Robert T. Paine (zoologist)

Robert T. Paine
Born(1933-04-13)April 13, 1933
DiedJune 13, 2016(2016-06-13) (aged 83)
Alma materHarvard University
University of Michigan
Known forkeystone species concept
AwardsSewall Wright Award (1996)
National Academy of Sciences
International Cosmos Prize (2013)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Michigan
University of Washington
Harvard University
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
ThesisThe Life History and Population Dynamics of Glottidia Pyramidata (Brachiopoda) (1961)
Doctoral studentsPaul Dayton
Bruce Menge
Jane Lubchenco
Anne Salomon
Websitewww.biology.washington.edu/users/robert-t-paine

Robert Treat "Bob" Paine III (April 13, 1933 – June 13, 2016) was an American ecologist who spent most of his career at the University of Washington. Paine coined the keystone species concept to explain the relationship between Pisaster ochraceus, a species of starfish, and Mytilus californianus, a species of mussel.