2023 ATBC Honorary Fellows

In 1963, the Council of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation established the election of Honorary Fellows as “persons of long distinguished service to tropical biology.” This is the highest award given by the Association. To date, we have selected more than 100 Honorary Fellows from over 20 countries. This year, we celebrate two more outstanding Honorary Fellows who are both widely recognized for their scholarship and mentorship. On behalf of The Honorary Fellow Nomination Committee, we present the 2023 Honorary Fellows, Dr. Bette Loiselle and Dr. Mewa Singh. Dr. Bette Loiselle's research has led to major advances in tropical biology and conservation, and her career is a showcase for effective leadership and impact in the field. She has supervised and mentored hundreds of students that are now tropical biology leaders in their own right, magnifying Bette's contributions to the field. She has held various leadership positions including Director of the International Center for Tropical Ecology (ICTE), Director of the Tropical Conservation and Development Program at University of Florida, Board of Directors of Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS), and Program Officer for the United States National Science Foundation. Her research began with a focus on the ecology of seed dispersal and population dynamics of birds and has broadened over time and developed with advances in knowledge and technology. Bette pioneered the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for biodiversity and conservation, and has made tremendous contributions to interdisciplinary research, bridging the gap between the natural and social sciences through her networking. From 1990 to 2010, Bette was a professor in the Department of Biology of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she developed an extensive research program and supervised many students in wildlife monitoring and the ecology of birds, plants, and bats. In 2011, Bette took a position as the Director of the Tropical Conservation and Development Program (TCD) and Professor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida-Gainesville (UF). Her laboratory at UF currently focuses on identifying and developing interdisciplinary approaches rooted in the natural and social sciences to help understand, maintain, and manage biodiversity, ecosystem function, and resilience in resource use systems. Bette has published >200 scientific papers and book chapters that have made significant impact in ecology, tropical biology, and conservation. Apart from Bette's outstanding contributions to research, capacity outreach, and science outreach, her career is marked by her incredible dedication and service to the scientific community, including multiple roles as Associate Editor to many prestigious journals (Figure 1). Dr. Mewa Singh is an icon in tropical biology and conservation through his ability to inspire and support untold numbers of researchers in India and globally, and to conduct impactful research on an amazing breadth of topics. His significant contributions in mentoring and inspiring the next generation, in contributing to effective conservation strategies, in science education, and in scientific advances in tropical biology with >200 research articles and two books published are the hallmarks of an Honorary Fellow. He has been recognized in India for his contributions through various awards and is an elected fellow of all three national academies in India. His research has focused on behavior and ecology of many mammal species, with a focus on primate social behavior, as well as interdisciplinary topics such as society and culture, urban ecology, biodiversity conservation, landscape ecology, and human-wildlife interactions. As his nomination letter indicated, “It would not be an exaggeration to state that it would be impossible to work on a mammal species in India without citing or referring to at least a few papers by Prof. Mewa or his students.” There was even a new species of night frog Nyctibatrachus mewasinghi endemic to the Western Ghats named after him (Figure 2).