John G. Blake
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
110 Newins-Ziegler Hall
PO Box 110430
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida 32611
E-mail: john.blake@ufl.edu
EDUCATION
- Ph.D. University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. January 1983.
- M.S. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada. May 1977.
- B.A. Prescott College, Prescott, Arizona. May 1974.
CURRENT POSITIONS
Research Associate, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador (12/2020 – present).
Professor Emeritus, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida (7/2020 – present).
Affiliate Faculty, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida (4/2012 – present).
Subject Editor, Biotropica (Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation), 12/2011 – present.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research focuses on the structure and organization of bird communities in lowland forest in eastern Ecuador, at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (~0o 38' S, 76o 08' W), established in 1994 by Universidad San Francisco de Quito on a tract of undisturbed forest within Yasuní Biosphere Reserve. We have several ongoing projects at the station. One project focuses on spatial and temporal patterns of bird diversity (as well as aspects of community composition, population dynamics, and movement) within and between two 100-ha study plots that we established in terra firme forest in 2001. We use a combination of mist nets and direct observations to record the occurrence and locations of birds within the two plots. A second major project focuses on behavior and spatial ecology of manakins (Pipridae). A third project, carried out in collaboration with the station, is a camera-trapping program focused on large terrestrial mammals and birds. At this point, I am not taking on any new students.
PUBLICATIONS (2015 on)
2024 Blake, J. G., and B. A. Loiselle. Sharp declines in observation and capture rates of Amazon birds in absence of human disturbance Global Ecology and Conservation 51: e02902. doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e02902
2023 van Kuijk, S. M., S. O’Brien, D. J. Klink, J. G. Blake, and A. Di Fiore. Automated detection and detection range of primate duets: A case study of the red titi monkey (Plecturocebus discolor) using passive acoustic monitoring. Frontiers Ecology Environment 11:1173722. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1173722
2023 Quintero, S., M. I. Abrahams, C. Beirne, J. Blake, et al. Effects of human-induced habitat changes on site-use patterns in large Amazonian Forest mammals. Biological Conservation 279:109904.
2023 Maldonado-Coelho, M., S. Santos, M. Isler, M. Svensson-Coelho, M. Sotello-Munoz, C. Miyaki, R. Ricklefs, and J. Blake. Evolutionary and ecological processess underlying geographic variation in innate bird songs. American Naturalist 202: https://doi.org/10.1086/725016
2022 Braga, P. L. M., S. H. Borges, C. A. Peres, B. A. Loiselle, J. G. Blake, J. Menger, A. S. Bueno, M. Anciães, F. H. T. de Abreu, M. F. A. Maximiano, A. H. N. Souza, R. L. Boss, and F. B. Baccaro. Connecting Amazonian historical biogeography and local assemblages of understorey birds: recurrent guild proportionality within areas of endemism. Journal of Biogeography 49: 324-338. DOI: 10.1111/jbi.14301
2022 Link, A., S. Alvarez-Solas, J. Blake, F. Campos, S. Espinosa, P. Medrano-Vizcaíno, D. Mosquera, E. Payán, M. C. Peñuela, J. Salvador, and L. Valenzuela. Insights into the habits of the elusive Nocturnal Curassow (Nothocrax urumutum). Ornitología Neotropical 33: 74-78.
2021 Blake, J. G. Acoustic monitors and direct observations provide similar but distinct perspectives on bird assemblages in a lowland forest of eastern Ecuador. PeerJ
2021 Villegas, M., B. A. Loiselle, R. T.Kimball, and J. G. Blake. Ecological niche differentiation in Chiroxiphia and Antilophia manakins (Aves: Pipridae). PLoS One
2020 Feng, S., J. Stiller, Y. Deng, J. Armstrong, et al. B. Paten, and G. Zhang. Dense sampling of bird diversity increases power of comparative genomics. Nature 587:252-257. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2873-9
2020 Lorenzón, R. E., A. L. Ronchi-VIrgolini, and J. G. Blake. Wetland dependency drives temporal turnover of bird species between high and low water years in floodplain wetlands of the Paraná River. Ecohydrology doi.org/10.1002/eco.2179.
2020 Rocha, D. G. et al. (49 others). Wild dogs at stake: Deforestation threatens the only Amazon endemic canid, the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis). Royal Society of Open Science 7: 190717. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190717.
2019 Juarez Sanchez, D., J. G. Blake, and E. C. Hellgren. Variation in neotropical river otter (Lontra longicaudis) diet: Effects of an invasive prey species. PLoS One14(10): e0217727. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217727
2019 Mosquera, D., G. Vinueza-Hidalgo, and J. G. Blake. Patterns of mineral lick visitation by Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth Choloepus didactylus (Pilosa, Megalonychidae) in eastern Ecuador. Notas Sobre Mamíferos Sudamericanos doi.org/10.31687/saremNMS.19.0.07.
2019 Roncal, C. M., E. Middendorf, A. Forsyth, A. Cáceres, J. G. Blake, A. M. Almeyda Zambrano, and E. N. Broadbent. Assemblage structure and dynamics of terrestrial birds in the southwest Amazon: A camera trap case study. Journal of Field Ornithology 90:203-214.
