Professor Emeritus Richard Tracy named an Ecological Society of America Fellow

by Michelle Werdann, University of Nevada, Reno
July 14, 2025

Richard “Dick” Tracy, an emeritus professor in the Department of Biology, was recently named a 2025 Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. The Ecological Society of America’s fellows are recognized for their contributions to advancing or applying ecological knowledge.

“I have been an ecologist for nearly 60 years, and to be recognized as a Fellow in the ESA is a humbling and much-appreciated honor,” Tracy said of the honor.

Tracy’s work focused largely on reptiles and amphibians. One of his most heavily cited publications was about evolution and ecology in reptiles, published in the 1970s in Biological Reviews. Tracy also discovered three new species of toads in the Great Basin, including the Dixie Valley toad, the Railroad Valley toad and the Hot Creek toad.

Keep reading: https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2025/tracy-esa-fellow

Read the ESA press release: https://esa.org/blog/2025/04/29/ecological-society-of-america-announces-2025-fellows/