Associate Curator Emerita (Vascular Plants)
rburnham@umich.eduOffice Information:
Research Museums Center
3600 Varsity Drive #1036
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108-2228
Education/Degree:
Ph.D. University of WashingtonAbout
Research
Professor Burnham is currently involved in research on climbing plants of the Amazon Basin, especially in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia on the lower flanks of the Andes Mountains. Her interests are in the community structure and species composition of Amazonian forests, as viewed via the lianas and vines that inhabit these forests. Particular interest has recently been focused on the impacts of human intervention in Amazonian forests from oil exploration, agriculture and gold mining. Continuing work on the paleontological history of the forests of Northern South America is carried out in her lab as well, with ongoing research in the intermontane basins of Ecuador and the eastern basins of Bolivia.
Select publications
Rocha E.X., Schietti J., Gerolamo C.S., Burnham R.J., Nogueira A. 2020. Higher rates of liana regeneration after canopy fall drives species abundance patterns in central Amazonia. Journal of Ecology 1–11. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13345
Burnham, Robyn J., Wladimir Hermínio de Almeida, Rainiellen S. Carpanedo, Cristiane Miranda da Cruz, Aline C. S. Dresch, Monique Machiner, Lucinere P. Pinto, Rozangela Cristina Alves de Oliveira, Evandro F. dos Santos, and Bradley Spilka, 2019. A Comparison of Chirality Patterns in Climbing Plants (Lianas) of Moist Tropical Forest in Peru and Brazil. pp. 167-177 in B. Bahadur, K.V. Krishnamurthy, M. Ghose, S.J. Adams, Asymmetry in Plants, Biology of Handedness. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. ISBN-10: 113858794X
Iverson, A., D. Jackson, R.J. Burnham, I. Perfecto, N. Vandenberg, and J. Vandermeer 2018. Species complementarity in two myrmecophilous lady beetle species in a coffee agroecosystem: Implications for biological control. BioControl doi:10.1007/s10526-017-9865-1
Burnham, R.J. 2017. The liana community at Tiputini: a lifestyle alternative. Pp39-53 In D. Romo, D. Mosquera, & K. Swing, eds. Los secretos de Yasuní: avances en la investigación del bosque tropical: Estación de Biodiversidad Tiputini Universidad San Farncisco del Quito. Quito: Editorial USFQ.
Souza-Brito, A.C., A. Ferraro, V.A, Assunção, R.J. Burnham, & A.L.B. Sartori 2017. Liana species composition differs in spite of trait similarities in two adjacent forest types in Central Brazil. International Journal of Tropical Biology (Rev. Biol. Trop.) 65(3):1215-1215. ISSN-0034-7744. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v65i3.26210
Addo-Fordjour, P., Z.B. Rahmad, & R.J. Burnham 2016, online. Intercontinental comparison of liana community assemblages with special reference to tropical forests in Ghana and Malaysia. Journal of Plant Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtw082
Sfair, J.C., A.L.C. Rochelle, A. A. Rezende, J. van Melis, R.J. Burnham, V. de L. Weiser & F.R. Martins 2016. Liana avoidance in trees: Trees combine traits to be more effective. Tropical Ecology 57(3): 559-566. ISSN: 0564-3295
Santos, M.C.V., L.F. Barbosa, R. S. Carpanedo, R.J. Burnham, & D. J. Rodrigues 2015. Caracterização florística de lianas do Parque Estadual Cristalino. In D.J. Rodrigues et al., eds, Biodiversidade do Parque Estadual Cristalino. Sinop (MT): Áttema Editorial.
Burnham, R.J. & C.V. Santanna 2015. Distribution, diversity, and traits of native, exotic, and invasive climbing plants in Michigan. Brittonia 67(4):350-370, doi: 10.1007/s12228-015-9385-1
Fauset, S. M.O. Johnson, M. Gloor, T.R. Baker….and 98 others (with Robyn J. Burnham). 2015. Hyperdominance in Amazonian forest carbon cycling. Nature Communications. 6:6857 (1-9) doi: 10.1038/ncomms7857
Marvin, D.C., K. Winter, R.J. Burnham, & S.A. Schnitzer 2015. No evidence that elevated CO2 gives tropical lianas an advantage over tropical trees. Global Change Biology 21:2055–2069 doi: 10.1111/gcb.12820.
