Professor Toby Pennington
Professor of Tropical Plant Diversity and Biogeography
T.Pennington@exeter.ac.uk
3342
Laver Building 801b
Laver Building, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK
Overview
**Please visit my personal webpage which give more details of research projects”
I am a Professor of Tropical Plant Diversity and Biogeography. My research and teaching interests are broad, ranging from plant biogeography to palaeoecology to conservation. My background is in the tropics, especially Latin America, where I have worked across 10 countries. In recent years most of my research has focused on biodiversity, biogeography and ecology of dry biomes in the tropics. Much of my work has had clear implications for conservation and livelihoods, and this continues in new projects with focus on agroforestry and ecosystem restoration in some of the world’s most threatened tropical forests and savannas.
I joined the University of Exeter in 2017 from The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) where I was Head of Tropical Diversity, responsible for a group of 30 including PhD students, associate researchers and eight core-funded PhD level scientific staff. I still maintain a part-time position at RBGE.
I chair the University's Global Challenges Research Fund Funder Advisory Network (GCRF FAN) committee, and sit on the Major Funders Strategy Group and the Global Strategy Working Group.
Broad research specialisms:
Plant biogeography, plant taxonomy and floristic inventory, phylogenetics, conservation
Qualifications
BA Botany (Oxford)
DPhil Botany (Oxford)
Research group links
Research
Research interests
My research has aimed to address one of the fundamental questions of tropical biology – how and when did the huge species numbers in the tropics arise? It is grounded in fundamental descriptive taxonomic, inventory and phylogenetic research, which provides the foundation to address biogeographic and evolutionary questions.
Principal areas of recent research include:
Floristic inventory and conservation of neotropical dry forests
Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) occur as fragments throughout Latin America. They are the world's most threatened tropical forest but receive far less scientific and conservation attention than rain forests. I developed and lead the DRYFLOR network that now brings together more than 100 workers in SDTF floristics and conservation from across Latin America and the Caribbean. DRYFLOR has developed the first comprehensive dataset of the flora of neotropical SDTF across their full range. DRYFLOR’s data are freely available and they help to pinpoint priority conservation areas.
Biogeography and Phylogeny
My research has focused on legumes, the third largest flowering plant family, which has a global distribution and enormous economic importance (e.g., peas, beans, lentils, soy). I have taken a leading role in the Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG) that aims to develop collaborative research towards a comprehensive phylogeny and classification for legumes. Because legume trees dominate the tropical forests and savannas of Africa and the New World, they are an excellent exemplar to investigate key questions of tropical biogeography and diversification. My research has demonstrated that historical dispersal, even across major oceans, is a driving force shaping tropical plant distributions and is a key factor controlling the assembly of the world’s richest tree communities in Amazonia. Another theme has been to investigate whether the distinct ecologies of different major vegetation formations (biomes) lead to distinct patterns of biogeography and evolution over evolutionary timescales.
Other phylogenetic research addresses how plant defences against herbivores have evolved and how have they influenced species radiations in the tropics. This collaboration with University of Utah, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and University of Edinburgh has offered an excellent opportunity to develop expertise in the application of next-generation DNA sequencing to front-line tropical biodiversity problems, and we published one of the first papers on the hybrid-capture technique in plant phylogenetics.
Research projects
An overarching goal is to develop leadership in monitoring of biodiversity, carbon stored in forests, tree growth, and tree mortality in Latin America beyond rain forests and into tropical dry forests. This work has been supported by UK (NERC)-Brazil (Newton/FAPESP/FAPERJ) funding and forms a platform for ecological, biogeographic and evolutionary research.
Other research aims to address the challenges of conserving and restoring tropical vegetation in a manner that considers the livelihoods of local populations. One project in this area focuses on the legume tree genus Inga, which has fast growth rates, edible fruits and the ability to fix nitrogen, and so has excellent properties for agroforestry systems. This work has been supported by BBSRC and GCRF, and has taken advantage of hybrid-capture phylogenetic techniques to pinpoint species with high potential in agroforestry and silvo-pastoral systems. Ultimately, the work aims to enhance emerging agrosystems which integrate sustainable food production with maintenance of ecosystem services, soil fertility and biodiversity across Latin America.
Grants/Funding:
Major grants
£101,000 Royal Society - Newton International Fellowship to Dr Moabe Fernandes (Brazil): Large scale macro-ecological patterns and conservation priority in the Americas: a view from thje legume family (Host/lead supervisor).
