship at St Edmund Hall. In 1999 he was awarded the title of Reader and, in 2004, Professor of Biogeography.

Rob has published over 80 peer-review articles and is also the author of Island Biogeography: ecology, evolution, and conservation (OUP, first edition 1998; second edition 2007). Recently collaborations within Rob's research group have included two Marie Curie fellows (Dr Miguel Araújo and Dr Kostas Triantis) and three Rhodes Scholars (Dr Niall O'Dea, Dr Ben Sharp and Dr James Watson).

From 1995 to 2004 Rob was the editor-in-chief of Global Ecology & Biogeography - a journal of macroecology, and in mid-2004 he became editor-in-chief of the Journal of Biogeography, the leading international journal of biogeography. Rob is a founding member of the International Biogeography Society, was a Director-at-Large from 2005-2006, was co-convener of the biennial meeting, Tenerife 9-13 January 2007, and was President of the International Biogeography Society for 2009-2010.

Rob Whittaker was appointed to an Honorary Professorship in Macroecology and Climate at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen from July 2008 for a five year term. He was admitted as a Fellow of the Society of Biology in September 2011.

Current Research

Rob is a member of the Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Conservation research cluster. He works on island biogeography, conservation biogeography, diversity theory and macroecology and is a core member of the Conservation Biogeography and Macroecology Programme. His recent and ongoing research programmes have involved international collaborations with laboratories in Greece, Portugal and Spain including the following projects as member or partner:

• Species-area relationship: new challenges for an old pattern. 2007-2008: European Commission, 6th Framework Programme on Research, Technological Development and Demonstration (Marie Curie Actions, Intra-European Fellowships held by Kostas A. Triantis).
• Native and invasive species on islands: the functionality perspective. Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia, funding 2008-2010; partner on project led by Dr Paulo Borges of the Azorean Biodiversity Group, University of the Azores.
• Predicting extinctions on islands: a multi-scale assessment (Project FCT- PTDC/BIA-BEC/100182/2008; [partner on project led by Dr Paulo Borges of the Azorean Biodiversity Group, University of the Azores] (2010-2013).
• Biodiversity on oceanic islands: towards a unified theory (PTDC/BIA-BIC/119255/2010 Budget: 99 000 Euros); Starting July 2012.
• Palaeoecological studies in the Canary Islands
  Please also see: The long-term dynamics of the Macaronesian islands and their biota.
  1. Laguna Grande in the National Park of Garajonay [Ref: 003/2008; Spanish Ministry of the Environment, and Rural and Marine Environs, 2008-2009; PI: J.M. Fernández-Palacios, participants: K.J. Willis, R.J. Whittaker, and L. de Nascimento].
  2. History of Canarian vegetation since Last Glacial Maximum: using the past to manage the future [Ref: CGL2009-10939; Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, 2010-2012); PI: J.M. Fernández-Palacios, participants: K.J. Willis, R.J. Whittaker, R. Otto, and L. de Nascimento].
  3. Vegetation history in Tenerife during the Holocene [Ref: SolSubC200801000053; Canarian Government, 2009-2012; PI: J.M. Fernández-Palacios, participants: K.J. Willis, R.J. Whittaker, S. Nogué, and L. de Nascimento].
• Island-Biodiv: Understanding biodiversity dynamics in tropical and subtropical island in an aid to science based conservation action. Member of steering group for project provisionally selected for funding under the Netbiome 2010 call. PI: Brent Emerson.

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching

Rob teaches the 'Ecology of the Biosphere' module of the 'Earth System Processes' course for the Preliminary Examination. He also teaches on the Option course 'Biogeography, Biodiversity and Conservation' for the Final Honour School.

Postgradate Teaching

Rob teaches 'Conservation Biogeography', 'Strategic Conservation Planning' and takes the Tenerife Field Course for the MSc in Biodiversity Conservation and Management. Rob also acts as college adviser to around four students a year on the MSc in BCM within St Edmund Hall.

