Contact Information
Assistant Professor 
Department of Biology 
University of Hawaii at Hilo 
200 W. Kawili Street 
Hilo, HI 96720 
(808) 974-7361 phone, 
(808) 974-7693 fax 
ostertag@hawaii.edu 

Current research interests also include forest restoration and the role of non-native species in forest ecosystems. I currently have projects in tropical wet forests in both Hawai`i and in Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico I am working in collaboration with scientists from UC-Berkeley to address how soil carbon (C) is stored during the process of secondary succession after pasture abandonment and if this storage can be justified as a mitigation of anthropogenic C emissions to the atmosphere. We are examining litter inputs and decomposition, the C retention capacity of the soil, and the decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) along a long-term (> 80 yr) pasture-to-forest chronosequence. In Hawai`i I am beginning projects to examine 1) productivity, nutrient use, and growth of the entire plant community in nitrogen versus phosphorus limited systems; and 2) traits and resource use of highly successful invasive species in forest understories, and 3) forest structure and function in remnant lowland wet forest patches. 

Recent Publications

Marin-Spiotta, E., R. Ostertag, and W.L. Silver.  2007.   Long-term patterns in reforestation of tropical pastures: plant community composition and aboveground biomass accumulation.   Ecological Applications 1:828-839.  PDF file

Carlson, K.M., G.P. Asner, R. Flint Hughes, R. Ostertag, R.E. Martin.   In Press.   Hyperspectral remote sensing of canopy biodiversity in Hawaiian lowland rainforests.   Ecosystems.

Ostertag, R., W.L. Silver, and A.E. Lugo.   2005.   Factors affecting mortality and resistance to damage following hurricanes in a rehabilitated subtropical moist forest. Biotropica 37: 16-23.  PDF file

Van Bloem, S. J., P.G. Murphy, A.E. Lugo, R. Ostertag, M. Rivera Costa, I. Ruiz Bernard, S. Molina Colón, and M. Canals Mora. 2005.   The influence of hurricane winds on Caribbean dry forest structure and nutrient pools.   Biotropica 37: 571-583.

Silver, W.L., L.M. Kueppers, A.E. Lugo, R. Ostertag, and V. Matzek.   2004.   Carbon sequestration and plant community dynamics following reforestation of tropical pasture.   Ecological Applications 14: 1115-1127.  PDF file

Ostertag, R., F.N. Scatena, and W.L. Silver.  2003.  Forest floor decomposition following hurricane litter inputs in several Puerto Rican forests.  Ecosystems 6: 261-273.  PDF file

Ostertag, R. and J.H. Verville.  2002.  Effects of N and P fertilization on invasion by non-native species in Hawaiian montane forests.  Plant Ecology 162: 77-90.  PDF file 

Ostertag, R. 2001. The effects of nitrogen and phosphorus availability on fine root dynamics in Hawaiian montane forests. Ecology 82: 485-499.  PDF file 

Guariguata, M.R. and R. Ostertag. 2001. Neotropical secondary succession: changes in structural and functional characteristics. Forest Ecology and Management 148: 185-206.  PDF file  

Silver, W.L., R. Ostertag, and A.E. Lugo. 2000. The potential for carbon sequestration through reforestation of abandoned tropical agricultural and pasture lands. Restoration Ecology 8: 394-407. 

Ostertag, R. and S.E. Hobbie. 1999. Early stages of root and leaf decomposition in Hawaiian forests: effects of nutrient availability. Oecologia 121: 564-573.  PDF file 

Ostertag, R. 1998. Belowground effects of canopy gaps in a lowland tropical wet forest. Ecology 79: 1294-1304.  PDF file 

I currently teach ecology courses at both lower and upper levels. In lower level courses, the emphasis is on developing a solid foundation based on ecological theory and to understand how that theory can be applied to present environmental issues, particularly related to global change. In upper level courses, the focus is on learning about the "art" of science, including reading primary literature, discussion of new analytical tools, and development of independent hypotheses and research proposals. All laboratory courses that I teach are field based, and take advantage of the extraordinary landscape diversity of the Big Island of Hawai`i.