CV
Curriculum vitae for Brian J. Enquist — Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona · External Professor, Santa Fe Institute. Citations > 70,000 · h-index 115 (Google Scholar). See Google Scholar profile for current figures.
Contact Information
| Name | Brian Joseph Enquist, PhD, DSc |
| Professional Title | Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology |
| benquist@arizona.edu |
Professional Summary
Professor at the University of Arizona, External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, Honorary Research Associate at Oxford, and Co-director of Bridging Biodiversity and Conservation Science. Research spans macroecology, metabolic scaling theory, trait-based ecology, biodiversity informatics, and predictive biodiversity science. Citations > 70,000 · h-index 115 (Google Scholar — see profile for current figures) · > 250 peer-reviewed publications.
Experience
-
2009 - present Tucson, Arizona, USA
Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Arizona
-
2025 - present Oxford, UK
Honorary Research Associate, School of Geography and the Environment (Leverhulme Centre)
Oxford University
-
2007 - present Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
External Professor
Santa Fe Institute
-
2005 - 2009 Tucson, Arizona, USA
Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Arizona
-
2001 - 2005 Tucson, Arizona, USA
Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Arizona
-
1999 - 2000 Santa Barbara, California, USA
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow
NCEAS, University of California Santa Barbara
-
1998 - 1999 Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow
Santa Fe Institute
-
2007 - present Editorial Board
Associate Editor
Ecology Letters
-
2010 - present Editorial Board
Associate Editor
Global Ecology and Biogeography
-
2009 - 2010 Editorial Board
Invited Guest Editor
Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
-
2003 - 2006 Editorial Board
Editorial Board Member
Global Ecology and Biogeography
Education
-
1994 - 1998 Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
PhD
University of New Mexico
Biology (Ecology Program)
- Major advisor: James H. Brown.
-
1991 - 1994 Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
MS
University of New Mexico
Biology (Ecology Program)
-
1987 - 1991 Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
BA (with distinction)
Colorado College
Biology
Academic Interests
Awards and Honors
-
2026 MacArthur Award
Ecological Society of America
-
2018 Ecological Society of America Fellow
Ecological Society of America
-
2012 Fellow
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
-
2017 Leverhulme Visiting Professorship
Leverhulme Trust / University of Oxford
-
2017 Oxford University Martin School Fellow
University of Oxford Martin School
-
2011 College of Science Galileo Circle Fellow
University of Arizona
-
2007 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science
Colorado College
-
2020 National Geographic Explorer
National Geographic
-
2025 Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher
Clarivate Web of Science
Recognition years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2025
-
2001 George C. Mercer Award
Ecological Society of America
-
2002 NSF CAREER Award
National Science Foundation
-
2004 Popular Science: Top 10 Brilliant Young Scientists
Popular Science Magazine
-
2005 ISI Essential Science Indicators — Highest percent increase in total citations, Environment and Ecology
ISI / Thomson Reuters
-
1995 Fulbright Fellow
Fulbright Program
Projects
-
Leadership and Professional Service
Major service and leadership roles.
- Nominated panelist, National Academy of Sciences effort on continental-scale biology (2023-2024).
- Co-director, Bridging Biodiversity and Conservation Science (University of Arizona).
- Editorial leadership across ecology and biogeography journals.
Selected Publications
These are selected highlights — among the most highly cited, recent, and influential papers. A complete listing of >250 peer-reviewed publications is available on the Publications page and in the full CV (PDF).
-
2026 BIEN: A biodiversity informatics ecosystem advancing open and reproducible workflows for plant observation, plot, and trait data
Enquist, B. J. et al.
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
In press.
-
2026 Global functional shifts in trees driven by alien naturalization and native extinction
Guo, W.-Y. et al.; Enquist, B. J. and Svenning, J.-C.
Nature Plants
In press.
-
2026 Balancing land use for conservation, agriculture, and renewable energy
Brock, C. et al.; Enquist, B. J.
Nature Communications
Published March 7, 2026. Vol. 17, article 3623.
-
2026 Ploidy level predicts differences in minimum leaf conductance in quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides
Navarro, J.; Cruz-de Hoyos, R. M.; Powers, J. M.; Blonder, B. W.; Enquist, B. J.