2019 Vinueza-Hidalgo, G., D. Mosquera, and J. G. Blake. Notes on the breeding biology of Rufous Potoos (Nyctibius bracteatus) in lowland Ecuadorian Amazon. Journal of Field Ornithology 90:229-234.
2018 Blake, J. G., and B. A. Loiselle. 2018. Annual and spatial variation in composition and activity of terrestrial mammals on two replicate plots in lowland forest of eastern Ecuador. PeerJ 6:e4241; DOI 10.7717/peerj.4241
2018 Cárdenas-Posada, G., C. D. Cadena, J. G. Blake, and B. A. Loiselle. Display behavior, social organization and vocal repertoire of Blue-backed Manakin (Chiroxiphia pareola napensis) in northwest Amazonia. Ibis 160:269-282. doi: 10.1111/ibi.12548
2018 Robinson, W. D., A. C. Lees, and J. G. Blake. Surveying tropical birds is much harder than you think: a primer of best practices. Biotropica 50:846-849. DOI: 10.1111/btp.12608
2018 Villegas-Bilbao, M., J. G. Blake, K. E. Sieving, and B. A. Loiselle. Vocal variation in the Yungas Manakin (Chiroxiphia boliviana) along an Andean elevational gradient. Evolutionary Ecology 32: DOI 10.1007/s10682-018-9934-7
2017 Blake, J. G., D. Mosquera, B. A. Loiselle, D. Romo, and K. Swing. Effects of human traffic on use of trails by mammals in lowland forest of eastern Ecuador. Neotropical Biodiversity 3:57-64.
2017 Blake, J. G., D. Mosquera, B. A. Loiselle, K. Swing, and D. Romo. Long-term variation in abundance of terrestrial mammals and birds in eastern Ecuador as measured by photographic rates and occupancy estimates. Journal of Mammalogy 98:1168-1178.
2017 Darosci, A. A. B, E. M. Bruna, J. C. Motta-Junior, C. da Silva Ferreira, J. G. Blake, and C. B. R. Munhoz. Seasonality, diaspore traits and the structure of plant-frugivore networks in Neotropical savanna forest . Acta Oecologica 84:15-22.
2017 Fecchio, A., M. Svensson-Coehlo, J. Bell, V. Ellis, M. Medeiros, C. Trisos, J. Blake, B. Loiselle, J. Tobias, R. Fanti, E. Coffey, I. Faria, J. Pinho, G. Felix, E. Braga, M. Anciaes, V. Tkach, J. Bates, C. Witt, J. Weckstein, R. Ricklefs, I. Farias. Host associations and turnover of haemosporidian parasites in manakins (Aves: Pipridae). Parasitology 144:984-993..
2017 Ricklefs, R. E., M. Medeiros, V. A. Ellis, M. Svensson-Coelho, J. G. Blake, B. A. Loiselle, L. Soares, A. Fecchio, D. Outlaw, P. Marra, S. C. Latta, G. Valkiūnas, O. Hellgren, and S. Bensch. Avian migration and the distribution of malaria parasites in New World passerine birds. Journal of Biogeography 44:1113-1123.
2016 Azpiroz, A. B., and J. G. Blake. Associations of grassland birds with vegetation structure in the Northern Campos of Uruguay. The Condor – Ornithological Applications 118:12-23.
2016 Blake, J. G., and B. A. Loiselle. Long-term changes in composition of bird communities at an “undisturbed” site in eastern Ecuador. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 128:255-267.
2016 Blake, J. G., D. Mosquera, B. A. Loiselle, K. Swing, J. Guerra, and D. Romo. Spatial and temporal activity patterns of ocelots Leopardus pardalis in lowland forest of eastern Ecuador. Journal of Mammalogy 97:455-463.
2016 Mosquera, D., J. G. Blake, D. Romo, and K. Swing. Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) density in eastern Ecuador based on capture-recapture analyses of camera-trap data. Neotropical Biodiversity 2:51-58.
2016 Mosquera, D., J. G. Blake, D. Romo, and K. Swing. New observations, activity and first videos of living Echimys saturnus (dark tree rat, Echimyidae) from eastern Ecuador. Maztozoologia Neotropical 23:87-91.
2016 Svensson-Coelho, M., B. A. Loiselle, J. G. Blake, and R. E. Ricklefs. Resource predictability and specialization in avian malaria parasites. Molecular Ecology 25:4377-4391.
2016 Villegas-Bilbao, M., S. D. Newsome, and J. G. Blake. Seasonal patterns in δ2H values of multiple tissues from Andean birds provide insights into elevational migration. Ecological Applications 26:2383-2389.
2015 Blake, J. G., and B. A. Loiselle. Enigmatic declines in bird numbers in lowland forest of eastern Ecuador may be a consequence of climate change. PeerJ 3:e1177; DOI 10.7717/peerj.1177
STUDENTS
Jorge Perez-Eman (Venezuela), M.S., 1995. A comparison of bird and bat community structure in a tropical lowland rain forest of Venezuela., Ph.D., 2002. Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the genus Myioborus (Aves, Parulinae)
Grace Servat (Peru), M.S., 1995. Availability and use of food resources by two species of Automolus (Aves, Furnariidae).
