Brian J. Enquist Explained

Brian J. Enquist
Birth Place:	United States
Citizenship:	American
Thesis Title:	On the origin and consequences of allometric scaling in biology.
Thesis Year:	1998
Work Institutions:	University of ArizonaThe Santa Fe Institute
Doctoral Advisor:	James H. Brown
Known For:	Metabolic Scaling Theory Macroecology

Brian Joseph Enquist is an American biologist and academic. Enquist is a professor of biology at the University of Arizona.^[1] He is also external professor at the Santa Fe Institute.^[2] He is a biologist, plant biologist and an ecologist. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012^[3] and the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in 2018.^[4]

Research

His lab works on developing a more integrative, quantitative, and predictive framework for biology,^[5] community ecology,^[6] and large-scale ecology.^[7] His research is notable for three areas in biology and ecology:

(1) Scaling in Biology – Enquist is notable in biology for his work with Geoffrey West and James H. Brown, in understanding the origin and diversity of organismal form, function, and diversity by developing general models for the origin of allometry and scaling laws in biology. This research,^[8] shows how general scaling laws underlie organismal form, function, and diversity and can be used to 'scale up' biological processes from genes to cells to ecosystems.^{[9] [10] [11]} This work is also the foundation for the Metabolic Theory of Ecology.

(2) Functional Plant Ecology and Trait-based biology – Enquist has worked to develop Trait Driver Theory or TDT with Van M. Savage, Jon Norberg and colleagues.^[12] TDT provides a general theory of Functional ecology in that it provides a baseline for (i) recasting the predictions of ecological theories based on species richness (see Coexistence theory) in terms of the shape of trait distributions and (ii) integrating Metabolic Scaling Theory how specific traits, including body size, and functional diversity then ‘scale up’ to influence ecosystem functioning and the dynamics of species assemblages across climate gradients. Further, TDT offers a novel framework to integrate trait, metabolic/allometric, and species-richness-based approaches and theory to better predict functional biogeography and how assemblages of species have and may respond to climate change.

Education and honors

Education

Enquist received a Bachelor of Artsin Biology in 1991 from Colorado College and a Ph.D. in Biology in 1998 from the University of New Mexico.

Honors

• George Mercer Award^[13] (Ecological Society of America), (2001)
• Honorary Degree, PhD in Science, Colorado College, (2007).^[14]
• Eminent Ecologist, Kellogg Biological Station,^[15] (2010)
• Visiting Fellow ^[16] Oxford Martin School, Oxford University, UK, (2017)
• ESA Fellow^[17] Ecological Society of America, (2018)

External links

• Home Page
• "New York Times" article about Dr.Enquist's work on biological scaling
  • 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival - Climate change and the fate of our forests
• 2017 Oxford Martin School Lectures - The concept of time in biology, and the unity of life
• Enquist's 2015 public lecture 'Life on Earth: By Chance or By Law?'

Notes and References

1. https://eeb.arizona.edu/people/dr-brian-enquist EEB Faculty Page
2. https://www.santafe.edu/people/profile/brian-enquist SFI Faculty Page
3. https://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/AR_2012_AAAS-fellows.pdf '2012 AAAS Fellows Announcement'
4. Ecological Society of America Announces 2018 Fellows . 10.1002/bes2.1404 . The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America . 2018 . 99 . 3 . 299–303 . 240444011 . free .
5. McGill . B. J. . Enquist . B.J. . Weiher . W. . January 2006 . Rebuilding community ecology from functional traits . Trends in Ecology and Evolution . 21 . 4 . 178–185 . 10.1016/j.tree.2006.02.002. 16701083 .
6. Enquist . B. J. . Norberg . J. . Bonser . S.P. . Violle . C. . Webb . C.T.. Henderson . A. . Sloat . L.L. . Savage . V.M.. 2015 . Scaling from Traits to Ecosystems: Developing a General Trait Driver Theory via Integrating Trait-Based and Metabolic Scaling Theories . Trends in Ecology and Evolution . 52 . 249–318 . 10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.02.001. 1502.06629 . 477665 .
7. Convergence of terrestrial plant production across global climate gradients . 10.1038/nature13470 . 2014 . Michaletz . Sean T. . Cheng . Dongliang . Kerkhoff . Andrew J. . Enquist . Brian J. . Nature . 512 . 7512 . 39–43 . 25043056 . 4463144 .
8. News: Of Mice and Elephants: a Matter of Scale . The New York Times . 12 January 1999 . Johnson . George .
9. The Fourth Dimension of Life: Fractal Geometry and Allometric Scaling of Organisms . 10.1126/science.284.5420.1677 . 1999 . West . Geoffrey B. . Brown . James H. . Enquist . Brian J. . Science . 284 . 5420 . 1677–1679 . 10356399 .
10. A general model for ontogenetic growth . 10.1038/35098076 . 2001 . West . Geoffrey B. . Brown . James H. . Enquist . Brian J. . Nature . 413 . 6856 . 628–631 . 11675785 . 4393103 .
11. Allometric scaling of plant energetics and population density . 10.1038/25977 . 1998 . Enquist . Brian J. . Brown . James H. . West . Geoffrey B. . Nature . 395 . 6698 . 163–165 . 204996904 .
12. Brown, Enquist, B.J., Norberg, J., Bonser, S.P., Violle, C., Webb, C.T., Henderson, A., Sloat, L.L. & Savage, V.M. . Scaling from traits to ecosystems: developing a general trait driver theory via integrating trait-based and metabolic scaling theories.. Advances in Ecological Research . 52 . 249–318) . 2015 . 10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.02.001. 1502.06629. 477665.
13. http://esa.org/history/mercer-award/ George Mercer Award
14. Web site: Recipients - Colorado College.
15. http://www.kbs.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Eminent_Ecologists_Program_to_2015.pdf Eminent Ecologist, Kellogg Biological Station
16. Web site: Visiting Fellow . 2017-02-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080841/http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/people/774 . 2017-02-11 . dead .
17. https://www.esa.org/esa/about/esa-fellows-program/esa-fellows/ ESA Fellow