£795,000 Does hybridisation promote tree species diversification in the Amazon? NERC Standard Grant (PI 2021)
£102,000 WWF and University of Exeter Alumni (PhD scholarship). “Facilitating large-scale restoration of Brazilian Savannas” (PI/Lead supervisor,2020)
£54,910 University of Exeter GCRF Facilitation Fund “Investigating the contributions of women’s agroforestry activities to renegotiating gender equality and food security in Brazil” (PI, 2020)
£2,000,000 Resolving the current and future carbon dynamics of the dry tropics SECO. NERC large grant (coI, 2020)
£615,572 Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) for a Global Research Translation Award (GRTA). Toby Pennington is PI for one strategic priority project (£200K) within it, entitled “Diversifying tree based grazing systems to create smallholder price premium opportunities for milk production in the Amazonian Arc of Deforestation” (2019)
£820,000 NERC + 2.6M Reis [£650K] FAPESP: “Restoring Neotropical dry ecosystems - is plant functional composition the key to success?” (co-I with PI Lucy Rowland, U Exeter; 2018)
£1,374,703 NERC-AHRC Newton Fund ColombiaBio “BioResilience: Biodiversity resilience and ecosystem services in post-conflict socio-ecological systems in Colombia” (co-I with PI Ted Feldpausch, U Exeter; 2018)
£300,000 British Council “Botanical Resources Available Online (BRAVO) for the Colombian flora” (co-I with PI James Richardson, RBGE; 2018)
£62,500 British Council (Newton Fund Latin America Biodiversity Researcher Links Workshop) “Valuing biodiversity and developing ecosystem service delivery model in densely inhabited Latin American dry and montane forests” (PI; 2018)
£600,000 BBSRC (Global Challenges Research Fund): “Improving agroforestry and silvopastoral systems in Latin America by maximising species and genetic diversity of the multipurpose legume Inga” (PI; 2017).
£2,000,000 UK (RCUK) – Brazil (CONFAP-FAPESP) Newton Fund: “Nordeste: new science for a neglected biome” (co-I; 2016)
£80,760 UK (RCUK) - Brazil (CONFAP) Newton Fund: “Dry forest biomes in Brazil: biodiversity and ecosystem services” (PI; 2015)
£125,000 Leverhulme Trust International Network: “A Latin American Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Floristic Network (DRYFLOR)” (PI; 2012)
£589,090 NERC: “Niche evolution of South American trees and its consequences” (PI; 2011)
US$1,999,882 NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity: “Dimensions: Coexistence, herbivore host choice, and plant-herbivore evolution in the recently radiated and speciose Neotropical tree genus, Inga” (PIs Phyllis Coley, Thomas Kursar, University of Utah; funding for 4 years postdoc for Inga/herbivore phylogenetics and Inga functional genomics in Edinburgh; 2011)
£25,000 BBSRC/NERC SynTax: “Chemistry, taxonomy and diversification in tropical plants: a case study of Inga” (PI; 2011)
£78,000 UK Government Darwin Initiative: “Tree diversity, agroforestry development and reafforestation in the Peruvian Andes” (PI; 2004)
£86,000 (191,000 Swiss Francs) Swiss National Science Foundation “South American seasonally dry tropical forests: are they current refugia or the result of long distance dispersal?” (co-PI; 2003)
£166,000 UK Darwin Initiative: “Tree Diversity and Agroforestry Development in the Peruvian Amazon” (PI; 2000)
£100,000 Leverhulme Trust: “Historical Biogeography of South American Seasonal Forests” (PI; 1998)
£125,000 SEERAD Flexible Fund: “Molecular Systematics of the Economically Important Neotropical Legume Genus Inga” (co-PI; 1998)
Publications
Journal articles
Chapters
Conferences
External Engagement and Impact
Awards/Honorary fellowships
International Association for Plant Taxonomy Stebbins Award for outstanding publication in systematics and/or evolution (with lead author Tiina Sarkinen (ex-PhD student) and coauthors Matt Lavin, Marcelo Simon, Colin Hughes; 2016)
Visiting Professor, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh (2010-present)
Linnean Society of London Bicentenary Medal (awarded annually to a biologist under 40 for research achievement; 2003)
Committee/panel activities
Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, evaluation of grants for Biology (2012-2015)
UK Natural Environment Research Council, Peer Review College (2008-2011)
Council, International Association for Plant Taxonomy (2005-2011)
Editorial responsibilities
Senior editor, Plant Diversity, Plants, People, Planet (2017-present)
Editorial Advisory Board, Kew Bulletin (2003-present)
Editorial Board, Taxon (2009-2017)
Editorial Board, BMC Evolutionary Biology (2010-2014)
Invited lectures
University of Oxford, Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests (Department of Geography; 2022)
El estudio y conservación de los bosques secos de Latinoamérica, FESIztacala-UNAM, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Mexico. Opening plenary speaker (2021, in Spanish)
