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John W. Terborgh

James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences
Environmental Natural Science
Box 90381, Durham, NC 27708-0381
3705C Erwin Rd, Durham, NC 27705-5015

Overview


John W. Terborgh is a James B. Duke Professor of Environmental Science and is Co-Director of the Center for Tropical Conservation at Duke University. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, and for the past thirty-five years, he has been actively involved in tropical ecology and conservation issues. An authority on avian and mammalian ecology in neotropical forests, Dr. Terborgh has published numerous articles and books on conservation themes. Since 1973 he has operated a field station in Peru's Manu National Park where he has overseen the research of more than 100 investigators. Dr. Terborgh earlier served on the faculties of the University of Maryland and Princeton University. In June 1992 he was awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of his distinguished work in tropical ecology, and in April 1996 he was awarded the National Academy of Science Daniel Giraud Elliot medal for his research, and for his book Diversity and the Tropical Rainforest. He has served on several boards and advisory committees related to conservation, including the Wildlands Project, Cultural Survival, The Nature Conservancy, The World Wildlife Fund and both the Primate and Ecology Specialist Groups of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences · 2015 - Present Environmental Natural Science, Nicholas School of the Environment
Professor Emeritus in the Division of Environmental Natural Sciences · 2025 - Present Environmental Natural Science, Nicholas School of the Environment

In the News


Published April 17, 2015
John Terborgh Asks: Which Processes Have Most Effect On Species Diversity: Top-Down Or Bottom-Up?

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Recent Publications


Increasing tree size across Amazonia.

Journal Article Nature plants · October 2025 Climate change and increasing availability of resources such as carbon dioxide are modifying forest functioning worldwide, but the effects of these changes on forest structure are unclear. As additional resources become available, for example, through CO Full text Cite

Wood density variation across an Andes-to-Amazon elevational gradient

Journal Article Journal of Ecology · September 1, 2025 Understanding how functional traits are related to species diversity and ecosystem properties is a central goal of ecology. Wood density is a trait that integrates many aspects of plant form and function and is highly variable among species. Previous studi ... Full text Cite

Amazonian and Andean tree communities are not tracking current climate warming.

Journal Article Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · August 2025 Climate change is shifting species distributions, leading to changes in community composition and novel species assemblages worldwide. However, the responses of tropical forests to climate change across large-scale environmental gradients remain largely un ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring at Cocha Cashu Biological Station, Manu Peru

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Conservation International · 2013 - 2017

DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Novel Approaches to the Study of the Community Ecology of Tropical Trees

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2006 - 2009

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Education, Training & Certifications


Harvard University · 1963 Ph.D.
Harvard University · 1960 M.A.
Harvard University · 1958 B.A.