Education

• Ph.D., Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic.
• M.S., Biology, Palacky University, Czech Republic.

Research Interests

• Ecology and evolution of plant-insect interactions
• Ecology of tropical rainforests
• Ecology of food webs
• Conservation of tropical biodiversity

Field Work and Museum Studies

• Extensive field work in Papua New Guinea, including collection of data for ecological studies, insect specimens for taxonomic studies, and training of local students and paraecologists.
• Co-PI of a 50-ha CTFS forest dynamics permanent plot in Papua New Guinea

Professional Experience

• Research Associate, Bishop Museum (1996-present).
• Director, New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Papua New Guinea (1997-present).
• Researcher, Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences (1994-present).

Selected Publications

Novotny, V. & Basset, Y. 2005. Host specificity of insect herbivores in tropical forests. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 272, 1083-1090.

Novotny, V., Basset, Y., Miller, S.E., Weiblen, G.D., Bremer, B., Cizek, L. & Drozd, P. 2002. Low host specificity of herbivorous insects in a tropical forest. Nature 416, 841-844

Novotny, V., Drozd, P., Miller, S. E., Kulfan, M., Janda, M., Basset, Y., Weiblen, G. D. 2006. Why are there so many species of herbivorous insects in tropical rainforests? Science 313, 1115-1118

Novotny, V., Miller, S. E., Baje, L., Balagawi, S., Basset, Y., Cizek, L., Craft, K. J., Dem, F., Drew, R. A. I., Hulcr, J., Leps, J., Lewis, O., Pokon, R., Stewart, A. J. A. & Weiblen, G. D. 2010. Guild-specific patterns of species richness and host specialization in plant-herbivore food webs from a tropical forest. Journal of Animal Ecology 79, 1193–1203

Novotny, V., Miller, S. E., Hulcr, J., Drew, R. A. I., Basset, Y., Janda, M., Setliff, G. P., Darrow, K., Stewart, A. J. A., Auga, J., Isua, B., Molem, K., Manumbor, M., Tamtiai, E., Mogia, M. & Weiblen, G. D. 2007. Low beta diversity of herbivorous insects in tropical forests. Nature, 448, 692-695.

Novotny, V., Miller, S. E., Leps, J., Bito, D., Janda, M., Hulcr, J., Basset, Y., Damas & K. Weiblen, G. D. 2004. No tree an island: the plant-caterpillar food web of secondary rainforest in New Guinea. Ecology Letters 7, 1090-1100

This page last revised September2011