50 years of research in the Chamela biological station Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico: “The dry tropics: plant diversity, biogeography and conservation”. Plenary speaker (2021)
University of Montreal and Montreal Botanical Garden (2020)
UNIMONTES, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil (2020; in Portuguese)
Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Peru (2020; in Spanish)
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig (2020)
Los bosques secos latinoamericanos: entenderlos para conservarlos (Latin American dry forests, understanding for conservation), University of Piura, Peru (plenary speaker, 2019). http://udep.edu.pe/hoy/2019/las-personas-deben-conocer-los-bosques-secos-para-que-puedan-cuidarlos/
Plants, People, Planet Symposium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYagysOIvT8)
Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (STDF ) in Northeastern Brazil, Fortaleza, Brazil (invited plenary speaker; 2019)
WWF UK (Invited talk to support their 2019 cerrado campaign – “Why is the cerrado amazing?” (2018)
Latin American Botanical Congress, Quito, Ecuador (2018)
British Council – Newton Fund, International Workshop on Tropical Dry Forests, Lima, Peru (2018; invited opening speaker)
7th International Legume conference, Sendai, Japan (2018)
International Congress of Conservation Biology, Cartagena, Colombia (2017)
Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation; Montpellier, France (2016)
10th Biennial Conference of the Systematics Association; Oxford (2015)
Latin American Botanical Congress, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (2014)
UK Plant Evolution, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2014)
Plant evolutionary radiations, University of Zurich, Switzerland (2014)
Biodiversity and the BioEconomy in Brazil, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas de Amazonia, Brazil (2014)
64th Brazilian Botanical Congress, Belo Horizonte, Brazil (2013; plenary speaker)
The Prince’s Charities’ International Sustainability Unit, Critical Challenges and Opportunities for Tropical Forest Science, The Royal Society and State Apartments, St. James’s Palace, Clarence House (2013)
International Botanical Congress, Melbourne, Australia (2011; 2 presentations)
British Ecological Society Annual Symposium, “Forests and global change” (2011; plenary speaker)
DIVERSITAS International Open Science Conference, Cape Town, South Africa (2009)
International Biogeography Society, Merida, Mexico, invited speaker (2009)
Jean Andrews Visiting Fellow, University of Texas, Austin (3 lecture series, 2009)
III Congreso de ecosistemas secos, Santa Marta, Colombia, plenary speaker (in Spanish, 2008)
Media Coverage
Coverage of grants, and papers in Science and PNAS on BBC website:
Live fast, die young strategy spawned Amazon tree boom (2014). http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26434264
Dry tropical forests 'overlooked and under threat'. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37440485
History sheds light on Amazon's rich tree diversity. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38969249
'Green gold' tree offers Brazil deforestation hope. Coverage of GCRF funded agroforestry and silvopastoral projects, BBC website https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50200142
Live interviews:
BBC Radio 4, Farming Today. Interview covering the environmental effects of soy on tropical ecosystems and the role of the UK consumer and UK supermarkets (8.20)
University of Exeter. Interview covering research into dry forests and why Earth Day is important for raising awareness of biodiversity and climate issues. (4.20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2tmpipQ6X0
BBC 5 Live plus "In Short" podcast feed. Interview covering why tree planting in the dry tropics may be environmentally problematic https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/short/why-planting-trees-isnt-always-good-idea (11.19)
John Bachelor Show, USA, 20 minute live interview covering tropical dry forests (2016: https://audioboom.com/posts/5163235-dry-forests-climate-change-toby-pennington-thebotanics-royal-botanical-garden-edinburgh-scotland-sciencemagazine)
BBC Radio Scotland, live interview covering the evolutionary history and use of cocoa (2015)
BBC Radio Scotland and BBC news 24, live interviews covering why plant species extinctions matter (2010)
Significant Impact
Animated film to raise awareness of tropical dry forest (http://www.dryflor.info/page/movies), which has received > 80,000 youtube views, exceptional for a scientific film, and which was selected for screening at a series of international environmental film festivals in Europe and Latin America.