Burnham R.J. and H.V. Romero-Saltos 2015. Diversity and distribution of lianas in Yasuní, Ecuador, pp. 50-64 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, and F.E. Putz, (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Burnham, R.J. 2015. Climbing plants in the fossil record: Paleozoic to Present. pp. 205-220 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, & F.E. Putz (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Nogueira, A., F.R. Costa, M.C. Vilela-Santos, C.V. Castilho, A. Andrade, J.L. Camargo, W.F. Laurance, & R.J. Burnham 2015. Liana assemblage structure in four sites across the Brazilian Amazon. pp. 65-75 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, & F.E. Putz (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
DeWalt, S.J., S.A. Schnitzer, L.F. Alves, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, Z. Cai, W.P. Carson, J. Chave, G.B. Chuyong, F.R.C. Costa, C.E.N. Ewango, R.V. Gallagher, J.J. Gerwing, E.G. Amezcua, T. Hart, G. Ibarra-Manríquez, K. Ickes, D. Kenfack, S.G. Letcher, M.J. Macía, J.-R. Makana, A. Malizia, M. Martínez-Ramos, J. Mascaro, C. Muthumperumal, S. Muthuramkumar, A. Nogueira, M.P.E. Parren, N. Parthasarathy, D.R. Pérez-Salicrup, F.E. Putz, H. Romero-Saltos, M.S. Reddy, M. N. Sainge, D. Thomas, & J. van Melis 2015. Worldwide liana abundance and diversity – a global meta-analysis of small census plots. pp. 131-146 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, & F.E. Putz (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Thomas, D., R.J. Burnham, G. Chuyong, D. Kenfack, & M.N. Sainge 2015. Liana abundance and diversity in Cameroon’s Korup National Park. pp. 13-22 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, & F.E. Putz (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Villagra, B.L.P., E.P.C. Gomes, R.J. Burnham, & S.R. Neto 2013. Diversity and abundance of climbers from the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation 22: 2505-2517.
Smith, S.Y., S.A. Little, R.L. Cooper, R.J. Burnham, & R.A. Stockey. 2013. A ranunculalean liana stem from the Cretaceous of British Columbia, Canada: Atli morinii gen. et sp. nov. International Journal of Plant Sciences 174: 818-831.
Vilela-Santos, M.C., L.F. Barbosa, N.A. Coutinho, M.H.O. Pinheiro, D.J. Rodrigues, L. Cavalheiro, R. Arruda, E.J. Almeida, & R.J. Burnham 2012. Five new records of Gurania Cogn (Cucurbitaceae A. Juss) for Southern Amazonia, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Check List (São Paulo. Online), 8(2): 239-241.
Wing, S.L., C.A.E. Strömberg, L.J. Hickey, F. Tiver, B. Willis, R.J. Burnham, & A.K. Behrensmeyer. 2012. Floral and environmental gradients on a Late Cretaceous landscape. Ecological Monographs 82: 23-47.
About
Research
Professor Burnham is currently involved in research on climbing plants of the Amazon Basin, especially in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia on the lower flanks of the Andes Mountains. Her interests are in the community structure and species composition of Amazonian forests, as viewed via the lianas and vines that inhabit these forests. Particular interest has recently been focused on the impacts of human intervention in Amazonian forests from oil exploration, agriculture and gold mining. Continuing work on the paleontological history of the forests of Northern South America is carried out in her lab as well, with ongoing research in the intermontane basins of Ecuador and the eastern basins of Bolivia.
Select publications
Rocha E.X., Schietti J., Gerolamo C.S., Burnham R.J., Nogueira A. 2020. Higher rates of liana regeneration after canopy fall drives species abundance patterns in central Amazonia. Journal of Ecology 1–11. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13345
Burnham, Robyn J., Wladimir Hermínio de Almeida, Rainiellen S. Carpanedo, Cristiane Miranda da Cruz, Aline C. S. Dresch, Monique Machiner, Lucinere P. Pinto, Rozangela Cristina Alves de Oliveira, Evandro F. dos Santos, and Bradley Spilka, 2019. A Comparison of Chirality Patterns in Climbing Plants (Lianas) of Moist Tropical Forest in Peru and Brazil. pp. 167-177 in B. Bahadur, K.V. Krishnamurthy, M. Ghose, S.J. Adams, Asymmetry in Plants, Biology of Handedness. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. ISBN-10: 113858794X
Iverson, A., D. Jackson, R.J. Burnham, I. Perfecto, N. Vandenberg, and J. Vandermeer 2018. Species complementarity in two myrmecophilous lady beetle species in a coffee agroecosystem: Implications for biological control. BioControl doi:10.1007/s10526-017-9865-1
Burnham, R.J. 2017. The liana community at Tiputini: a lifestyle alternative. Pp39-53 In D. Romo, D. Mosquera, & K. Swing, eds. Los secretos de Yasuní: avances en la investigación del bosque tropical: Estación de Biodiversidad Tiputini Universidad San Farncisco del Quito. Quito: Editorial USFQ.
