The Luis F. Bacardi Advances in Tropical Conservation Award was established in 2005 to foster high-quality conservation science in the tropics. It is awarded to the early-career conservation scientist who gives the best presentation at the annual meeting of the ATBC. Support for this award was generously provided to the ATBC by an endowment from the Lubee Bat Conservancy,  an international non-profit organization based in Gainesville, Florida. This organization was founded in 1989 by the late Luis F. Bacardi, and is dedicated to protecting biological diversity through the conservation of fruit- and nectar-feeding bats.

Eligibility and Application:

– Eligibility is limited to ATBC members who have received their Ph.D. no more than five years before the meeting date.

– The winner receives a certificate from the ATBC and a $300 award provided by the Lubee Bat Conservancy

– In addition to the honorarium, the winner of the award will have his/her abstract and photo published in Biotropica as well as his/her bio published at Tropicalbio.org (see below, e.g. 2010).

Bacardi Award for Advances in Tropical Conservation

2025 – Julián León – Universidad del Rosario (Colombia)

2024 – Meghna Bandyopadhyay – Wildlife Trust of India (India)

2023 – Nicolas Texier – Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)

2022 – Katharine Thompson – Stony Brook University, USA

2021 – Sheherazade – PROGRES (Prakarsa Konservasi Ekologi Regional Sulawesi), Indonesia

2019 – Seheno Andriantsaralaza – University of Antananarivo, Madagascar

2018 – Evan Rehm – University of California Santa Barbara, USA

2017 – Catarina Jakovac -International Institute for Sustainability, Brazil

2016 – Oliver Wearn – Zoological Society of London (ZSL), UK

2015 – Haldre Rogers – Rice University, USA

2014 – Erin Kuprewicz – Smithsonian Institution, USA

2013 – Tremaine Gregory – Smithsonian Institution, USA

2012 – Paulo Brando – IPAM, Brazil

2011 – Joseph W. Veldman – University of Wisconsin-Madison.

2010 – Amy Rodgers – Pinchot Institute for Conservation, Ecuador.

2009 – no award

2008 – Marco Mello – Departamento de Botanica, Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, Brazil. Article

2007 – J. Nicolas Urbina-Cardona – Instituto de Biologia, UNAM, Mexico. Article

2006 – David P Bickford – National University of Singapore, Singapore. Article

2005 – Cecília P. Alves-Costa – Lab. de Interação Vertebrado-Planta, Departamento de Zoologia, IB/UNICAMP. Campinas, SP, Brazil. Article

The Alwyn Gentry Presentation Awards are in recognition of the outstanding oral and poster presentations by students at the ATBC’s Annual Meeting. These awards are therefore in remembrance of Alwyn H. Gentry’s contributions to the study of the diversity and conservation of tropical plants and his legacy as a caring and supportive mentor to students from all over the Americas. Best student oral and poster presentations are also recognized by the Asia-Pacific Chapter Meetings Prizes.

Alwyn Gentry’s legacy to tropical biology was not limited to the phenomenal contributions he made to the study of diversity and conservation of tropical plants. He was a caring and supportive mentor to students from all over the Americas. In remembrance and recognition of the contributions of a singular scientist, colleague, mentor, and friend, the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation presents Alwyn Gentry Awards for the best student papers each year at its Annual Meeting.

Two awards are given each year, one for the best student oral presentation, and one for the best student poster. Individuals who have been students within the previous 12 months are eligible, including those who have completed the Ph.D. within that period. The number of years of eligibility is not limited. The work must have been done by the student as the senior author on the paper. Two or more students may present a joint paper and would then split the award. Award criteria are the following:

– ATBC membership
– originality of study
– contribution of the study to science
– breadth of the study
– quality of the research design and execution of the data analysis
– quality of the presentation, including audio-visual materials.

The award recipients will each receive a $100 prize, plus a free one-year subscription to Biotropica and $100 in books from the University of Chicago Press. In addition, each of the winners will have their photograph and abstract published in BIOTROPICA, as well as his/her bio published at tropicalbio.org. 

The Committee reserves the right to make no award if it deems that no deserving paper has been presented or if fewer than five eligible papers are presented.

