Yves Basset, Ph.D.
Personal
Date and place of birth: 29-04-60, Geneva, Switzerland.
Nationality: Swiss.
Languages spoken: French and English fluent, limited command of Spanish,
German and Melanesian pidgin.
Marital status: Married.
Present Position
Scientific coordinator, Tropical Biology Canopy Program.
Contact Address
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon.
Panama City, Republic of Panama
Ph +507 212 8233, Fax +507 212 8148
E-mail: bassety@si.edu
Education
Ph.D., Biology, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, 1990
M.Sc., Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1985
Qualifications and Experience
2003-: Scientific coordinator, Tropical Canopy Biology Program, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
2003-: PI, IBISCA 2003-2005: Investigating the BIodiversity of Soil and Canopy Arthropods, Panama
2001: Contracted by the Smithsonian Institution, Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program, Washington, USA, to establish a parataxonomist and processing center in Gamba, Gabon.
2000-: Research associate, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, USA.
1998-: Postdoctoral fellow, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Research project in Panama on vertical gradients of insect diversity and abundance in tropical rain forests. Research associate, National University of Panama.
1995-1998: Contracted by the International Institute of Entomology, London. Research project in Guyana on the influence of selective logging on insect communities foraging on seedlings, sponsored by the Darwin Initiative for the Survival of the Species (U.K.).
1994-: Research associate, Bishop Museum, USA and Christensen Research Institute, USA - Papua New Guinea. Research project on the host specificity of insect herbivores associated with Moraceae, Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae, sponsored mainly by the National Science Foundation (USA).
1992-93: Postdoctoral fellow, Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland and University of Hawaii, USA. Research Associate, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, USA and Wau Ecology Institute, Papua New Guinea. Research project on insect species-richness and host-specificity in rain forests of Papua New Guinea.
1991: Operation "Radeau des Cimes 1991" ("Canopy Raft"), Cameroon. Joint project with G. Delvare and H.-P. Aberlenc (CIRAD, Montpellier) on the stratification of the arthropod fauna in a primary rain forest. Scientific adviser, Istituto di Entomologia agraria, Istituto di Biologia, Universita di Padova. Collaborative studies with Profs L. Masutti, V. Girolami and M.G. Paoletti, in agroecological entomology, and particularly on scolytid and cicadellid pests.
1990: Research associate, Museum of Geneva. Research on insect host-specificity in temperate woodlands, with special reference to plant architecture.
1989: Curatorial help in the Museum of Natural History of Geneva (classification of Lepidoptera).
1985-89: Awarded a Griffith University Postgraduate Research Scholarship for PhD programme in Division of Australian Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. Supervisors: Prof R.L. Kitching & Assoc. Prof. A.H. Arthington. Title of thesis: "The seasonal and spatial distribution of arboreal arthropods associated with the rainforest tree Argyrodendron actinophyllum". PhD degree awarded in 1990.
1986: Affiliated to the Queensland Museum, Brisbane (Australia).
1985: Scientific collaborator of the Museum of Natural History of Geneva (Switzerland).
1984-85: Full-time work at the British Museum (Natural History), London, on behalf of the Museum of Neuchâtel (studies on Diptera and Thysanoptera).
1984: Part-time work at the Museum of Natural History of Neuchâtel, on various coleopteran families, particularly Scolytidae.
1979-84: MsSc at the University of Neuchâtel (Institute of Zoology, Switzerland). Research Masters on "Arthropod communities associated with Pinus mugo Turra". Supervisor: Prof W. Matthey.
Research affiliations
2005-: Research Associate, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama.
2005-: Research Associate, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science, Brussels, Belgium.
2000-: Research Associate, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, USA.
1998- Research Associate, National University of Panama, Panama.
1992- Research Associate, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, USA.
1992-93: Research Associate, Wau Ecology Institute, Papua New Guinea.
1990: Research Associate, Museum of Geneva, Switzerland.
1986: Research affiliate to the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Australia.
Scholarships, Fellowships and Grants Awarded
2005: Research grant from the United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya: $25,000 (PI).
Research grant from the National Science Foundation, USA: $ 550,000 (to University of Minnesota, DEB, proposal 0515678). Co-principal investigator with G.D. Weiblen, S.E. Miller and V. Novotny.
2004: Organization of a 25-persons European Science Foundation workshop in Brussels (2005), focused on the IBISCA project. Euro 13,600. Co-PI with Maurice Leponce.
Research grant from the United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya: $25,000 (PI).
Research grant from the Walcott Trust Fund, Smithsonian Institution, USA: $ 20,000. Co-PI with S.J. Wright, S.E. Miller and H. Barrios.
Research grant from the Global Canopy Programme, UK: GBP 5,000. PI.
2003: Various research grants and in-house support (valued $ 72,500) for the IBISCA project in Panama (PI).