Souza-Brito, A.C., A. Ferraro, V.A, Assunção, R.J. Burnham, & A.L.B. Sartori 2017. Liana species composition differs in spite of trait similarities in two adjacent forest types in Central Brazil. International Journal of Tropical Biology (Rev. Biol. Trop.) 65(3):1215-1215. ISSN-0034-7744. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v65i3.26210
Addo-Fordjour, P., Z.B. Rahmad, & R.J. Burnham 2016, online. Intercontinental comparison of liana community assemblages with special reference to tropical forests in Ghana and Malaysia. Journal of Plant Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtw082
Sfair, J.C., A.L.C. Rochelle, A. A. Rezende, J. van Melis, R.J. Burnham, V. de L. Weiser & F.R. Martins 2016. Liana avoidance in trees: Trees combine traits to be more effective. Tropical Ecology 57(3): 559-566. ISSN: 0564-3295
Santos, M.C.V., L.F. Barbosa, R. S. Carpanedo, R.J. Burnham, & D. J. Rodrigues 2015. Caracterização florística de lianas do Parque Estadual Cristalino. In D.J. Rodrigues et al., eds, Biodiversidade do Parque Estadual Cristalino. Sinop (MT): Áttema Editorial.
Burnham, R.J. & C.V. Santanna 2015. Distribution, diversity, and traits of native, exotic, and invasive climbing plants in Michigan. Brittonia 67(4):350-370, doi: 10.1007/s12228-015-9385-1
Fauset, S. M.O. Johnson, M. Gloor, T.R. Baker….and 98 others (with Robyn J. Burnham). 2015. Hyperdominance in Amazonian forest carbon cycling. Nature Communications. 6:6857 (1-9) doi: 10.1038/ncomms7857
Marvin, D.C., K. Winter, R.J. Burnham, & S.A. Schnitzer 2015. No evidence that elevated CO2 gives tropical lianas an advantage over tropical trees. Global Change Biology 21:2055–2069 doi: 10.1111/gcb.12820.
Burnham R.J. and H.V. Romero-Saltos 2015. Diversity and distribution of lianas in Yasuní, Ecuador, pp. 50-64 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, and F.E. Putz, (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Burnham, R.J. 2015. Climbing plants in the fossil record: Paleozoic to Present. pp. 205-220 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, & F.E. Putz (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Nogueira, A., F.R. Costa, M.C. Vilela-Santos, C.V. Castilho, A. Andrade, J.L. Camargo, W.F. Laurance, & R.J. Burnham 2015. Liana assemblage structure in four sites across the Brazilian Amazon. pp. 65-75 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, & F.E. Putz (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
DeWalt, S.J., S.A. Schnitzer, L.F. Alves, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, Z. Cai, W.P. Carson, J. Chave, G.B. Chuyong, F.R.C. Costa, C.E.N. Ewango, R.V. Gallagher, J.J. Gerwing, E.G. Amezcua, T. Hart, G. Ibarra-Manríquez, K. Ickes, D. Kenfack, S.G. Letcher, M.J. Macía, J.-R. Makana, A. Malizia, M. Martínez-Ramos, J. Mascaro, C. Muthumperumal, S. Muthuramkumar, A. Nogueira, M.P.E. Parren, N. Parthasarathy, D.R. Pérez-Salicrup, F.E. Putz, H. Romero-Saltos, M.S. Reddy, M. N. Sainge, D. Thomas, & J. van Melis 2015. Worldwide liana abundance and diversity – a global meta-analysis of small census plots. pp. 131-146 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, & F.E. Putz (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Thomas, D., R.J. Burnham, G. Chuyong, D. Kenfack, & M.N. Sainge 2015. Liana abundance and diversity in Cameroon’s Korup National Park. pp. 13-22 in S.A. Schnitzer, F. Bongers, R.J. Burnham, & F.E. Putz (eds.) The Ecology of Lianas, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Villagra, B.L.P., E.P.C. Gomes, R.J. Burnham, & S.R. Neto 2013. Diversity and abundance of climbers from the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation 22: 2505-2517.
Smith, S.Y., S.A. Little, R.L. Cooper, R.J. Burnham, & R.A. Stockey. 2013. A ranunculalean liana stem from the Cretaceous of British Columbia, Canada: Atli morinii gen. et sp. nov. International Journal of Plant Sciences 174: 818-831.
Vilela-Santos, M.C., L.F. Barbosa, N.A. Coutinho, M.H.O. Pinheiro, D.J. Rodrigues, L. Cavalheiro, R. Arruda, E.J. Almeida, & R.J. Burnham 2012. Five new records of Gurania Cogn (Cucurbitaceae A. Juss) for Southern Amazonia, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Check List (São Paulo. Online), 8(2): 239-241.
Wing, S.L., C.A.E. Strömberg, L.J. Hickey, F. Tiver, B. Willis, R.J. Burnham, & A.K. Behrensmeyer. 2012. Floral and environmental gradients on a Late Cretaceous landscape. Ecological Monographs 82: 23-47.
