Manuel Molles is a Professor of Biology at the University of New Mexico, where he has been a member of the faculty and Curator for the Museum of Southwestern Biology since 1975. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in fisheries from Humboldt State University in 1971, and his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Arizona in 1976. His dissertation topic was "Fish Species Diversity on Model and Natural Patch Reefs: Experimental Insular Biogeography." Manuel has taught and conducted ecological research in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. He was awarded a Fulbright Research Fellowship to do research on river ecology in Portugal, and has been a visiting professor at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain, and at the University of Montana. Originally trained as a marine ecologist and fisheries biologist, the author has worked mainly on river and riparian ecology at the University of New Mexico. His research has covered a wide range of ecological levels, including behavioral ecology, population biology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, biogeography of stream insects, and the influence of a large-scale climate system (El Nino) on the dynamics of southwestern river and riparian ecosystems. His current research concerns the effects of flooding and exotic vegetation on the structure and dynamics of the Rio Grande riparian ecosystem. Just recently, Manuel took part in a PBS television documentary on environmental problems in the U.S.-Mexico border area. The program is to be aired sometime in February, 1999. Manuel says he authored Ecology: Concepts and Applications because he was "searching for a text that captured the diverse and dynamic field of ecology while also serving the needs of the students; one that used stories and practical applications to teach the basic principles of ecology." He couldn't find that text--so he wrote it! The author lives with his wife, and two children, in Albuquerque. His hobbies include skiing, hiking, fishing, gardening, music, and traveling. Click here to forward a comment, or ask the author a question. |
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education