Doyle McKEY

Professor
University of Montpellier 2

CEFE/CNRS
Campus du CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier 5

Research group: Interactions Bioculturelles

Tél. : +33/0 4 67 61 32 32
Fax : +33/0 4 67 41 21 38

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Keywords : Focus:  Ant-plant interactions, cassava - Environment: tropics - Discipline: Evolutionary ecology - Tools:  Mutualism - parasitism
Themes:  Coevolution, domestication - Other keywords: conservation biology, genetic resources, biocultural interactions.

Education

-         Texas A&M University, 1967-1971 (B.S., Wildlife Science, 1971)

-         Graduate School, University of Chicago, 1971-1972

-         Graduate School, University of Michigan, 1972-1979 (Ph.D., Biological Sciences, 1979)

-         Advisor: Daniel H. Janzen

-         Postdoctoral studies, University of Wisconsin, 1979-1980

-         Advisor: J. Stephen Gartlan (Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center)

Current research interests

           Tropical rainforest ecology, especially biotic interactions:

-         The evolution of symbiotic ant-plant mutualisms: myrmecophytes and their ant associates.

-         Fig biology, especially interactions between figs and their pollinators and seed dispersal agents.

-         Comparative biology: combining phylogenetic systematics and evolutionary ecology to study pattern and process in evolution, particularly in coevolved mutualisms.

-         The evolution of plant anti-herbivore defenses, in particular the relationships among chemical, phenological and biotic defenses in the anti-herbivore defense system of the plant.

           Biocultural interactions:

-         The intersection of ethnobiology and evolutionary biology:

-         Evolutionary biology of domestication of vegetatively propagated crops, with cassava as the principal model.

-         Ecology of forest yams: growth strategies, biotic defence, and harvest of tubers by human foragers.

-         Ethnobiology of hunting-gathering peoples and swidden cultivators in tropical rainforest.

-         The impact of ancient human activities on contemporary functioning of ecosystems: Pre-Columbian raised fields and the ecology of seasonally flooded coastal savannas in French Guiana.

-         The diffusion of crops, farming techniques and peoples in Amazonia.

Academic career

-         Present position: Professor in Ecology, University of Montpellier II, France (1995-present)

-         NSF pre-doctoral fellow, 1971-1974

-         Research associate, Center for Field Research and Conservation, New York Zoological Society: ecology and behavior of black colobus monkeys in Cameroon (1973-1975)

-         Research associate and NSF post-doctoral fellow, Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center, Primate Ecology Unit: ecological and phytochemical studies in African rainforests (Cameroon, 1975-1976)

-         Full-time instructor, Organization for Tropical Studies field course 77-3 and 78-3, Costa Rica

-         Lecturer, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Michigan (1978)

-         Instructor, Temple University European Program (Basic Mathematics), Berlin (1980-1981)

-         Lecturer, University of Maryland European Campus (Biological Conservation), Berlin (1980-1981)

-         Assistant professor, Zoologisches Institut, University of Basel (Switzerland) (1981-1985)

-         Associate Professor and Coordinator, Program in Tropical Biology, University of Miami, Department of Biology (1985-1994)

-         Sabbatical Year (1992) in France : Institut de Botanique (Université Montpellier II) and CEFE ; visiting scholar fellowship at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Laboratoire d’Ecologie (Brunoy)

-         Professor in Ecology, University of Montpellier II, France (1995-present)

-         Instructor, Tropical Biology Association (European analogue of OTS), field courses in Uganda, 1994, 1996

-         Délégation au CNRS (sabbatical leave for research in a CNRS laboratory) (2005-2007)

Honors and awards

-         Visiting Professor (Shell Environmental Fellow), Universiti Brunei Darussalam, 1996 (Brunei    $ 60 000)

-         Prix Terra Ficaria, Fondation Yves Rocher-Institut de France, 2006 (prize for research on relationships between people and plants) (20 000 €)

-         Prix Clio pour la recherche archéologique (récompense des missions archéologiques francophones travaillant à l'étranger). 2ème prix, S. Rostain et D. McKey. 2008.

Field experience

-         North America: subtropical woodlands of south Florida, coastal prairies of south Texas; Bahamas: Exuma Cays: dry shrubland and coral reefs

-         South America: French Guiana, Guyana, Brazil: savanna and forest-savanna ecotone habitats, xeric refugia (rock-savannas) of inselbergs

-         Central America: Costa Rica, Panama; diverse habitats

-         Africa: Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone; rainforest and savanna

-         Tropical Asia: South India, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Thailand, Yunnan; dipterocarp forests and other moist forests

-         Europe: France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland: temperate deciduous forest, Mediterranean communities

Grants and awards

-         National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellow (1971-1974)

-         National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow (1978-1980): phytochemical studies in African rainforests and plant/insect herbivore interactions

-         Swiss National Research Council, 1983-1986: SF 126,000 for studying "Biology and host-plant relationships of leaf-mining agromyzid flies on umbelliferous plants"

-         Swiss Society for the Study of Nature, 1983: SF 5,000 for research travel to Cameroon

-         NIH in-house grant by the University of Miami, 1986: $5,000 for a field vehicle in Cameroon

-         National Science Foundation, U.S.-French Program: $4,252 for "Joint U.S. -French Seminar on the Biology of Figs in Seasonal Environments" (May 1987)

-         National Science Foundation, Biotic Systems and Resources: $52,000 for the Silver Anniversary Symposium of the Organization for Tropical Studies, "Resource Availability and the Structure and Functioning of Tropical Ecosystems", 1988 (Co-PI with Dr. J. M. Savage)

-         General Research Support Award, University of Miami: $2,000 for ecological studies of figs.

