Duncan Patten is Research Professor with the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences and affiliated faculty with the Big Sky Institute. He is also Professor Emeritus of Plant Biology at Arizona State University with a Ph.D. in plant ecology from Duke University. Duncan taught at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University before going to Arizona State University in 1965 and then moved to Montana State University in 1999. He has served on National Science Foundation panels, is a member of various committees, boards, and commissions of the National Research Council and has been an officer in the Ecological Society of America. At Arizona State University, he served as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Chairperson of the Department of Plant Biology and Microbiology, and Director of the University's Center for Environmental Studies, an interdisciplinary research center. He is a certified senior ecologist and a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science.

Research of Dr. Patten and his students and colleagues is centered on the dynamics of plant communities and ecosystems. Systems that are being studied range from the desert to subalpine spruce-fir communities including riparian ecosystems that link the altitudinal zones together. Much of the research is oriented toward assessing the effects of human activities on these systems. Because ecosystems vary in their resistance and resiliency to disturbance, resource management decisions should be based on information about the response of the systems to types of perturbation. Types of perturbation studied by Duncan's group include recreation, fire, grazing, stream diversion, groundwater withdrawal, and potential facilities construction.

Studies of particular interest include determining factors of riparian and stream ecosystems that may be indicators of watershed health. This research uses remote sensing and groundtruthing data. Other research has looked at the effects of stream diversion and groundwater withdrawal on riparian ecosystems. The effects of different levels of stream dewatering diversion or pumping are evaluated relative to growth, maintenance and reproduction of riparian plant species. Biocomplexity research relating human and natural system models is being applied to wolf-ungulate-vegetation issues in the GreaterYellowstone area. Questions are being answered that will facilitate the management of streams and springs as well as expand our basic knowledge of species' reproductive responses, for example, response of subalpine wetlands to restoration. Understanding riparian ecosystem response to hydroclimatic changes resulting from global warming will guide long-term management of these systems. Additional information on watershed issues including land use and water quality is ongoing in the Big Sky area using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The goal of Patten's research program is to integrate basic and applied ecological research to permit better resource management decisions while expanding our knowledge of the basic functions of riparian, mountain and other western ecosystems.