Current graduate students include:

• Eden Cottee-Jones
  The role of Ficus trees in tropical countryside conservation biogeography
• Thomas Matthews
  Analysing, modelling and mitigating the impact of habitat destruction and fragmentation on species diversity: a global perspective
• Leticia Ochoa Ochoa
  The amphibian meta-community structure in three Mexican landscapes and its relationship with ecological and geographical space

D.Phil. students successfully completing since 2001:

• Cecile Girardin (2011)
  Tropical montane forest ecosystem responses to mean temperature change
• Ana Malhado (2009)
  The functional biogeography of the Amazon forest canopy.
• Janice Golding (2008)
  Change in plant biodiversity of the Flora Zambesiaca region of south-central Africa.
• Niall O'Dea (2005)
  A contribution to the conservation biogeography of the tropical Andean avifauna.
• Carter Ingram (2004)
  An exploration of forest change, condition and composition with implications for conservation in Madagascar.
• James Watson (2004)
  Bird responses to habitat fragmentation at different spatial scales: illustrations from Madagascan and Australian case studies.
• Paul Jepson (2001)
  The potential of bio-regional management models to create a more effective and equitable biodiversity conservation policy in Indonesia.

Selected Publications

Books

• Ladle, R.J. and Whittaker, R.J. (eds.) (2011) Conservation Biogeography. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. 320 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4443-3503-3.
• Lomolino, M.V., Riddle, B.R., Whittaker, R.J. and Brown, J.H. (2010) Biogeography, 4th edition. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA, USA. ISBN: 978-0-87893-494-2.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Fernández-Palacios, J.M. (2007) Island Biogeography: ecology, evolution, and conservation, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 412 pp. ISBN: 978-0-19-856612-0.

