BioDiversity Research Institute

David G. Buck

Aquatic Ecologist and Tropical Program Director
david.buck@briloon.org

Education:

• B.A.,Latin American Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill, 1996
• M.S., Interdisciplinary Ecology, University of Florida, 2004

Biography:

David Buck is a limnologist with special interests in human-environment interactions and the conservation of aquatic ecosystems.  He has worked in both lotic and lentic systems in tropical and sub-tropical watersheds.  His research incorporates methods in aquatic ecology, nutrient biogeochemistry and physical geography.  The research is multidisciplinary and is conducted in collaboration with ecologists, geologists, anthropologists, and national and international conservation organizations.  He has conducted research in Belize, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Florida (USA).   David received a B.A. in Latin American Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill (1996) and a Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Ecology from the University of Florida (2004).  David is an NSF IGERT Fellow and is currently in the final year of his PhD in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Florida.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Land use/land cover change and its impact on aquatic ecosystems
• Human-climate-environment interactions in tropical watersheds
• Utilizing science to better inform resource management decisions related to aquatic ecosystems

Featured Publications:

• Escobar, J.E., D.G. Buck, M. Brenner, J.H. Curtis, and N. Hoyos. Thermal stratification, circulation patterns and heat budgets of Florida lakes. Fundamental and Applied Limnology. (accepted)
• Buck, D.G., P.C. Esselman, and J. Villafranco. Monitoring land use changes along riparian corridors in lowland tropical watersheds: application of human impact mapping and estimation of local stress intensity. Mesoamericana.  (in review).
• Catalano, M. J., D. G. Buck, M .S. Allen and J. Beaver. Effects of omnivorous fish biomanipulation on water quality and macrozooplankton at a subtropical lake.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.  (in review).
• DeArmond, B.S. M. Brenner, W.F. Kenney, D.A. Leeper, J. M. Smoak, J.H. Curtis, B.C. Shumate, and D.G. Buck. 2006. Radium-226 accumulation in sediments of a groundwater-augmented lake near Tampa, Florida, USA. Verh. Internat.Verein. Limnol. 29(3):1275-1279.
• Buck, D.G., M. Brenner, D.A. Hodell, J.H. Curtis, J.B. Martin and M. Pagani.  2005.  Physical and chemical properties of hypersaline Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic. Verh. Internat. Verein, Limnol. 29(2): 725-731.
• Hillesheim, M.B., D.A. Hodell, B.W. Leyden, M. Brenner, J.H. Curtis, F.S. Anselmetti, D. Ariztegui, D.G. Buck, T.P. Guilderson, S.D. Newell, M.F. Rosenmeier and D.W. Schnurrenberger. 2005. Lowland Neotropical climate change during the Last Deglacial and early Holocene. Journal of Quaternary Science 20: 363-376.
• McAnany, P.A., E. Harrison, P.A. Peterson, S. Morandi, S. Murata, B.S. Thomas, S.L. López Varela, D. Finamore, and D.G. Buck.  2004.  The Deep History of the Sibun River Valley.  Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 1: 295-310.
• Buck, D.G., M. Brenner, D.A. Hodell and J.H. Curtis.  2003.  Modern lake water chemistry and benthic faunal abundance in Lago Enriquillo, Dominican Republic - potential for a calibration data set for Holocene climate variability. Gulf Coast Association of Geological Sciences Transactions 53: 78-80.

Technical Reports

• Buck, D.G., P.C. Esselman, and E. Boles.  2008.  Status, needs, and future directions for effective freshwater conservation in Belize, Central America.  Final report submitted to The Nature Conservancy – Belize program.  37 p.
• Boles, E., D.G. Buck, and P.C. Esselman. 2008.  Synthesis of water resource conservation, management and research activities in the watersheds of Belize. Final report submitted to The Nature Conservancy – Belize program.  108 p. + appendices.
• Esselman, P.C. and D.G. Buck.  2007.  Hydrologic assessment of the Monkey River Watershed, Belize: Phase 1 – Human impact mapping along the Monkey River and its main tributaries. Final report submitted to Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment, Punta Gorda, Belize.  20 p.