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PhD Program
H. Bruce Rinker
H. Bruce Rinker is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Environmental Studies at Antioch University New England. In Sarasota, Florida, he directs the Center for Canopy Ecology at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, the only such center at a botanical garden anywhere in the world. He is a National Fellow of the Explorers Club and an active member of the New York and Florida Academies of Science, the Society for Conservation Biology,the Association for Tropical Biology, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, the Aldo Leopold Society, and others.
Bruce’s dissertation research investigates the effects of canopy herbivory on soil microarthropods in the tropical rainforests of eastern Puerto Rico. Specifically, the project attempts to establish quantifiable links between arthropod activity above- and below-ground via manipulations of frassfall, greenfall, and throughfall. Litter samples are analyzed for springtails, mites, pseudoscorpions, tardigrades, and other mesofauna. His year-long study has two hypotheses: herbivore-derived inputs from canopy to forest floor influence decomposition processes, and the timing of inputs and subsequent floor responses vary between temperate and tropical forests. Colleagues from the University of Georgia recently concluded a parallel project in the western mountains of North Carolina. Upon completion of his current study, Bruce plans to extend his research into the subtropics of southwestern Florida for comparative ecological purposes. He is committed to understanding temporal/spatial connections between canopies and soils as an important step toward long-term conservation of temperate and tropical forest resources.
Bruce’s current research is funded by the National Science Foundation, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundations 2000 Switzer Environmental Fellowship, the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and several private grants.
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