Papers and Articles

• Fernández-Palacios, J.M., de Nascimento, L., Otto, R., Delgado, J.D., García-del-Rey, E. Arévalo, J.R. and Whittaker, R.J. (2011) A reconstruction of Palaeo-Macaronesia, with particular reference to the long-term biogeography of the Atlantic island laurel forests. Journal of Biogeography, 38(2): 226-246.
• Fisher, J.B., Whittaker, R.J. and Malhi, Y. (2011) ET come home: potential evapotranspiration in geographical ecology. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 20(1): 1-18.
• Meijer, S.S., Whittaker, R.J. and Borges, P.A.V. (2011) The effects of land-use change on arthropod richness and abundance on Santa Maria Island (Azores): unmanaged plantations favour endemic beetles. Journal of Insect Conservation, 15(4): 505-522.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Kerr, J.T. (2011) In search of general models in evolutionary time and space. Journal of Biogeography, 38(11): 2041-2042.
• Devictor, V., Whittaker, R.J. and Beltrame, C. (2010) Beyond scarcity: citizen science programmes as useful tools for conservation biogeography. Diversity and Distributions, 16(3): 354-362.
• Frangou, A., Ladle, R.J., Malhado, A.C.M. and Whittaker, R.J. (2010) Wildlife in a warming world. A World of Science, 8: 2-9.
• Girardin, C.A.J., Malhi, Y., Aragão, L.E.O.C., Mamani, M., Huaraca Huasco, H., Durand, L., Feeley, K.J., Rapp, J., Silva-Espejo, J.E., Silman, M., Salinas, N. and Whittaker, R.J. (2010) Net primary productivity allocation and cycling of carbon along a tropical forest elevational transect in the Peruvian Andes. Global Change Biology, 16(12): 3176-3192.
• Malhado, A.C.M., Whittaker, R.J., Malhi, Y., Ladle, R.J., ter Steege, H., Phillips, O., Aragão, L.E.O.C., Baker, T.R., Arroyo, L., Almeida, S., Higuchi, N., Killeen, T.J., Monteagudo, A., Pitman, N.C.A., Prieto, A., Salomão, R.P., Vásquez-Martínez, R., Laurance, W.F. and Ramírez-Angulo, H. (2010) Are compound leaves an adaptation to seasonal drought or to rapid growth? Evidence from the Amazon rain forest. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19: 852-862.
• Richardson, D.M. and Whittaker, R.J. (2010) Conservation biogeography - foundations, concepts and challenges. Diversity and Distributions, 16(3): 313-320.
• Santos, A.M.C., Whittaker, R.J., Triantis, K.A., Borges, P.A.V., Jones, O.R., Quicke, D.L.J. and Hortal, J. (2010) Are species-area relationships from entire archipelagos congruent with those of their constituent islands? Global Ecology and Biogeography.
• Shilton, L.A. and Whittaker, R.J. (2010) The role of pteropodid bats (Megachiroptera) in re-establishing tropical forests on Krakatau. In, Fleming, T.H. and Racey, P.A. (eds.) Island Bats: Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 176-215.
• Triantis, K., Borges, P.A.V., Hortal, J. and Whittaker, R.J. (2010) The Macaronesian province: patterns of species richness and endemism of arthropods. In, Serrano, A.R.M., Borges, P.A.V., Boieiro, M. and P. Oromí (eds.) Terrestrial arthropods of Macronesia - Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution. pp. 45-64. Sociedade Portuguesa de Entomologia.
• Triantis, K.A., Borges, P.A.V., Ladle, R.J., Hortal, J., Cardoso, P., Gaspar, C., Dinis, F., Mendonça, E., Silveira, L.M.A., Gabriel, R., Melo, C., Santos, A.M.C., Amorim, I.R., Ribeiro, S., Serrano, A.R.M., Quartau, J.A. and Whittaker, R.J. (in press, 2010) Extinction debt on oceanic islands. Ecography, 33(2): 285-294.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2010) Meta-analyses and mega-mistakes: calling time on meta-analysis of the species richness-productivity relationship. Ecology, 91: 2522-2533.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2010) In the Dragon's den: a response to the meta-analysis forum contributions. Ecology, 91: 2568-2571.
• Whittaker, R.J., Triantis, K.A. and Ladle, R.J. (2010) A general dynamic theory of oceanic island biogeography: extending the MacArthur-Wilson theory to accommodate the rise and fall of volcanic islands. In, Losos, J.B. and Ricklefs, R.E. (eds.) The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited. Princeton University Press, pp. 88-115.