-         Committee for Research and Exploration, National Geographic Society, $9,900 for "Geographic Variation in Associations Between Ants and Leonardoxa (Leguminosae)." (1989)

-         General Research Support Award, University of Miami: $2,000 for "Seed Bank Dynamics in Two Species of Sesbania (Leguminosae)". Co-PI Martine Hossaert

-         National Science Foundation, International Programs: $19,968 for "Responses of the Fig-Pollinator Mutualism to Environmental Constraints". Co-PI Dr. Judith Bronstein (University of Arizona); counterpart CNRS proposal, PI Dr. Finn Kjellberg (CEFE, Montpellier) (1992)

-         L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, Foraging Peoples Fellowship: $20,000 for "Demography of Wild Yams: Effects of Exploitation and Management by the Baka Pygmies." Sponsor for Dr. Edmond Dounias, the applicant for this postdoctoral fellowship, and PI for the grant, which was administered through the University of Miami. (1992)

-         Brunei Shell Environmental Fellowship. Biodiversity of Ficus on the island of Borneo (1996-1999).

-         ASCV 7 (CNRS, program “Environment, Vie et Sociétés”) : “ Les mutualismes plantes insectes : Processus de coévolution et de diversification  FF 120,000 (1998)

-         APFT (Future of Tropical Rainforest Peoples; DG VIII, European Commission). Member of Scientific Council and responsible for ecological aspects of biodiversity issues.

-         Bilateral programme CNRS/Germany, with Dr. U. Maschwitz, University of Frankfurt. "Comparative study of neotropical, African and tropical Asian myrmecophytes" (1998).

-         Bureau des Ressources Génétiques, “Dynamic management of genetic diversity in a traditional agro-ecosystem : cassava cultivation by Makushi Amerindians of Guyana” (150,000 FF) (1997).

-         Programme National “Dynamics of Biodiversity: Interspecies Interactions” (CNRS, Paris) : “Coevolutionary processus in ant-plant protection mutualisms: a comparative and experimental approach” (100,000 FF) (1998-2000).

-         Bureau des Ressources Génétiques (Paris) : “L’Ecologie evolutive dans les champs du manioc: premiers pas vers la gestion dynamique in situ des ressources génétiques” (140,000 FF) (2000-2001)

-         Bureau des Ressources Génétiques, “Le syndrome de domestication chez le manioc : les traits sélectionnés, leur déterminisme génétique et les processus impliqués dans l’évolution d’une plante propagée végétativement par l’homme » (200,000 FF) (2001-2002)

-         Institut Français de la Biodiversité, “Dynamique de la coévolution en populations structurées : influence des perturbations naturelles et anthropiques sur le maintien de la diversité intra- et inter-spécifique dans un réseau coévolué de plantes et de fourmis” (310,000 FF) (2001-2003).

-         Ministry of Research and Higher Education, France, Program on impact of biotechnologies in agroecosystems, “Propagation de transgènes dans les populations polyvariétales des agroécosystèmes traditionnels: le cas du manioc, plante à système de reproduction mixte sexué/clonal” (FF 300,000) (2002-2003)

-         National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration, “Disturbance and maintenance of diversity in a coevolved ant-plant symbiosis” ($19,400) (2003-2004).

-         Institut Français de la Biodiversité, “En amont de la gestion participative des ressources génétiques : l’impact des pratiques et savoirs locaux sur l’évolution des populations de plantes domestiquées”, 109.000 € (2003-2005).

-         Ministère de l’Ecologie et du Développement Durable, France, programme “Ecosystèmes Tropicaux”, “Structuration spatiale de la diversité génétique des espèces spontanées de Manihot (Euphorbiaceae) en Guyane française : De la phylogéographie à la biologie de conservation des parents sauvages du manioc, 75.000 € (2003-2005).

-         Contrat Plan Etat-Region Guyane, 11.000 €, complementary funds for the cassava project (2003-2004).

-         Mission pour un parc dans le sud de la Guyane, 18.000 €, for helicopter missions to collect Manihot spp. from inselbergs in southern French Guiana (2003-2004).

-         Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, France, “Développement Durable et Dynamique des Savoirs Locaux sur les Ressources : Etudes de Cas en Milieux Tropicaux”, Action Concertée Incitative “Sociétés et Cultures dans le Développement Durable”, 15.000 € for a component comparing genetic diversity in cassava and its management in traditional agricultural settings in Amazonia and Africa (2004-2006).

