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Dr. Robert R. Alexander Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Department of Environmental Studies Tel: +1-434-381-6451 |
Dr. Alexander received his Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Tennessee and his M.A. and B.S. degrees from the University of Central Florida and the University of Florida, respectively. Prior to joining the Sweet Briar faculty in 2003, Dr. Alexander was a senior lecturer in the Department of Applied and International Economics at Massey University in New Zealand where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in natural resource economics, environmental economics, mathematical economics, natural resource management and research methods. Dr. Alexander is one the world's leading experts on the economics of wildlife conservation and serves on the board of directors of the Central Virginia Land Conservancy.
ECON 227 Methods of Economic Analysis
ECON 342 Ecological Economics
ENVR 101 Introduction to Environmental Issues
ENVR 210 Humans and Wildlife
ENVR 215 Environmental Policy Analysis
ENVR 223 The Global Environment
ENVR 322 Ecological Modeling
ENVR 329 Global Biodiversity Conservation
ENVR 446 Evaluation of Environmental Issues
Professor Alexander's research interests include the economics of wildlife and wilderness conservation, bioeconomic and ecological modeling, and natural resource policy. His current research program is primarily focused on the economics of biodiversity and wildlife conservation. While most of the visible effort put toward conservation is biological, when you look more carefully at the direct causes of species decline and extinction--overharvest of species, loss of habitat, introduction of exotic species--you see that 
the underlying causes are almost always economic. Dr. Alexander's research is geared toward examining the human behavior that leads to species decline and the economic incentives that motivate that behavior.
He has conducted research in Africa, Australia, China and New Zealand, published in such journals as Ecological Economics, Ecological Modelling, Natural Resource Modelling, Conservation Biology and Biological Conservation. His personal web site, Wild Earth Net, contains more information on wildlife economics, including articles, research papers and Dr. Alexander's own wildlife photography.
For more information on research for Sweet Briar students, including possible research topics, follow the link on the right to the Alexander Research Group page.
Lindsey, P.A., L. G. Frank, R. Alexander, A. Mathieson and S. S. Romañach. ‘Trophy Hunting and Conservation in Africa: Problems and One Potential Solution’ Conservation Biology, 21(3), 2007.
Lindsey, P. A., Alexander, R. R., Mills, M.G.L, Romanach, S.S.R. , Woodroffe, R. ‘Wildlife Viewing Preferences of Visitors to Protected Areas in South Africa: Implications for the Role of Ecotourism in Conservation’. Journal of Ecotourism, 6(1), 2007.
Lindsey, P.A., R. R. Alexander, L. G. Frank, A. Mathieson and S. S. Romañach. ‘Potential of Trophy Hunting to Create Incentives for Wildlife Conservation in Africa Where Alternative Wildlife-based Land Uses may not be Viable.’ Animal Conservation, 9(3), 2006.
Lindsey, P. A. Alexander, R. R., du Toit, J. T. & Mills, M. G. L. 'The Cost Efficiency of Wild Dog Lycaon pictus Conservation in South Africa.' Conservation Biology, 19(4), 2005.
Lindsey, P. A., Alexander, R. R., du Toit, J. T. & Mills, M. G. L. ‘The Potential Contribution of Ecotourism to African Wild Dog Lycaon pictus Conservation in South Africa.’ Biological Conservation, 123(3), 2005.
Alexander, R. R. and D. W. Shields. 'Using Land as a Control Variable in Density-Dependent Bioeconomic Models.' Ecological Modelling, 170(2-3), 2003.
Fleming, C. M. and R. R. Alexander. 'Single Species Versus Multiple Species Models: The Economic Implications.' Ecological Modelling, 170(2-3), 2003.
Tomlinson, Kyle W., John W. Hearne and Robert R. Alexander. 'An Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Property Size on Land-use Options in Semi-arid Rangelands.' Ecological Modelling, 149(2), 2002.
Krausse, Michael, Callum Eastwood and Robert R. Alexander. Muddied Waters: Estimating the National Economic Cost of Soil Erosion and Sedimentation in New Zealand. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Landcare Research, 2001.
Alexander, Robert R. 'Modelling Species Extinction: The Case for Non-Consumptive Values.' Ecological Economics, 35(2), 2000.
Springett, Brian P., Robert R. Alexander, John D. Holland and Elizabeth Raeburn. 'The Value of New Zealand Wallabies.' Ecological Management and Restoration, 1(2), 2000.
Dr. Alexander enjoys hiking, camping, photography, and training dogs. When feeling less actively inclined, he also shoots and produces digital video and relaxes by reading science fiction. As a citizen of both the United States and New Zealand, he will be happy to talk your ear off about the Lord of the Rings movies, for which he claims -- as do all New Zealanders -- some personal responsibility (unless you don't like them). He and his wife, Sheila, live on a well-hidden 5-acre property in Madison Heights with their two cats, Tucson (Siamese) and K'Ali (Abyssinian) and their dog, Legend (Sheltie).