• de Nascimento, L., Willis, K.J., Fernández-Palacios, J.M., Criado, C. and Whittaker, R.J. (2009) The long-term ecology of the lost forests of La Laguna, Tenerife (Canary Islands). Journal of Biogeography.
• Ladle, R.J., Jepson, P. and Whittaker, R.J. (2009) La lucha por la legitimidad en el cambio climático. Infoamérica, 1: 153-163.
• Malhado, A.C.M., Malhi, Y., Whittaker, R.J., Ladle, R.J., ter Steege, H., Phillips, O.L., Butt, N., Aragão, L.E.O.C., Quesada, C.A., Araujo-Murakami, A., Arroyo, L., Peacock, J., Lopez-Gonzalez, G., Baker, T.R., Anderson, L.O., Almeida, S., Higuchi, N., Killeen, T.J., Monteagudo, A., Neill, D., Pitman, N., Prieto, A., Salomão, R.P., Vásquez-Martínez, R. and Laurance, W.F. (2009) Spatial trends in leaf size of Amazonian rainforest trees. Biogeosciences, 6: 1563-1576.
• Malhado, A.C.M., Whittaker, R.J., Malhi, Y., Ladle, R.J., ter Steege, H., Butt, N., Aragão, L.E.O.C., Quesada, C.A., Murakami-Araujo, A., Phillips, O.L., Peacock, J., López-González, G., Baker, T.R., Anderson, L.O., Arroyo, L., Almeida, S., Higuchi, N., Killeen, T.J., Monteagudo, A., Neill, D.A., Pitman, N.C.A., Prieto, A., Salomão, R.P., Vásquez-Martínez, R., Laurance, W.F., and Ramírez, H.A. (2009) Spatial distribution and functional significance of leaf lamina shape in Amazonian forest trees. Biogeosciences, 6: 1577-1590.
• Triantis, K.A. and Whittaker, R.J. (2009) Island Biogeography. In, Warf., B. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Geography. SAGE Publications. ISBN: 9781412956970.
• Triantis, K.A. and Whittaker, R.J. (2009) Radiation zone. In, Gillespie, R. and D. Clague (eds.) Encyclopedia of Islands. University of California Press, pp. 772-775.
• Watson, J.E.M., Watson, A.W.T., Fischer, J., Ingram, J.C. and Whittaker, R.J. (2009) Using nestedness and species-accumulation analyses to strengthen a conservation plan for littoral forest birds in South-Eastern Madagascar. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 1(3): 67-80.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2009) Krakatau. In, Gillespie, R. and D. Clague (eds.) Encyclopedia of Islands. University of California Press, pp. 517-520.
• Araújo, M.B., Nogués-Bravo, D., Reginster, I., Rounsevell, M. and Whittaker, R.J. (2008) Exposure of European biodiversity to changes in human-induced pressures. Environmental Science and Policy, 11: 38-45.
• Bhagwat, S.A., Willis, K.J., Birks, H.J.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (2008) Agroforestry: A refuge for tropical biodiversity? Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 23(5): 261-267.
• Triantis, K.A., Mylonas, M. and Whittaker, R.J. (2008) Evolutionary species-area curves as revealed by single-island endemics: insights for the inter-provincial species-area relationship. Ecography, 31: 401-407.
• Triantis, K.A., Nogués-Bravo, D., Hortal, J., Borges, A.V.P., Adsersen, H., Fernandez-Palacios, M., Araujo, M.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (2008) Measurements of area and the (island) species-area relationship: new directions for an old pattern. Oikos, 117: 1555-1559.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2008) Journal review and gender equality: a critical comment on Budden et al. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 23(9): 478-479.
• Whittaker, R.J., Triantis, K.A. and Ladle, R.J. (2008) A general dynamic theory of oceanic island biogeography. Journal of Biogeography, 35: 977-994.
• Liu, C., Whittaker, R.J., Ma, K., and Malcolm, J.R. (2007) Unifying and distinguishing diversity ordering methods for comparing communities. Population Ecology, 49: 89-100
• O'Dea, N. and Whittaker, R.J. (2007) How resilient are Andean montane forest bird communities to habitat degradation? Biodiversity and Conservation, 16: 1131-1159.
• Parmentier, I., Malhi, Y., Senterre, B., Whittaker, R.J., A.T.D.N. Alonso, A., Balinga, M.P.B., Bakayoko, A., Bongers, F., Chatelain, C., Comiskey, J.A., Cortay, R., Kamdem, M-N. D, Doucet, J-L., Gautier, L., Hawthorne, W.D., Issembe, Y.A., Kouamé, F.N., Kouka, L.A., Leal, M.E., Lejoly, J., Lewis, S.L., Nusbaumer, L., Parren, M.P.E., Peh, K. S.-H., Phillips, O.L., Poorter, L., Sheil, D., Sonké, B., Sosef, M.S.M., Sunderland, T.C.H., Stropp, J., ter Steege, H., Swaine, M.D., Tchouto, M.G.P., van Gemerden, B.S., van Valkenburg, J.L.C.H., and Wö ll, H. (2007) The odd man out? Might climate explain the lower tree-diversity of African rain forests relative to Amazonian rain forests? Journal of Ecology. Published article online: 30-Jul-2007.