José Tello (Peru), M.S. 1996. Lekking behavior of the Round-tailed Manakin (Pipra chloromeros) and patterns of advertisement call evolution in Pipra erythrocephala clade.
Lorena Calvo (Guatemala), M.S. 1997. Bird species diversity within different systems of coffee plantations in Guatemala.
Teresita Lomáscolo (Argentina). 1997. Interacciones entre mirtaceas arboreas y aves frugivoras en un gradiente altitudinal de las selvas de montaña. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, (co-director, Proyecto de Beca de Iniciacíon, CONICET).
Gillian Bowser (USA), Ph.D., 1998 (co-advisor). Genetics, geographics, and prairie dogs: a landscape model of prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) dispersal.
Lucio Malizia (Argentina), 1998. Variacion estacional de la avifauna en un relicto de selvas pedemontañas de la Provincia de Tucumán. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. (co-director, Proyecto de Beca de Iniciación del Consejo de Investigaciones de la UNT).
Catherine Graham (USA), Ph.D., 1999. Individual, species and community level responses of birds to forest fragmentation in southern Mexico.
Luzmilla Arroyo (Bolivia), M.S., 2000. Plant communities in continuous forest and isolated forest patches on the Serranía de Huanchaca, Bolivia.
Ana Carolina Monmany (Argentina), 2000. Influencia de la distancia al bosque sobre las interacciones en cultivos de paltas (Persea americana) de la Alta Cuenca de Rio Bermejo, Salta. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ecológicas de Las Yungas, (co-director).
Frank Wolff (Luxembourg), M.S. 2001. Vertebrate ecology in caatinga: A. Distribution of wildlife in relation to water. B. Diet of pumas (P. concolor) and relative abundance of felids.
Jorge Perez-Eman (Venezuela), Ph.D., 2002. Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the genus Myioborus (Aves, Parulinae).
Mercedes Rougès (Argentina), Ph.D., 2004. Bird community dynamics along an altitudinal gradient in subtropical montane forests.
Iván Jiménez (Colombia), Ph.D., 2005. Understanding vertebrate frugivores through foraging theory.
Lucio Malizia (Argentina), Ph.D., 2005. Diversity and distribution of tree species in subtropical Andean forests.
Cintia Cornelius (Chile), Ph.D., 2006. Genetic and demographic consequences of human-driven landscape changes on birds: a case study using Aphrastura spinicauda and Scelorchilus rubecula.
Brandt Ryder (USA), Ph.D., 2008. Reproductive and social dynamics of a lek breeding bird.
Adrián Azpiroz (Uruguay), Ph.D., 2008. Grassland birds in natural and cultivated grasslands in the Northern Campos of Uruguay: Diversity patterns, responses to vegetation structure and nest survival.
Adriana Rodríguez-Ferraro (Venezuela), Ph.D., 2008. Community ecology and phylogeography of bird assemblages in arid zones of northern Venezuela: Implications for the conservation of restricted-range birds.
Marcos Maldonado-Coehlo (Brasil), Ph.D., 2010. Systematics, biogeography and population genetics of fire-eye antbirds (Thamnophilidae, Aves) in the Neotropics.
Teresa C. Allen (USA), Ph.D., 2010 (co-advisor). Middle Mississippi River islands: historical distribution, restoration planning, and biological importance.
Eduardo Martín (Argentina), Ph.D., 2011 (co-director), Promiscuidad en aves con reproducción cooperativa: implicancias ecológicas y evolutivas en Coryphistera alaudina (Furnariidae). Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina, Insituto de Ecología Regional.
Esteban Carrillo Chica (Colombia), MS., 2013. Dispersión direccional de semillas por saltarines (Aves: Pipridae) en bosques de la Amazonia. Maestría en Estudios Amazónicos, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Amazonia. (Director).
Luis Daniel Montalvo (Ecuador), MS., 2014. Patterns of species diversity in Ecuador: Variation of bird communities at different scales.
Julia Salvador (Ecuador), M.S., 2015. Effects of human disturbance on occurrence patterns and behavior of terrestrial mammals in Eastern Ecuador.
Mariana Villegas (Bolivia), Ph.D., 2016. Ecological differentiation in Chiroxiphia boliviana (Aves, Pipridae): Insights from morphology, vocalizations, ecological niche modeling and stable isotopes.
Matt Hallett (USA), Ph.D., 2017. Landscape-scale research as a tool for engaging communities in a shared learning process for conservation and management in the Rupununi.
Prescillia Rindang Putri (Indonesia), M.S., 2019. Sustainable palm oil certification: Do forest reserves designated using “high conservation value” and “high carbon stock” approaches within palm oil plantations support mammal conservation? (co-advisor with L. Branch).
Luis Daniel Montalvo (Ecuador), Ph.D., 2023. Potential local adaptations to climate and aggressive territoriality as drivers of distributional changes of Campylorhynchus wrens in Ecuador and Peru. (co-advisor with S. Robinson).