معرفی
Prof. Tamar Dayan serves as the founding Chair of the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Curator of Terrestrial Vertebrates at the museum, and Professor of Zoology at Tel Aviv University's School of Zoology. She also holds the prestigious Robert Raynor Chair for Environmental Conservation Research, reflecting her significant contributions to the field.
Dr. Dayan earned her PhD from Tel Aviv University in 1989, followed by postdoctoral research with renowned ecologist Daniel Simberloff at Florida State University and with evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould at Harvard. She returned to Israel in 1991 to join the faculty at Tel Aviv University, where she has remained ever since.
Her research program integrates theoretical and applied approaches across community ecology, evolutionary ecology, and conservation biology. Prof. Dayan investigates fundamental questions about ecological community structure, with particular emphasis on body size evolution and activity rhythms. Her applied work addresses pressing conservation challenges related to global change drivers including land transformation, biological invasions, light pollution, and climate change impacts on biodiversity patterns and ecosystem services.
Prof. Dayan has established herself as a leader in conservation policy through roles including Chair of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Chair of Israel's Man and Biosphere UNESCO committee, Chair of the Open Landscapes Institute, and Chair of the Biodiversity and Conservation Forum of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. She also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Oceanographic and Limnological Institute.
Her laboratory brings together researchers from diverse disciplines to address complex ecological questions using innovative approaches that integrate field studies, experimental work, and theoretical modeling. The Dayan Research Group maintains strong connections with conservation practitioners and policy makers to ensure research findings directly inform real-world conservation efforts across Israel and beyond.