• Ugland, K.I., Lambshead, P.J.D., McGill, B., Gray, J.S., O'Dea, N., Ladle, R.J., and Whittaker, R.J. (2007) Modelling dimensionality in species abundance distributions: description and evaluation of the Gambin model. Evolutionary Ecology Research, 9: 313-324.
• Whittaker, R.J., Ladle, R.J., Araújo, M.B., Fernández-Palacios, J.M., Delgado, J.D. and Arévalo, J.R. (2007) The island immaturity - speciation pulse model of island evolution: an alternative to the 'diversity begets diversity' model. Ecography, 30: 321-327.
• Whittaker, R.J., Nogués-Bravo, D., and Araújo, M.B. (2007) Geographic gradients of species richness: a test of the water-energy conjecture of Hawkins et al. (2003) using European data for five taxa. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 16: 76-89.
• Willis, K.J., Kleczkowski, A., New, M. and Whittaker, R.J. (2007) Testing the impact of climate variability on European plant diversity: 320,000 years of water-energy dynamics and its long-term influence on plant taxonomic richness. Ecology Letters, 10: 673-679.
• Henderson, S., Dawson, T.P. and Whittaker, R.J. (2006) Progress in invasive plants research. Progress in Physical Geography, 30: 25-46.
• O'Dea, N., Araújo, M.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (2006) How well do Important Bird Areas represent species and minimise conservation conflict in the tropical Andes? Diversity and Distributions, 12: 205-214.
• O'Dea, N., Whittaker, R.J. and Ugland, K.I. (2006) Using spatial heterogeneity to extrapolate species richness: a new method tested on Ecuadorian cloud forest birds. Journal of Applied Ecology, 43: 189-198.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2006) Island species-energy theory. Journal of Biogeography, 33: 11-12.
• Araújo, M.B., Whittaker, R.J., Ladle, R.J., and Erhard, M. (2005) Reducing uncertainty in projections of extinction risk from climate change. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 14: 529-538.
• Field, R., O'Brien, E.M. and Whittaker, R.J. (2005) Global models for predicting woody plant richness from climate: development and evaluation. Ecology, 86: 2263-2277.
• Ingram, J.C., Whittaker, R.J., and Dawson, T.P. (2005) Tree structure and diversity in human-impacted littoral forests, Madagascar. Environmental Management, 35: 779-798.
• Ladle, R.J., Jepson, P., and Whittaker, R.J. (2005) Scientists and the media: the struggle for legitimacy in climate change and conservation science. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 30: 231-240.
• Watson, J.E.M, Whittaker, R.J. and Dawson, T.P. (2005) The importance of littoral forest remnants for indigenous bird conservation in southeastern Madagascar. Biodiversity & Conservation, 14: 523-545.
• Watson, J.E.M., Whittaker, R.J. and Freudenberger, D. (2005) Bird community responses to habitat fragmentation: how consistent are they across landscapes? Journal of Biogeography, 32: 1353-1370.
• Whittaker, R.J., Araújo, M.B., Jepson, P., Ladle, R.J., Watson, J.E.M. and Willis, K.J. (2005) Conservation Biogeography: assessment and prospect. Diversity and Distributions, 11: 3-23.
• Ingram, J.C., Dawson, T.P. and Whittaker, R.J. (2004) Mapping tropical forest structure in southeastern Madagascar using remote sensing and artificial neural networks. Remote Sensing of Environment, 94: 491-507.
• Ladle, R., Jepson, P., Araújo, M.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (2004) Dangers of crying wolf over risk of extinctions. Nature, 482: 799.
• O'Dea, N., Watson, J.E.M. and Whittaker, R.J. (2004) Rapid assessment in conservation research: a critique of avifaunal assessment techniques illustrated by Ecuadorian and Madagascan case study data. Diversity and Distributions, 10: 55-63.
• Sperling, F., Washington, R. and Whittaker, R.J. (2004) Future climate of the subtropical North Atlantic: implications for the cloud forests of Tenerife. Climatic Change, 65: 103-123.