Teaching
Wider opportunities to communicate the importance of plant diversity to humanity, and the wonders of plant biogeography, were a major motivation to move from a research institute to the University of Exeter. I have taught earth system science to first year Geogrqaphy undergraduates, contribute to undegraduate teaching in BioSciences, co-lead a third year Geography Module on Plant Biogeography, and contribute to the Green Planet module of the MSc in Global Sustanability Solutions.Modules
2023/24
Supervision / Group
Research Fellows
- Moabe Fernandes Royal Society Newton fellowship (2021-23) “Large scale macro-ecological patterns and conservation priority in the Americas: a view from the legume family”
Postdoctoral researchers
- Dr Peter Moonlight (NERC Newton PDRA 2017-2020): Newton funded project on Brazilian caatinga dry forests
- Flavia Pezzini Exeter funded postdoc: legume phylogeny and evolution
- Rosalia Pineiro BBSRC-GCRF funded postdoc “Improving agroforestry and silvopastoral systems in Latin America by maximising species and genetic diversity of the multipurpose legume Inga”
- Rowan Schley NERC funded researcher co-investigator (2021-2024): the significance of hybridisation in the evolution of the Amazonian tree flora,
- Saulo Souza BBSRC GCRF project “Improving agroforestry and silvopastoral systems in Latin America by maximising species and genetic diversity of the multipurpose legume Inga” (2018-2021). He took this work forward in our GCRF GRTA project “Diversifying tree bas
Postgraduate researchers
- Hannah Atkins University of Edinburgh (2015-2020) 'Systematics and biogeography of Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae)' Supervisors: Mark Hughes, Toby Pennington
- Thomas Bailey University of Exeter MRes (2021-23) "Investigating the Effect of Multitemporal Land Use Changes to the Middle Magdalena River Valley on the Abundance and Distribution of Important Tree Species"
- Kelly Bocanegra Gonzalez Kelly Bocanegra Gonzalez, University of Edinburgh and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2020-2024) "A phylogenetic and transcriptomic study of Inga in Colombia". Supervisors: Catherine Kidner, Toby Pennington, Kyle Dexter
- Le Min Choo University of Exeter (2022-2025). "Phylogeny, biogeography, and the role of past and present hybridisation in understanding future evolutionary trends of a tropical tree genus, Sindora (Fabaceae, Detarioideae)"
- Rosie Clegg University of Exeter NERC DTP (2021-2024). "Biodiversity, biogeography, conservation and restoration of isolated inselberg vegetation in the dry biomes of Latin America".
- Natalia Contreras University of Edinburgh and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2018-2022). "Population genetics and phylogenomics of the genus Guazuma" Supervisors: Catherine Kidner, James Richardson, Toby Pennington
- Jack William Oughton University of Exeter NERC DTP (2019-2023) "Late glacial abrupt climate events in tropical South America"
- Flávia Pezzini University of Edinburgh (2015-2018) 'Systematics and biogeography of Ceiba (Malvaceae-Bombacoideae)' Supervisors: Toby Pennington, Catherine Kidner
- Gustavo Ramos Gustavo Ramos, University of Edinburgh and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2019-2023). "Biogeography and evolution of floral form in Aldina (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae)" Supervisors: Toby Pennington, Catherine Kidner
- Jessica Rickenback University of Edinburgh (2017-2021) 'Savannas at the forest boundary: an understudied and at risk biome with an uncertain future' Supervisors: Caroline Lehmann, Toby Pennington
- Jess Rickenback University of Edinburgh (2017-2021) Savannas at the forest boundary: an understudied and at risk biome Supervisors: Caroline Lehmann, Toby Pennington
- Mateus Silva University of Exeter (WWF and Exeter Alumni funded) (2021-2024). "Restoration of the Brazilian cerrado savannas"
- Lucy Wells University of Edinburgh (NERC SENSE CDT - Centre for Satellite Data in Environmental Science) (2020-2023) Using remote sensing to understand global change in the dry tropics. Supervisors: Casey Ryan, Kyle Dexter, Toby Pennington, Oliver Phillips, Tim Baker
Research Technicians
- Graeme Oatley Technician working on the NERC-FAPESP Newton-funded “Nordeste” project. He was based in the BioSciences labs in Exeter and produced DNA sequences for caatinga plants to generate community phylogenetic estimates and understand the nature of caatinga species.
Alumni
- Ms Alexandra Clark (NERC technician, 2012-2016): Lab technician (niche evolution of South American trees)
- Dr Kyle Dexter (US NSF Overseas Postdoctoral Fellow; 2011) Phylogeny and biogeography (niche evolution of South American trees)
- Dr Danilo Neves (NERC PDRA 2012-2015): Niche evolution of South American trees.
- Dr James Nicholls (US-NSF funded postdoc based at University of Edinburgh and RBGE 2012-2017): Plant herbivore interactions in Inga
- Ms Julia Weintritt (2012-2016): Floristic inventory and conservation of neotropical dry forests (network facilitator for Leverhulme-funded DRYFLOR International Network)
Office Hours:
Office hours (term time only) are either in my office or online. Please email me for an appointment.