Gentry Award for the Best Student Oral Presentation

2025 – Luisa Genes – Stanford University, USA

2024 – Liam Jasperse-Sjolander – University of Colorado Boulder, USA

2023 – Aleena Xavier – Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, India

2022 – Rodrigo Muñoz, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands

2022 – Rodrigo Bello Carvalho, University of Oxford, UK

2021 – Nohemi Huanca Nunez, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA

2019 – Edgar Cifuentes, Universidad de Los Andes and University of East Anglia

2018 – Elizabeth Joyce, Australian Tropical Herbarium and James Cook University

2017 – Estelí Jimenez-Soto, Department of Environmental Studies, University of California at Santa Cruz

2016 – Mar Cartró-Sabaté – Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

2015 – Anat Belasen – Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Fellow, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. Article

2015 – Sarah Jane Wilson – School of Natural Resources and Environment Follow, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. Article

2014 – Sean Reilly – Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, USA

2013 – Maria Natalia Umaña – Michigan State University, USA

2012 – Sophie Fauvet – School of Geography, University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.

2011 – Rebeka Hoffmeier-Karimi – Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY, U.S.A. Article

2010 – Brian E. Sedio – Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, U.S.A. Article

2009 – I-Ching Chen – Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan, China. Article

2008 – Maylin Adriana Gonzales – Laboratoire d’Evolution et Diversité Biologique, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. Article

2007 – Alemayehu Wassie – Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Article

2006 – Benjamin C. Wang – Center for Tropical Research & UCLA – Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. Article

2005 – Liliana Rios – Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury Ontario, Canada. Article

2004 – Nathan C. Muchhala – University of Miami, Department of Biology, FL, U.S.A. Article

2003 – H. Krefth – University of Bonn, Germany  Article
Runners-up :  Maria Del Carmen – Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan Puerto Rico.

2002 – Elizabeth A. Arnorld – Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona,Tucson, Arizona U.S.A. Article Runners-up : Zoraida Calle – Agroforestry Systems Area, Center for Research on Sustainable Agricultural Production, Cali, Colombia.

– 2001 – Derek M. Johnson – Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL U.S.A. Article 

Gentry Award for the Best Student Poster

2025 – Iñaki Quintana – Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca, México

2024 – Katherine Culbertson, University of California, Berkeley, USA, AND Simran Prasad, Centre for Wildlife Studies, India

2023 – Manish R – Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, India

2022 – Qi Luan Lim, Kyoto University Japan

2021 – Laura Bizzarri, University of Connecticut, USA

2019 – Miatrana RASAMOELINA, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Madagascar

2019 – Marie Laure Rurangwa, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

2018 – Nancy Alejandra Flechas Quintana, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia

2017 – Marta Giannichi, University of Leeds and Lore Verryckt, University of Antwerp

2016 – Adriane Esquivel Muelbert – University of Leeds and William Farfan-Rios – Wake Forest University

2015 – Gaku Amada – Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan. Article

2014 – Chadtip Rodtassana – Department of Plant Science, University of Cambridge, UK

2013 – Dulce Rodriguez-Morales – Instituto de Ecología A.C., Mexico

2012 – Melbi Ramos-Fabiel – UNAM, Mexico.

2011 – Emiru Birhane Hizikias – Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen University and Research Centre,The Netherland. Article

2010 – Soumya Prasad – Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India. Article

2009 – Ryan Bixenmann – Biology Dept., University of Utah, Salt Lake City, U.S.A. Article

2008 – Elodie Courtois – Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. Article

2007 – Tanya Hawley – Department of Biology, University of Miami, U.S.A. Article

2006 – Gang Chang. – Beisihuanxilu 25, Haidian District, Beijing, China. Article

2005 – Thiago J. Izzo – Coordenaçao de Pesquisa em Ecologia, INPA—Brasil; Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Braxil.  Article

2004 – Carlos Garcia-Robledo – Department of Biology, University of Miami, FL, U.S.A.. Article

2002 – Elma E. Kay – Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. Article

The New Phytologist Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of plant science. It owns and produces the international journals New Phytologist and Plants, People, Planet, and is proud to support student researchers by awarding the New Phytologist Foundation Poster ($300) and Oral Presentation ($300) Prizes in Plant Biology at the Annual Meeting.