• Thuiller, W., Araújo, M.B., Pearson, R.G., Whittaker, R.J., Brotons, L., and Lavorel, S. (2004) Uncertainty in predictions of extinction risk. Nature, 430.
• Watson, J.M, Whittaker, R.J. and T.P. Dawson (2004a) Habitat structure and proximity to forest edge affect the abundance and distribution of forest-dependent birds in tropical coastal forests of southeastern Madagascar. Biological Conservation, 120: 311-327.
• Watson, J.E.M, Whittaker, R.J. and Dawson, T.P. (2004b) Avifaunal responses to habitat fragmentation in the threatened littoral forests of south-eastern Madagascar. Journal of Biogeography, 31: 1791-1807.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2004) The island biogeography of a long-running natural experiment: Krakatau, Indonesia. In, Fernández-Palacios, J.M. and Morici, C. (eds.) Ecología Insular / Island Ecology, pp. 57-59. Asociació n Española de Ecología Terrestre (AEET)- Cabildo Insular de La Palma.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2004) The importance of islands. Chapter and section introduction. In, Brown, J.H., Lomolino, M.V. and Sax, D. (eds.) Foundations of Biogeography. Chicaco, Chicago University Press.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2004) Dynamic hypotheses of richness on islands and continents. In, M.V. Lomolino and L.R. Heaney (eds.) Frontiers of Biogeography: new directions in the geography of Nature. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA. (2004). pp. 211-231.
• Henderson, S.J. and Whittaker, R.J. (2003) Islands, version 1.0. In, Nature Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. London: Nature Publishing Group. http://www.els.net/
• Sharp, B. and Whittaker, R.J. (2003) The irreversible cattle-driven transformation of a seasonally flooded Australian savanna. Journal of Biogeography, 30: 783-802.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Heegaard, E. (2003) What is the observed relationship between species richness and productivity: comment. Ecology, 84(12): 3384-3390.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Sax, D. (2003) A 21st century Pangea? The emergence of a new international forum for Biogeographers. Journal of Biogeography, 30: 315-317.
• Whittaker, R.J., Willis, K.J., and Field, R. (2003) Climatic-energetic explanations of diversity: a macroscopic perspective. In, Blackburn, T.M. and Gaston, K.J. (eds.) Macroecology: concepts and consequences. British Ecological Society Symposia Series, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. pp. 107-129.
• Bush, M.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (2002) Editorial: climate change and conservation special issue. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 11: 443.
• Jepson, P. and Whittaker, R.J. (2002) Ecoregions in context: a critique with special reference to Indonesia. Conservation Biology, 16: 42-57.
• Jepson, P. and Whittaker, R.J. (2002) Histories of Protected Areas: internationalism of conservationist values and their adoption in the Netherlands Indies (Indonesia). Environment and History, 8: 129-172.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2002) Island Biogeography. In, M. Pagel et al. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Evolution, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Willis, K.J. and Whittaker, R.J. (2002) Species diversity - scale matters. Science, 295: 1245-1248.
• Matthews, J.A., Bridges, E.M., Caseldine, C.J., Luckman, A.J., Owen, G., Perry, A.H., Shakesby, R.A., Walsh, R.P.D., Whittaker, R.J., and Willis, K.J. (eds.) (2001) The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Environmental Change. London: Arnold xiii, 690pp.
• Whittaker, R.J., Willis, K.J., and Field, R. (2001) Scale and species richness: towards a general, hierarchical theory of species diversity. Journal of Biogeography, 28: 453-470.
• O'Brien, E.M., Field, R., and Whittaker, R.J. (2000) Climatic gradients in woody plant (tree and shrub) diversity: water-energy dynamics, residual variation, and topography. Oikos, 89: 588-600.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2000) Scale, succession and complexity in island biogeography: are we asking the right questions? Global Ecology and Biogeography, 9: 75-85.