2002: Research grant from the National Science Foundation, USA: $ 340,471 (to University of Minnesota). Co-principal investigator with G.D. Weiblen, S.E. Miller and V. Novotny.
2001: Research grant from the National Science Foundation, USA, supplement: $ 42,000 (to Bishop Museum, Honolulu). Co-principal investigator with S.E. Miller, V. Novotny, L.J. Orsak and A. Allison.
1998: Earl S. Tupper postdoctoral fellowship in Tropical Biology, Smithsonian Institution, USA: $81,000.
1997: Research grant from the National Science Foundation, USA: $ 212,000 (to Bishop Museum, Honolulu). Co-principal investigator with S.E. Miller, V. Novotny, L.J. Orsak and A. Allison.
1996: Research grant from the National Science Foundation, USA: $ 60,000 (to Bishop Museum, Honolulu). Co-principal investigator with S.E. Miller, L.J. Orsak, A. Allison and V. Novotny.
1995: Research grant from the National Geographic Society, USA: $ 5,627.
1994: Research grant from the Christensen Research Institute, Madang, Papua New Guinea - USA: $ 36,000.Research grant from the National Science Foundation, USA: $ 30,000. Co-principal
investigator with S.E. Miller and A. Allison (Bishop Museum, Honolulu).
1992: Research grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland: FS 50,180.
1991: Research grant from the Opération Radeau des Cimes: FF 51,000. Joint project with G. Delvare et H.P. Aberlenc (CIRAD, Montpellier).
Research grant from the Natural History Museum of Geneva: FS 4,000.
Research grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland: FS 56,230.
1990: Research grant from the Natural History Museum of Geneva: FS 1,000.
1986: Travel grant from the Australian Museum: A$ 500.
1985-89: Griffith University Postgraduate Research Scholarship: A$ 45,000.
Grant income: as PI: $337,015; as Co-PI: $1,272,205; Total $1,609,220
Teaching Experience
2006-: Adjunct Professor, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Canada.
2006-: Lecturer, Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, USA (EEB338).
2006-: Associate supervisor of a PhD student at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand (Matthieu Rapp).
2006: Examiner for a PhD thesis submitted at the Curtin University of Technology, Australia.
2000: Two entomology courses of one week each taught at INPA, Manaus, and University Federal de Ouro Preto, Brazil.
1998-: Research affiliate, University of Panama.
1997-1998: Part-time lecturer at the University of Guyana, Georgetown.
1996-1998: Supervision of one MSc student at the University of Guyana, Georgetown.
1993: Examiner for a MsSc thesis submitted at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
1991: Supervision of MSc students at the University of Padova, Italy.
1985-89: Occasional tutoring at Griffith University, Australia.
1983: Taught mathematics in a Business School, Neuchâtel. Field instructor (ecology of wetlands) for the Swiss Nature Protection League.
Other Academic Experience
Scientific referee for the following journals, editors and institutions.
| On a Regular basis: | Irregularly: |
| Austral Ecology (Australian Journal of Ecology) | Academic Press |
| Biodiversity and Conservation | Acta Zoologica Mexicana |
| Biological Journal of the Linnean Society | BioScience |
| Biotropica | Ecological Applications |
| Ecological Entomology | Ecology |
| Journal of Animal Ecology | European Journal of Entomology |
| Journal of Applied Ecology | Journal of Tropical Forest Science |
| Journal of Tropical Ecology | Memoirs of the Queensland Museum |
| National Geographic Society | |
| National Science Foundation (USA) | |
| Plant Ecology | |
| Revue Suisse de Zoologie | |
| Selbyana | |
| Trends in Ecology & Evolution | |
| Journal of Insect Conservation | |
| Diversity and Distributions | |
| Czech Academy of Sciences | |
| Science | |
| Ecography |
Consultant for the FAO of the UN (AGPP), June - August 2000, to implement an introduction to tropical insect herbivores in the Ecoport database (www.ecoport.org).
Chairman of one of the plenary sessions of the 5th European Congress of Entomology, 1994 (York, U.K.).
Distinctions
Award A.-F. Schläfi, from the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences, 1996, ex-aequo (FS 2,500).
Research Interests
Insect-plant interactions and herbivory in the tropics; biodiversity and host-specificity of insect herbivores; insect spatial and temporal distribution; community structure and taxonomy of arboreal arthropods; tropical forest canopies; community ecology; parataxonomist training; arthropod conservation.
Society Memberships
American Institute of Biological Sciences, Association for Tropical Biology, Ecological Society of Australia, Entomological Societies of Geneva and Neuchâtel, International Canopy Network, Opération Canopée, Swiss Entomological Society.
