Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology

Stephen C. Sillett
Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology
Department of Biological Sciences
Humboldt State University

Born

March 19, 1968

Married

Marie E. Antoine December 8, 2001

Professional Preparation

Professor, Humboldt State University, 2006 – present
Associate Professor, Humboldt State University, 2001 – 2005
Assistant Professor, Humboldt State University, 1995 – 2001
Doctor of Philosophy, Oregon State University, 1995
Master of Science, University of Florida, Botany, 1991
Bachelor of Arts, Reed College, 1989

Publications (reverse chronological order)

Woolley, L. P., T. W. Henkel, and S. C. Sillett. 2008. Reiteration in the monodominant tropical tree Dicymbe corymbosa and its potential adaptive significance. Biotropica 40: 32-43.
Sillett, S. C., and R. Van Pelt. 2007. Trunk reiteration promotes epiphytes and water storage in an old-growth redwood forest canopy. Ecological Monographs 77:, 335-359.
Williams, C. B., and S. C. Sillett. 2007. Epiphyte communities on redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in northwestern California, USA. Bryologist 110:, 420-452.
Spickler, J. C., S. C. Sillett, S. B. Marks, H. H. Welsh Jr. 2006. Evidence of a new niche for a North American salamander: Aneides vagrans residing in the canopy of old-growth redwood forest. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 1: 16-27.
Enloe, H. A., R. C. Graham, and S. C. Sillett. 2006. Arboreal histosols in old-growth redwood forest canopies, northern California. Soil Science Society of America Journal 70: 408-418.
Sillett, S. C. and M. E. Antoine. 2004. Lichens and bryophytes in forest canopies. Pages 151-174 in M. D. Lowman and H. B. Rinker (eds.), Forest Canopies, 2nd Edition. Elsevier Academic Press.
Van Pelt, R., S. C. Sillett, N. M. Nadkarni. 2004. Quantifying and visualizing canopy structure in tall forests: methods and a case study. Pages 49-72 in M. D. Lowman and H. B. Rinker (eds.), Forest Canopies, 2nd Edition. Elsevier Academic Press.
Dial, R. J., S. C. Sillett, M. E. Antoine, and J. C. Spickler. 2004. Methods for horizontal movement through forest canopies. Selbyana 25: 151-163.
Koch, G.W., S.C. Sillett, G. M. Jennings, and S. D. Davis. 2004. The limits to tree height. Nature 428: 851-854.
Sillett, S. C. and M. G. Bailey. 2003. Effects of tree crown structure on biomass of the epiphytic fern Polypodium scouleri in redwood forests. American Journal of Botany 90: 255-261
Ellyson, W. J. T. and S. C. Sillett. 2003. Epiphyte communities on Sitka spruce in an old-growth redwood forest. Bryologist 106: 197-211.
Sillett, S. C. and R. Van Pelt. 2001. A redwood tree whose crown may be the most complex on Earth. Pages 11-18 in M. Labrecque (ed.), L’Arbre 2000. Isabelle Quentin, Montréal, Québec.
Sillett, S. C., and T. R. Rambo. 2000. Vertical distribution of dominant epiphytes in Douglas-fir forests of the central Oregon Cascades. Northwest Science 74:44-49.
Sillett, S. C., and R. Van Pelt. 2000. A redwood tree whose crown is a forest canopy. Northwest Science 74:34-43.
Sillett, S. C., B. McCune, J. E. Peck, and T. R. Rambo. 2000. Four years of epiphyte colonization in Douglas-fir forest canopies. Bryologist 103: 661-669.
Sillett, S. C., B. McCune, J. E. Peck, T. R. Rambo, and A. Ruchty. 2000. Dispersal limitations of epiphytic lichens result in species dependent on old-growth forests. Ecological Applications 10: 789-799.
Sawyer, J. O., S. C. Sillett, J. H. Popenoe, A. LaBanca, T. Sholars, D. L. Largent, F. Euphrat, R. F. Noss, and R. Van Pelt. 2000. Characteristics of redwood forests. Pages 39-79 in R. F. Noss (ed.), The Redwood Forest: History, Ecology, and Conservation of the Coast Redwoods. Island Press, Covelo, CA.
Sawyer, J. O., S. C. Sillett, W. J. Libby, T. E. Dawson, J. H. Popenoe, D. L. Largent, R. Van Pelt, S. D. Veirs Jr., R. F. Noss, D. A. Thornburgh, and P. D. Tredici. 2000. Redwood trees, communities, and ecosystems: a closer look. Pages 81-118 in R. F. Noss (ed.), The Redwood Forest: History, Ecology, and Conservation of the Coast Redwoods. Island Press, Covelo, CA.
Sillett, S. C. 1999. Tree crown structure and vascular epiphyte distribution in Sequoia sempervirens rain forest canopies. Selbyana 20:76-97.
Sillett, S. C. and M. N. Goslin. 1999. Distribution of epiphytic macrolichens in relation to remnant trees in a multiple-age Douglas-fir forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 29:1204-1215.
Sillett, S. C., and T. Goward. 1998. Ecology and conservation of Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis, a Pacific Northwest endemic lichen. Pages 377-388 in M. G. Glenn, R. C. Harris, R. Dirig, and M. S. Cole (eds.), Lichenographia Thomsoniana. Mycotaxon Ltd., Ithaca, NY.
Sillett, S. C., and B. McCune. 1998. Survival and growth of cyanolichen transplants in Douglas-fir forest canopies. Bryologist 101:20-31.
Sillett, S. C. 1997. Distribution and ecology of Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis, an epiphytic cyanolichen endemic to the Pacific Northwest. Pages 254-260 in T. N. Kaye, A. Liston, R. M.Love, D. L. Luoma, R. J. Meinke, and M. V. Wilson (eds.), Conservation and Management of Native Plants and Fungi. Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis, OR.
Sillett, S. C., and P. N. Neitlich. 1996. Emerging themes in epiphyte research in westside forests with special reference to cyanolichens. Northwest Science 70:54-60.
McCune, B., C. C. Derr, P. S. Muir, A. S. Shirazi, S. C. Sillett, and W. J. Daly. 1996. Lichen pendants for transplant and growth experiments. Lichenologist 28:161-169.
Sillett, S. C. 1995. Branch epiphyte assemblages in the forest interior and on the clearcut edge of a 700-year-old forest canopy in western Oregon. Bryologist 98:301-312.
Sillett, S. C., S. R. Gradstein, and D. Griffin III. 1995. Bryophyte diversity of Ficus tree crowns from cloud forest and pasture in Costa Rica. Bryologist 98:251-260.
Sillett, S. C. 1994. Growth rates of two epiphytic cyanolichen species at the edge and in the interior of a 700-year-old Douglas-fir forest in the western Cascades of Oregon. Bryologist 97:321-324.