• Whittaker, R.J. (2000) Krakatau. In, M.C. MacCracken and J.S. Perry (eds.) Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change, vol. 1. John Wiley, Chichester.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Field, R. (2000) Tree species richness modelling: an approach of global applicability? Oikos, 89: 399-402.
• Whittaker, R.J., Field, R., and Partomihardjo, T. (2000) How to go extinct: lessons from the lost plants of Krakatau. Journal of Biogeography, 27: 1049-1064.
• Willis, K.J. and Whittaker, R.J. (2000) The refugial debate. Science, 287: 1406-1407.
• Shilton, L.A., Altringham, J.D., Compton, S.G. and Whittaker, R.J. (1999) Old World fruit bats can be long-distance seed dispersers through extended retention of viable seeds in the gut. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London B, 266: 219-223.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1999) Scaling, energetics and diversity. Nature, 401: 865-866.
• Whittaker, R.J., Partomihardjo, T., and Jones, S.H. (1999) Interesting times on Krakatau: stand dynamics in the 1990s. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 354: 1857-1867.
• Mawdsley, N.A., Compton, S.G., and Whittaker, R.J. (1998) Population persistence, pollination mutualisms, and figs in fragmented tropical landscapes. Conservation Biology, 12: 1416-1420.
• O'Brien, E.M., Whittaker, R.J. and Field, R. (1998) Climate and woody plant diversity in southern Africa: relationships at species, genus and family levels. Ecography, 21: 495-509.
• Schlesinger, W.H., Bruijnzeel, L.A., Bush, M.B., Klein, E.M., Mace, K.A., Raikes, J.A. and Whittaker, R.J. (1998) The biogeochemistry of phosphorous after the first century of soil development on Rakata Island, Krakatau, Indonesia. Biogeochemistry, 40: 37-55.
• Schmitt, S.F., and Whittaker, R.J. (1998) Disturbance and succession on the Krakatau Islands, Indonesia. In, D.M. Newbery, H.N.T. Prins and N.D. Brown (eds.) Dynamics of Tropical Communities. British Ecological Society Symposium, 37: 515-548.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1998) Island Biogeography: ecology, evolution, and conservation. Oxford University Press, Oxford. xi, 285pp.
• Whittaker, R.J., Schmitt, S.F., Jones, S.H., Partomihardjo, T. and Bush, M.B. (1998) Stand biomass and tree mortality from permanent forest plots on Krakatau, 1989-1995. Biotropica, 30: 519-529.
• Petch, J.R. and Whittaker, R.J. (1997) Chronology of the Austerdalen glacier foresland, Norway. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, 41: 309-317.
• Whittaker, R.J., Jones, S.H., and Partomihardjo, T. (1997) The re-building of an isolated rain forest assemblage: how disharmonic is the flora of Krakatau? Biodiversity and Conservation, 6: 1671-1696.
• Bush, M.B., Whittaker, R.J. and Partomihardjo, T. (1995) Colonization and succession on Krakatau: an analysis of the guild of vining plants. Biotropica, 27: 355-372.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1995) Disturbed island ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 10: 421-425.
• Whittaker, R.J., Partomihardjo, T., and Riswan, S. (1995) Surface and buried seed banks from Krakatau, Indonesia: implications for the sterilization hypothesis. Biotropica, 27: 346-354.
• Wilson, J.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (1995) Assembly rules demonstrated in a salt marsh community. Journal of Ecology, 83: 801-807.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Bush, M.B. (1994) Anak Krakatau and old Krakatau - a further comment. Geojournal, 33: 491-492.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Jones, S.H. (1994a) Structure in re-building insular ecosystems: an empirically derived model. Oikos, 69: 524-530.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Jones, S.H. (1994b) The role of frugivorous bats and birds in the rebuilding of a tropical forest ecosystem, Krakatau, Indonesia. Journal of Biogeography, 21: 689-702.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Turner, B.D. (1994) Dispersal, fruit utilization and seed predation of Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum in early-successional rain forest, Krakatau, Indonesia. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 10: 167-181.
