I am a tropical ecologist and conservation biologist. I am currently a Senior Research Scientist at Conservation International. I recently completed research with Princeton University, World Wildlife Fund, and Encyclopedia of Life on several themes that include 1) impacts of climate change and land-use on Andean biodiversity; 2) impacts of the developing Interoceanic Highway on biodiversity and landscape connectivity; 3) spatial turnover of species across the Amazon and its relevance for protected areas; and 4) impacts of selective logging on biodiversity in Borneo.

I am also a research associate with the Amazon Conservation Association, Friends of the Osa, and the Smithsonian Institution. I am broadly interested in diversity patterns and understanding how community disassembly influences ecological processes. I also study strategies influencing species coexistence and rarity, mating systems, and general natural history and behavior, mostly with a focus on insects.

Trond Larsen Photography

Selected Publications

• Larsen, T.H, A. Lopera, A. Forsyth, & F. Genier. 2009. From coprophagy to predation: a dung beetle that kills millipedes. Biology Letters, 5(2):152-155
• Larsen, T. H., A. Lopera, & A. Forsyth. 2008. Understanding trait-dependent community disassembly: dung beetles, density functions and forest fragmentation. Conservation Biology, 22(5): 1288-1298
• Nichols, E., S. Spector, J. Louzada, T. H. Larsen, S. Amezquita, M. E. Favila. 2008. Review: Ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by Scarabaeinae dung beetles. Biological Conservation, 141(6):1461-1474
• Nichols, E., T.H. Larsen, S. Spector, A. Davis, K. Vulinec, F. Escobar, & the Scarabaeinae Research Network. 2007. Global dung beetle response to tropical forest modification and fragmentation: A quantitative literature review and meta-analysis. Biological Conservation, 137(1): 1-19
• Larsen, T.H. 2007. Dung Beetles. In: L. Alonso & J. Mol (eds.) A Rapid Biological Assessment of the Lely and Nassau Plateaus, Suriname. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 43, pp. 99-101, 232-233. Arlington, Virginia: Conservation International
• Larsen, T.H., A. Lopera, & A. Forsyth. 2006. Extreme trophic and habitat specialization by Peruvian dung beetles. Coleopterist’s Bulletin, 60(4): 315-324
• Larsen, T.H., N. Williams, & C. Kremen. 2005. Extinction order and altered community structure rapidly disrupt ecosystem functioning. Ecology Letters, 8: 538-547
• Larsen, T.H. & A. Forsyth. 2005. Trap spacing and transect design for dung beetle biodiversity studies. Biotropica, 37(2): 322-325
• Larsen, T.H. 2004. Dung Beetles/Escarabajos peloteros. In: C. Vriesendorp, L. Rivera Chavez, D. Moskovits and J. Shopland (eds.) Peru: Megantoni. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 15, pp. 77-84, 185-192. Chicago, Illinois: The Field Museum