Field experience and professional residence
Australia (4 years), Brazil, Cameroon, Costa Rica, France, French Guiana, Gabon (6 months), Guyana (3 years), Hawaii (1 year), Italy, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Panama (7 years), Papua New Guinea (3 years), Switzerland, Thailand.
Review of my research
Gaston, K. J. (1993) Herbivory at the limits. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8, 193-194.
[ Download PDF ]
Roslin, T. (2002) Herbivory passing the limits. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17, 355.
[ Download PDF ]
Didham, R.K. & Fagan, L.L. 2003. Project IBISCA – Investigating the biodiversity of soil and canopy arthropods. The Weta 26, 1-6.
[ Download PDF ]
Lewis, O.T. 2003. Book review: Arthropods of tropical forests: spatio-temporal dynamics and resource use in the canopy. Journal of Insect Conservation, 7, 187-188.
[ Download PDF ]
Roslin, T. 2003. Not so quiet on the high frontier. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18, 376-379.
[ Download PDF ]
Longino, J.T. 2004. Arthropods of the tropical canopy (and elsewhere). Ecology 85, 1170-1171.
[ Download PDF ]
Rejmánek, M. 2004. Book review: Arthropods of Tropical Forests: Spatio-temporal Dynamics and Resource Use in the Canopy. Plant Science Bulletin, 50, 16-17.
[ Download PDF ]
Raine, N. 2005. Arthropods of Tropical Forests: Spatio-temporal Dynamics and Resource Use in the Canopy. Animal Conservation, 8, 347.
[ Download PDF ]
Davis, AJ. 2006. Reaching for the skies: rainforest entomology aims high. Journal of Biogeography, 33, 191-192.
[ Download PDF ]
Aiello, A. 2006. Book review. Arthropods of Tropical Forests: Spatio-temporal Dynamics and Resource Use in the Canopy. European Journal of Entomology, 103, 253-254.
[ Download PDF ]
Kitching, R.L. 2006. Crafting the pieces of the diversity jigsaw puzzle. Science, 313, 1055-1057.
[ Download PDF ]
Stork, N.E. 2007. World of insects. Nature, 448, 657-658.
[ Download PDF ]
Symposia and Meetings organized
2005: Co-convenor with M. Leponce of the workshop ‘Unraveling the distribution of mega-biodiversity in complex ecosystems: Relationships between vertical gradients and beta-diversity of arthropods in tropical rainforests’. European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop EW04-049, 5-9 July 2005, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.
Organizer with A. Floren of the symposium ‘Arthropods in temperate and tropical forest canopies’, for the 4th International Canopy Conference, Leipzig, Germany, 10-17 July 2005.
Organizer with E.G. Oliveira & S.P. Ribeiro of the symposium ‘Arthropods of Tropical Canopies: Current Themes of Research’, for the annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Uberlandia, Brazil 24-28 July 2005.
2002: Organizer with H. Barrios of the symposium ‘Insects in tropical forest canopies’, for the annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology, Panama 29 June-3 July 2002.
2000: Organizer, with N. Novotny and S.E. Miller, of the symposium "Host and microhabitat use by arthropods in tropical forest canopies", for the XXI International Congress of Entomology in Iguassu Falls, Brazil, 20-26 August 2000.
Selected Invited Symposia and Meetings
2005: European Science Foundation and United Nations Environment Programme workshop ‘Unraveling the distribution of mega-biodiversity in complex ecosystems: Relationships between vertical gradients and beta-diversity of arthropods in tropical rainforests’. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, 5-9 July 2005, Belgium.
UNEP-Global Canopy Programme workshop: ‘Whole Forest Observatories: A Network for monitoring canopy biodiversity and global climate change’, St Anne college, 5-9 June 2005, UK.
Project IBISCA. Lecture at the Queensland Government Building, Brisbane, 22 March 2005. Invited by Griffith University (Prof R.L. Kitching).
2004: On the commonness of rarity. Workshop held at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 8 December 2004. “The significance of tropical forest canopies for biodiversity studies”, seminar held at McGill, 9 December 2004.
Three-week study period at the Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, U.K, 14 June to 4 July 2004. Host: Prof. H.C.J. Godfray.
2003: Biology and Biodiversity Inventory of Caterpillars, Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica, 19-28 June 2003. Sponsored by US National Science Foundation and ACG. PI: Prof. Daniel H. Janzen.
2002: Actualización de la Lista de Especies de Invetebrados de Panama, Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente, Panama City, 23 July 2002.
19º Congresso Brasileiro de Entomologia, Manaus, Brazil, 16-21 June 2002. “Collecting and analysing arthropod data: A practical example: Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on arthropods at Gamba, Gabon”.
Global Canopy Programme Workshop, Göttingen, Germany, 24-25 February 2002.
2001: Conservation International, Workshop on expanding the capacity to map invertebrates at a global scale, Harvard University, June 20.