• Bush, M.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (1993) Non-equilibration in island theory of Krakatau. Journal of Biogeography, 20: 453-458.
• Innes, J.L. and Whittaker, R.J. (1993) Relationships between the crown condition of Sitka and Norway spruce and the environment in Great Britain: an exploratory analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology, 30: 341-360.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1993) Plant population patterns in a glacier foreland succession: pioneer herbs and later-colonizing shrubs. Ecography, 16: 117-136.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Bush, M.B. (1993a) Anak Krakatau and old Krakatau: a reply. Geojournal, 29: 417-420.
• Whittaker, R.J. and Bush, M.B. (1993b) Dispersal and establishment of tropical forest assemblages, Krakatau, Indonesia. In, J. Miles and D.W.H. Walton (eds.) Primary Succession on Land. Special publication series of the British Ecological Society, 12: 147-160.
• Bush, M.B., Whittaker, R.J. and Partomihardjo, T. (1992) Forest development on Rakata, Panjang and Sertung: contemporary dynamics (1979-1989). Geojournal, 28: 185-199.
• Partomihardjo, T., Mirmanto, E. and Whittaker, R.J. (1992) Anak Krakatau's vegetation and flora circa 1991, with observations on a decade of development and change. Geojournal, 28: 233-248.
• Partomihardjo, T., Mirmanto, E., Riswan, S. and Whittaker, R.J. (1992) Ecology and distribution of Nibung (Oncosperma tigillarium) within the Krakatau Islands, Indonesia. Principes, 36: 7-17.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1992) Stochasticism and determinism in island ecology. Journal of Biogeography, 19: 587-591.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1992) Biogeography and ecology. In, Rogers, A., Goudie, A.S. and Viles, H. (eds.) The Student's Companion to Geography. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. pp. 41-48.
• Whittaker, R.J., Bush, M.B., Partomihardjo, T., Asquith, N.M. and Richards, K. (1992) Ecological aspects of plant colonisation of the Krakatau Islands. Geojournal, 28: 201-211.
• Whittaker, R.J., Walden, J. and Hill, J. (1992) Post-1883 ash fall on Panjang and Sertung and its ecological impact. Geojournal, 28: 153-171.
• Bush, M.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (1991a) Krakatau: Colonization patterns and hierarchies. Journal of Biogeography, 18: 341-356.
• Bush, M.B. and Whittaker, R.J. (1991b) A revision of estimates of bird colonization on Krakatau. Journal of Biogeography, 18: 585.
• Walden, J., Whittaker, R.J. and Hill, J. (1991) The use of mineral magnetic analyses as an aid in investigating the recent volcanic disturbance history of the Krakatau Islands, Indonesia. The Holocene, 1: 262-268.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1991a) Small-scale pattern: an evaluation of techniques with an application to salt-marsh vegetation. Vegetatio, 94: 81-94.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1991b) The vegetation of the Storbreen gletschervorfeld, Jotunheimen, Norway. IV. Short term vegetation change. Journal of Biogeography, 18: 41-52.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1989) The vegetation of the Storbreen gletschervorfeld, Jotunheimen, Norway. III. Vegetation-environment relationships. Journal of Biogeography, 16: 413-434.
• Whittaker, R.J., Bush, M.B. and Richards, K. (1989) Plant recolonization and vegetation succession on the Krakatau Islands, Indonesia. Ecological Monographs, 59: 59-123.
• Matthews, J.A. and Whittaker, R.J. (1987) Vegetation succession on the Storbreen glacier foreland, Jotunheimen, Norway: a review. Arctic and Alpine Research, 19: 385-395.
• Whittaker, R.J. (1987) An application of Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling to the identification and analysis of environmental factor complexes and vegetation structures. Journal of Ecology, 75: 363-376.
• Whittaker, R.J., Richards, K., Wiriadinata, H. and Flenley, J.R. (1984) Krakatau 1883-1983: a biogeographical assessment. Progress in Physical Geography, 8: 61-81.
• Wiggins, J., Hartley, R.P., Higgins, M.J. and Whittaker, R.J. (1987) Computing aspects of a large geographic information system for the European community. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, 1: 77-87.