Robert M. May Prize

The Methods in Ecology and Evolution (MEE) Robert M. May Young Investigator’s Prize is named after Lord May, from the University of Oxford. The prize is awarded annually to the best paper submitted by a young author at the start of their research career.

If the first author of a paper considers that they are eligible for this award, they are invited to nominate themselves during the submission process through ScholarOne Manuscripts. Those nominated are typically under 30 years old and in the early stages of their research career, although slightly older authors who have had their careers in ecology interrupted or have developed later, can also be considered.

The winner is selected by the Editors of MEE at the end of each year, and an announcement made early in the following year. Along with this prestigious prize, the winner receives £250 and membership of the BES, which are presented at the BES Annual Meeting in the UK, if the winner can attend.

For further information and informal enquiries, contact Samantha Ponton, Methods in Ecology and Evolution Assistant Editor.

Further Information:

• Methods in Ecology and Evolution homepage
• BES publications homepage
• Virtual Issue: BES Young investigator prizes 2012

Winner of the Robert May Prize 2012

Sarah Papworth

The 2012 winner is Sarah Papworth, for her co-authored paper “ Movement ecology of human resource users: Using net squared displacement, biased random bridges and resource utilization functions to quantify hunter and gatherer behaviour” published in volume 3, issue 3 of Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Although GPS trackers can rapidly collect data on animal movement, methods for analysing this large amount of data are still being developed. Sarah’s paper describes a methodological framework for the analysis of GPS track records of foragers which routinely return to a central place after foraging, such as a den or nest. Her approach combines three existing methods within a flexible framework that permits accurate description of resource use and movement in humans and animals. This approach will be particularly useful for our understanding of human resource extraction and conservation planning.

Sarah studied a BA Honours in Anthropology at the University of Durham, which focused on human and primate behaviour. This lead to an interest in field biology in the tropics, and she went on to study blue monkeys in Uganda. Sarah then completed an MSc in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, and a PhD in Conservation Science, at Imperial College London, supervised by E.J. Milner-Gulland and Katie Slocombe (University of York). Her PhD focused on human and primate behaviour within the context of hunting by the Waorani of Amazonian Ecuador, and involved extensive fieldwork. Data collected for her PhD were used to illustrate the methodological framework developed by Sarah and her co-authors in the Robert M. May prize-winning paper. Sarah has just moved to Singapore, where she is currently a research fellow focusing on poverty and biodiversity at the National University of Singapore.

 Winner of the Robert May Prize 2011

Tyler Kuhn

The 2011 winner is Tyler Kuhn, for his co-authored paper “A simple polytomy resolver for dated phylogenies” published in volume 2, issue 5 of Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Unresolved nodes in phylogenetic trees (polytomies) have long been recognised for their influences on specific phylogenetic metrics such as topological imbalance measures, diversification rate analysis and measures of phylogenetic diversity. However, there was a need for biologically appropriate method to overcome the effects of this phylogenetic uncertainty. Tyler and co-authors present a simple approach to polytomy resolution, using biologically relevant models of diversification using free available software, BEAST and R. The paper should be useful for many future analysis of the mammalian supertree.

Raised in a small town in Canada’s far north, Tyler has always had a passion for understanding the natural world. This passion led him to the University of Victoria, where he completed his B.Sc. Honours in Earth Sciences in 2004. It was there that he discovered the world of paleontology. He returned to academia after spending several years working as a geologist to pursue his M.Sc in Quaternary paleontology. He completed this degree in 2010, focussing on the use of aDNA to improve our understanding of imperilled northern species, and to help inform management practices. During this time, he and his supervisor, Arne Mooers, became involved in a “side project” aimed at improving the usability of incompletely resolved phylogenies in conservation decision making processes. This work has since expanded far beyond his M.Sc. thesis to include several published papers, including the Robert May prize winning paper on resolving polytomies of dated supertrees. Tyler currently lives in Canada’s frigid north and works as a government biologist, paleontologist and independent researcher.

 Winner of the Robert May Prize 2010

Iain Stott

The 2010 winner is Iain Stott, for his co-authored paper “On reducibility and ergodicity of population projection matrix models,” published in volume 1, issue 3 of Methods in Ecology and Evolution. This paper was picked as it reviews the assumptions of matrix projection models that are currently very widely used in applied and theoretical modelling, but shows that many models do not adhere to these assumptions. It makes some surprising findings about how key ideas of reducibility and ergodicity have been overlooked. This will be especially useful for practitioners who wish to develop and apply models.
Iain Stott undertook his undergraduate degree in Conservation Biology and Ecology at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus. With the sun, sea, sand and science doing little to dissuade from staying, he continued on at the campus after graduating in 2008 to embark upon a PhD in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation under the supervision of Dr. David Hodgson and Prof. Stuart Townley.

His research focuses on models of the dynamics of populations of plants and animals. Such models are key to understanding both future population state as well as past evolutionary history, and can be manipulated and understood from new angles through employing tools borrowed from control systems engineering. Iain is interested in using such tools to improve the predictive power of population models to facilitate better conservation, and in the potential extension of such theory and methodology to other ecological and evolutionary systems. In particular, such work may help to understand the resilience of populations, species, communities and ecosystems in the face of global threats to biodiversity.