1999: uropean Science Foundation, International Forest Canopy Research Planning Workshop, Oxford, 20-24 November.
Conservation International, Workshop on assessing and monitoring the status of biodiversity in tropical forest habitats, Washington, 4-8 October. "Diversity of insect herbivores in rain forests".
1998: European Science Foundation, Scientific Programme on Tropical Canopy Research, Final Conference, Oxford, 12-16 December. "Invertebrates in the canopy of tropical rain forests: how much do we really know?".
Second International Canopy Conference. Forest canopies: Global Perspectives. Sarasota, FL, 4-8 November. "Insect herbivores on parent trees and conspecific seedlings in a rain forest in Guyana".
1997: International Tropical Forest Canopy Symposium, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, 10-13 March. “The diversity of tropical insect herbivores: projects involving the international research group at Bishop Museum, Honolulu”.
1996: European Science Foundation, Scientific Programme on Tropical Canopy Research, Workshop on Protocols and Data Processing, Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain, 11-15 December.
CARINET, the sub-regional LOOP of BioNET-International. First LOOP Cordinating Committee Meeting, Port of Spain, Trinidad, 4-5 September.
1995: Second International European Science Foundation Workshop on Tropical Canopy Research, University of Ulm, Germany. "Host specificity of rainforest arthropods, with special reference to the canopy" (July).
International consultant for the Coleoptera TWIG workshop related to the "All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory" project directed by Prof. D.H. Janzen. Guanalcaste, 27 April - 7 May, InBio, Costa Rica.
1994: VI International Congress of Ecology, 21-26 August 1994, Manchester, U.K. "Species richness, host specificity and body size relationships of tropical insect herbivores".
1992: 43rd annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, Honolulu, USA. Symposium organised by the Association for Tropical Biology. "Patterns in the organisation of the arthropod community associated with an Australian rainforest tree: how distinct from elsewhere?".
1990: International Symposium on Agroecology and Conservation Issues in Temperate and Tropical Regions, University of Padova, Italy. "Species number, species abundance and body length of arboreal arthropods associated with an Australian rainforest tree".
1987: Annual meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, James Cook University, Townsville. "Sampling canopy arthropods in rain forests: the use of simple interception traps for studying the arboreal fauna of Argyrodendron actinophyllum Edlin (Sterculiaceae)".
Insect Species Dedicated
Agrilus basseti Curletti 2000 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) [Gabon]
Agrilus bassetianus Curletti 2003 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) [Gabon]
Agrilus yvesi Curletti 2005 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) [Panama]
Amblypsilopus basseti Bickel 1994 (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) [Australia]
Dasmeusa basseti Cavichioli & Chiamolera 1999 (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) [Guyana]
Franklinothrips basseti Mound & Marullo 1998 (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae) [Australia]
Peritropis basseti Moulds & Casson 2006 (Hemiptera: Miridae) [Australia]
Publications [link]
Articles in Popular Press
Basset, Y. & Springate, N.D. Les insectes ont besoin des arbres dont on besoin les ommes.
Le Nouveau Quotidient, 18 février 1993 [Swiss newspaper].
Basset, Y. Discovering Guyana's biodiversity the parataxonomist way - In search of beetles
and bugs. Guyana Chronicle, September 1, 1996 [Guyanese newspaper].
Basset, Y. From different worlds... A Guyanese parataxonomist in Papua New Guinea. Guyana Chronicle, July 19, 1998 [Guyanese Newspaper].
Novotny, V. & Basset, Y. From different worlds... Mangi binatang work together in Madang. The Independent, July 10th, 1998 [Papua New Guinean newspaper].
References
Dr Allen Allison
Dept of Natural Sciences, Bishop Museum, PO Box 19000, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817-0916, USA. Ph +1 808 847-3511, Fax +1 808 841-8968.
E-mail: allison@bishop.bishop.hawaii.org
Prof. Roger L. Kitching
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane QLD 4111,
Australia. Ph +61 07 875 7519/20, Fax +61 07 875 5014.
E-mail: r.kitching@mailbox.gu.edu.au
Dr Scott E. Miller
Senior Program Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for Science, Smithsonian Institution,
MRC 009 PO Box 37012, Washington DC 20013-7012, USA. Ph +1 202 633 5135, Fax +1 202 633 8942.
E-mail: millers@si.edu
Prof. Martine Rowell-Rahier
Institut de Zoologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Chantemerle 22, 2000 Neuchâtel,
Switzerland. Ph +41 38 23 31 37, Fax +41 38 23 30 01.
E-mail: martine.rowell@zool.unine.ch
Dr S. Joseph Wright
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Ancon, Panama City,
Republic of Panama. Fax +507 212 8148.
E-mail: WrightJ@si.edu