News

Robert D. Holt of the University of Florida Department of Biology has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), joining the ranks of leading scientists recognized for their distinguished achievements in research.

An Eminent Scholar in Biology and the Arthur R. Marshall, Jr., Chair in Ecological Studies, Holt is known for research in theoretical and conceptual ecology, as well as the intersection of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Holt was named among 120 new U.S. members and 30 international members announced by the NAS on Tuesday, May 3. Membership is one of the most prestigious honors bestowed to scientists. The academy, established as a private, non-profit institution by congressional charter in 1863, serves the federal government by providing scientific policy advice. Holt is the 21st University of Florida faculty member to be elected to the NAS, and the 12th from the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Holt contributes prolifically to the fields of evolutionary, population, and community ecology. With over 40 years of research, he has gone beyond traditional analyses to explore ecosystems in all their complexity. His work has advanced knowledge of the population and community levels of ecological organization, species coexistence and spatial and evolutionary aspects of ecology, including both theoretical and experimental studies.

“Being named to the National Academy of Sciences reflects not only my own contributions, and the importance of my field of ecology in the landscape of science, but also my rich and ongoing engagement with this community of scholars and friends,” Holt said.

---

As Director of the Arthur R. Marshall, Jr., Ecological Sciences Laboratory, Holt is involved in large-scale studies in landscape and invasion ecology, and he collaborates with many scientists within UF, around the USA, and overseas. Holt received his PhD from Harvard University in 1979. He joined the University of Florida faculty in 2001, after 22 years as a faculty member at the University of Kansas.

“Throughout my career I have enjoyed rewarding intellectual interactions with wonderful colleagues, collaborators, and students across the US and around the world,” said Holt, noting in particular the faculty of the University of Kansas and the University of Florida. “Being named to the National Academy of Sciences reflects not only my own contributions, and the importance of my field of ecology in the landscape of science, but also my rich and ongoing engagement with this community of scholars and friends.”

Holt’s recognition by the National Academy of Sciences is the latest in a long list of honors. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the 2019 Eminent Ecologist Award, presented by the Ecological Society of America, in honor of his contributions to ecology. In 2014, Holt was awarded the Per Brinck Oikos Award in Sweden for his imaginative experimental work and theoretical innovation. Other awards include the International Ecology Institute Prize in Terrestrial Ecology from Germany and the Sewall Wright Award from the American Society of Naturalists. He has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Holt has held editorial roles for premier scientific journals, including Evolution and American Naturalist. In addition to his many scientific papers, Holt has edited titles including Metacommunities: Spatial Dynamics and Ecological Communities and Unsolved Problems in Ecology.

He has worked on a wide variety of topics, ranging from indirect interactions and food dynamics in complex ecosystems, to the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, to habitat fragmentation and other topics in spatial ecology, to issues at the interface of ecology and evolutionary biology, such as niche conservatism and evolutionary rescue in rapidly changing environments.

“While absorbing this completely unexpected news — an honor I indeed take pride in — I have reflected on how fortunate I have been in the intellectual nurturing and support I have enjoyed through my life,” Holt said. “This started early with the emphasis on learning and nature provided by my parents Dan and Henrietta Holt in Tennessee, and our kin. Then I had the support of my wife Lynne and our families in my adult years.”

Holt will attend an induction ceremony in Washington, D.C. in spring of 2023. During the event, Holt will add his name to the NAS register, which features signatures of NAS members dating back to the mid-19^th century.

Learn more about Holt’s research here.