-         Ministry of Research and Higher Education, France, Program on impact of biotechnologies in agroecosystems, Introgression du manioc domestique dans les populations d’espèces apparentées sauvages :  Implications pour la diffusion de transgènes (€ 111 000) (2004-2006).

-         Contrat Plan Etat-Region Guyane, 11.000 €, complementary funds for the cassava project (2006-2007).

-         Terra Ficaria Prize, Fondation Yves Rocher/Institut de France, 20 000€, for “Maintaining the evolutionary potential of a clonally propagated crop plant in an area of introduction: farmers’ perceptions and practices and the development of a secondary centre of cassava diversity in Vanuatu” (2006-current).

-         Programme interdisciplinaire Amazonie, CNRS Guyane, 40 000€ for “Prehistoric raised fields: their history, their soils, and their impact on the functioning of contemporary ecosystems in the coastal savannas of French Guiana” (2007-2008).

-         Programme interdisciplinaire Ingénierie Ecologique, CNRS, 23 000€ for « Buttes AutOrganisées : Gradients environnementaux, dynamique des populations d’ingénieurs naturels, et états stables alternatifs d’écosystèmes : applications de l’étude des savanes côtières guyanaises à la théorie et à la pratique de l’ingénierie écologique » (2008).

           Current grants :

-         Agence Nationale de la Recherche, France, 60.000 € for the component “ant-plant symbioses” of the project “Les îles forestières africaines : modèle d’une nouvelle approche de la dynamique de structuration de la biodiversité” (total 650 000 €); coordinator Michel Veuille, MNHN (2006-2009).

-         Génoscope, Centre National de Séquençage (France), “Understanding and conserving plant biodiversity across tropical forest biomes: a multi-level phylogenetic approach based on DNA sequences”. 2007-2008. I am principal investigator. Award of funding of 78 000 sequences, including barcoding (tree species of French Guiana, La Réunion) and sequencing of chloroplast genes for phylogeography (Central African forest trees).

-         Programme Amazonie Phase 2, CNRS Guyane, 200 000€ for “Ecology and archaeology of the coastal savannas of French Guiana: landscapes co-constructed by man and nature?” (2008-2011).

Evaluation and administration of research

- Member of numerous jurys (Ph.D. and ‘HDR’ [‘Habilitation to direct research’])

- Member of the Scientific Council, “Future of Tropical Forest Peoples”, a 5-year program (1995-2000) funded by the European Commission (DG VIII).

- Member of the Executive Council, Tropical Biology Association (European consortium for field courses in tropical biology), 1997-present.

- Named member of the Comité National du CNRS, section 30 (ecology and population biology), 2000.

- Expert, Mission Scientifique Universitaire, Ministry of Research and Higher Education, France, 2001.

- Expert, Ministère de l’Aménagement Territorial et de l’environnement: Commission ‘Invasions biologiques’, named to the commission in 2000

- Member, Comité de spécialistes, section CNU 67, Université Montpellier II

- Member, Conseil Scientifique, programme « Invasions Biologiques », MEDD (Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, France), 2002-2006

- President, Conseil Scientifique, programme “Sud Expert Plantes”, MAE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France), September 2006-present

- Member, Comité de Pilotage, programme IFORA (“Iles Forestières Africaines”), ANR Biodiversité (October 2006-present)

- Reviewer for ANR (French National Agency for Research), four panels : “Chaires d’Excellence”, “Jeunes Chercheurs”, “Biodiversité” and “Appels Blancs” (2006-present)

- Member of the Scientific Council, Programme Amazonie of the CNRS Guyane, 2007-present

- President of the Scientific Council, Programme Ecosystèmes Tropicaux (MEEDAD), 2008-present

- Reviewer for numerous professional journals (Evolution, Ecology, New Phytologist, Oikos, Oecologia, PNAS, Science, Nature,….) and granting agencies in several fields (biology, geography, anthropology).

- Reviewed (at the request of the University of Chicago Press) the English translation (‘To Be a Parasite’) by Daniel Simberloff of the book ‘L’art d’être Parasite’ by Claude Combes.

Teaching

Courses at all university levels, from first-year students to beginning and advanced graduate courses. Full service (192 hours equivalent) each year (on delegation to the CNRS, 2006-2007). Developed new courses at both introductory and advanced levels. These new courses include a 50-hour module in ‘Environment, Society, and Global Change’ for second-year university students (‘DEUG, 4ème période’), a 50-hour module in ‘Biocultural Interactions and Human Ecology’ for fourth-year students, and a 30-hour module in ‘Ethnoecology’ at the graduate level. Played a role in developing the ‘Unité de Découverte—Biodiversité’ for first-year students at Université Montpellier II. I taught in both teaching-oriented and research-oriented ‘filières’ in Licence (3rd-year) and Maîtrise (4th-year), and (since 2004) in the new  European LMD (Licence, Master, Doctorat) system. I am responsible for several courses in the Master, including ‘Ecology’ (conducted wholly in English) and ‘Biocultural Interactions and Human Ecology’. I am on the planning team for a “parcours” on tropical plant biodiversity of the Master BGAE (Biologie, Géoressources, Agronomie, Environnement) planned to begin in 2010.