Manuscripts in Review (listed alphabetically by first author)

Ishii, H. T., G. M. Jennings, S. C. Sillett, and G. W. Koch. Hydraulic constraints on morphological exploitation of light in tall Sequoia sempervirens trees. Submitted to Oecologia February 2007.
Van Pelt, R. and S. C. Sillett. Crown development throughout the lifespan of coastal Pseudotsuga menziesii, including a conceptual model for tall conifers. Submitted to Ecological Monographs January 2007.

Research Funding (excluding $484,000 granted to collaborating universities)

Kenneth L. Fisher—$3,600,000 in 2006 (creation of Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology)
National Science Foundation—$543,000 from 2000 to present
Global Forest Science—$348,000 from 1999 to 2004
Save-the-Redwoods League—$78,000 from 1999 to 2000
USDA Forest Service—$20,000 from 1999 to 2001
British Broadcasting Company—$12,000 in 2004

Outreach Activities

My research on forest canopies has been featured in books, magazines, newspapers, television programs, film, radio interviews, museum displays, and national and state parks bulletins. Here is a partial listing of these sources:

Books

The Wild Trees, by Richard Preston. Available from Random House, 10 April 2007.
Tree: A New Vision of the American Forest, by James Balog. Barnes & Noble Books, 2004.
Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast, by Robert Van Pelt. University of Washington Press, 2001.
Coast Redwood: A Natural and Cultural History, by John Everts & Marjorie Popper (editors). Cachuma Press, 2001, pages 34-35.
Science at the Extreme, by Peter Lane Taylor. McGraw-Hill, 2001, pages 92-117.

Magazines

Green Giant, by Chris Carroll. National Geographic, March 2007, page 28.
Tall for Its Age, by Richard Preston. The New Yorker, 9 October 2006, pages 32-36.
California’s Wild Crusade, by Virginia Morell. National Geographic, February 2006, pages 80-95.
Climbing the Redwoods, by Richard Preston. The New Yorker, 14 21 February 2004, pages 212-225.
Inside the Hanging Gardens of Arcata, by Anil Ananthaswamy. New Scientist, 9 November 2002, pages 46-49.
Tree Giants of North America, by Mark W. Moffett. National Geographic, January 1997, pages 44-61.
The Secret Life of Backyard Trees, by Kevin Krajick. Discover, November 1995, pages 92-101.

Television

Seasonal Forests episode of Planet Earth series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough. British Broadcasting Corporation, March 2007 on the Discovery Channel.
Wild Chronicles episode documenting measurement of the world’s tallest tree, narrated by Boyd Matson, January 2007 on the National Geographic Channel.
Canopy Crane / Forest Canopy episode #703 of Oregon Field Guide. Oregon Public Broadcasting, 1995 on PBS.

Film

Adventures in Wild California, IMAX by MacGillivray-Freeman Films, 1999.

Radio

Tall Trees interview, by Joe Palca. Science Friday 23 April 2004 on NPR.
Earth & Sky, two episodes about redwood forests, NPR

Presentations

Since 1996, I have given scientific presentations at 4 international meetings (International Canopy Conference—2005 meeting in Leipzig, Germany; International Association of Lichenologists—2004 meeting in Tartu, Estonia; International Symposium on Tree Biology and Development—2000 meeting in Montréal, Quebec; International Canopy Conference—1998 meeting in Sarasota, FL), 2 national meetings (American Bryological and Lichenological Society—2000 meeting in Portland; Ecological Society of America—1996 meeting in Boston), and 3 regional meetings (Northwest Scientific Association—1998, 1999, and 2000 meetings in Olympia, Tacoma, and Arcata). I have also given invited lectures at other institutions, including Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff), Royal Botanical Gardens (Edinburgh, Scotland), International Dendrology Society (Windsor, England), Reed College (Portland, Oregon), Save-the-Redwoods League (San Francisco), Redwood National and State Parks (Orick), Humboldt Redwoods State Park (Eureka), California Native Plant Society (Arcata), and several public schools in the US and Canada.