RECIPIENTS

2025– Best Oral Presentation – Ellen Quinlan, Wake Forest University, USA: “Patterns of diversification, gene flow, and functional diversity across an Andes elevation gradient”

2025– Best Poster – Liliana López-Olmedo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México: “Decoupled environmental filtering between plant taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities in a tropical heterogeneous landscape”

2024 – Best Oral Presentation – Beibei Zhang, University of Bristol, UK: “Soil fertility drives large and predictable shifts in canopy dynamics in a tropical rainforest”

2024 – Best Poster – Sarafina Masanja, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania:  “Impact of Agricultural Expansion on Tree Species Composition and Diversity along Elevation Gradients in Pangawe West Forest Reserve, Morogoro, Tanzania”

2023 – Best Oral Presentation – Abhishek Gopal, Center for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMB), India: “Range-restricted old and young lineages show the southern Western Ghats to be both a museum and a cradle of diversity”

2023 – Best Poster – Megha Ojha, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, India: “Impact of non-native invasive plant species on Asian tropical savannas”

2022 – Siddarth Machado, University of Florida, USA: “Resilience to drought in a humid tropical Dipterocarp forest, India”.

2021 – Valerie Milici, University of Connecticut, USA: “Patterns of pathogen attack in seedling communities across a neotropical precipitation gradient and its implications for coexistence”.

2019 – Anita Weissflog, Bangor University, United Kingdom: “Fungal-mediated plant-soil-feedbacks affect secondary succession of tropical rainforests”.

2018 – Nancia Raoelinjanakolona, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar: “Impacts of habitat fragmentation on plant-frugivores mutualistic networks”.

2017 – Diana Cisneros de la Cruz: “Morphological and Genetic Variability of Rhizophora mangle L. in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico”.

2016 – Gabriel Damasco: “The leaf economic spectrum in the context of incipient species divergence”.

2015 – Carolyn Delevich “Does microbial-mediated plant-soil feedback regulate congeneric recruitment in the genus Cecropia“.

The Asia Pacific Chapter of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation presents the Prizes for the Best Student Papers each year at its Annual Meeting. Two prizes are given each year:

– The Madav Gadgil Prize for Best Student Oral Presentation

– The Peter Ashton Prize for Best Student Poster

All individuals who have been students within the previous 12 months are eligible, including those who have completed the Ph.D. within that period. The number of years of eligibility is not limited. The work must have been done by the student as the senior author on the paper. All students who wish to be considered for ATBC AP Chapter Prizes must indicate so on their registration forms. Prize criteria are the same as for the Al Gentry Award :

– ATBC membership

– originality of study

– contribution of the study to science

– breadth of the study

– quality of the research design and execution of the data analysis

– quality of the presentation, including audio-visual materials.

The Committee reserves the right to make no award if it deems that no deserving paper has been presented or if fewer than five eligible papers are presented. All students who wish to be considered for the Gentry Award must indicate so on their registration forms.

2015 ATBC ASIA PACIFIC CHAPTER PRIZE CEREMONY

In Phnom Penh, the winners of the prizes received a copy of the book The Ecology of Tropical East Asia, second edition by Richard Corlett. The winners were introduced by Alice C. Hughes: AP Chapter secretary, and the prizes were offered by Susan Laurance: 2015 ATBC Past President and Tony Lynam: AP Chapter Chair.

Six prizes were awarded for oral presentations of the 38 student oral presentations, and three prizes were awarded for the 15 student posters.

Tuanjit Sritongchuay won the Madav Gadgil Prize for her presentation on “Differential effects of forest proximity on fruit set of tropical tree crops dependent on pollination guilds”, with Krizler Tanalgo winning second prize, Eleanor Warren-Thomas third, Sheema Abdul Aziz forth, Carla Monoy fifth, Saveng Ith in sixth place.

Trang Nguyen won the Peter Ashton Prize for her poster on “Ivory and rhino horns consumption and consumers in Asia, with a focus on China and Vietnam”. Xue Xia won second place and Rahmawati Ihsani won third prize for her poster.

2013 ATBC ASIA PACIFIC CHAPTER PRIZE CEREMONY

In Banda Acech, the winners of the prizes received the book Tropical Rain Forests: An Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison, 2nd Edition by Richard Corlett and Richard Primack. The winners were introduced by Richard Corlett, 2012 Past-President, and the prizes were offered by Lucia Lohmann, 2013 ATBC President (© Tropicalbio.org)

Madav Gadgil Prize for Best Student Oral Presentation

2013 – Nandini Velho – From mosquito to minister: malaria and the management of a tiger reserve in north-east India. Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science & School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Smithfield, Cairns, QLD, Australia.

Peter Ashton Prize for Best Student Poster Paper

2013 – Manichanh Satdichanh – Species composition of Angiosperm in Phou Khao Khoauy National Park, Lao PDR. Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China & Faculty of Forestry, National University of Laos (NUoL), Laos.