American Journal of Botany
-
2025 Trait-Driver Theory: linking functional traits to demography, community assembly, and ecosystem function
Enquist, B. J. et al.
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Develops Trait-Driver Theory — a mechanistic framework linking plant functional traits to demographic rates, community assembly, and ecosystem-level processes across environmental gradients. In press / under review.
-
2025 General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally
Moulatlet, G. M. et al.; Enquist, B. J.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
-
2024 Developing a predictive science of the biosphere requires the integration of scientific cultures
Enquist, B. J.; Kempes, C. P.; West, G. B.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
-
2023 AI chatbots can boost scientific coding
Merow, C.; Serra-Diaz, J. M.; Enquist, B. J.; Wilson, A. M.
Nature Ecology & Evolution
-
2024 Scaling approaches and Macroecology provide a foundation for assessing ecological resilience in the Anthropocene
Enquist, B. J.; Erwin, D.; Savage, V. M.; Marquet, P. A.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
-
2021 How deregulation, drought, and increasing fire impact Amazonian biodiversity
Feng, X. et al.; Enquist, B. J.
Nature
-
2020 The megabiota are disproportionately important for biosphere functioning
Enquist, B. J.; Abraham, A. J.; Harfoot, M. B. J.; Malhi, Y.; Doughty, C. E.
Nature Communications
-
2020 Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life
Gallagher, R. V.; Falster, D. S.; Maitner, B. S.; Salguero-Gomez, R.; Vandvik, V.; Pearse, W. D.; Enquist, B. J.
Nature Ecology & Evolution
-
2020 Adding value to a field-based course with a science communication module on local perceptions of climate change
Patrick, L.; Thompson, S.; Halbritter, A. H.; Enquist, B. J.; Vandvik, V.; Cotner, S.
Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
-
2021 Next-generation field courses: Integrating Open Science and online learning
Geange, S. R. et al.
Ecology and Evolution
-
2019 The commonness of rarity: Global and future distribution of rarity across land plants
Enquist, B. J. et al.
Science Advances
Shows that rarity — defined by small range size, low abundance, or narrow habitat — is the dominant condition across land plants globally, with major implications for extinction risk under climate change.
-
2017 Drivers of C cycling in three arctic-alpine plant communities
Sørensen, M. V.; Graae, B. J.; Classen, A.; Enquist, B. J.; Strimbeck, R.
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research
-
2017 Draining the pool? Carbon storage and fluxes in three alpine plant communities
Sørensen, M. V.; Strimbeck, R.; Nystuen, K. O.; Kapas, R. E.; Enquist, B. J.; Graae, B. J.
Ecosystems
Published online in 2017; included in 2018 journal issue.
-
2017 Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities
Sørensen, M. V.; Graae, B. J.; Hagen, D.; Enquist, B. J.; Nystuen, K. O.; Strimbeck, R.
BMC Ecology
-
2019 Assessing trait-based scaling theory in dominant plant species across global biomes
Enquist, B. J. et al.
Nature Plants
-
2018 The BIEN R package — A tool to access the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) database
Maitner, B. S. et al.; Enquist, B. J.
Methods in Ecology and Evolution
-
2003 Scaling metabolism from organisms to ecosystems
Enquist, B. J.; Economo, E. P.; Huxman, T. E.; Allen, A. P.; Ignace, D. D.; Gillooly, J. F.
Nature
-
2009 Metabolic Scaling of Forest Structure and Dynamics
Enquist, B. J.; West, G. B.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Integration of metabolic scaling theory with forest structure and ecosystem dynamics.
-
1999 The fourth dimension of life: fractal geometry and allometric scaling of organisms
West, G. B.; Brown, J. H.; Enquist, B. J.
Science
-
1998 Allometric scaling of plant energetics and population density
Enquist, B. J.; Brown, J. H.; West, G. B.
Nature
-
1997 A general model for the origin of allometric scaling laws in biology
West, G. B.; Brown, J. H.; Enquist, B. J.
Science
Foundational paper of the West-Brown-Enquist metabolic scaling framework. > 6,300 citations.
References
- Profile links
ORCID: 0000-0002-7398-9388
Lab Website: enquistlab.github.io
Bluesky: @bjenquist.bsky.social
Google Scholar: Profile
ResearchGate: Profile
FigShare: Profile