I agree with Tom; using the strict definition of evolution as a change in gene frequency over time in a population, will prevent confusion and facilitate a more honed discussion. That said, the *forces* of evolution can act at multiple levels of the biological hierarchy (ie, gene, above species in macroevolution). If you wish to touch upon the assembly or "evolution" of communities, you could frame it in the context of climate change, bringing up both paleoecology and analyses of modern biota. Best wishes, Alexis
On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 8:50 AM, Eric North <xcs...@hotmail.com> wrote: > Tom; could you clarify? > I would argue that communities evolve. Read anything from the Cottonwood > Ecology group out of Northern Arizona University and Tom Whitam. > > Best-Eric > > Eric North > All Things Wild Consulting > > P.O. Box 254 > > Cable, WI 54821 > > 928.607.3098 > > > > Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2012 11:45:23 +0000 > > From: thomas.w.culli...@aphis.usda.gov > > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Discussion Panel Topic Suggestions > > To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > > > > You might want to rephrase your question #3, for it's not organisms that > evolve, but populations. > > > > Tom Culliney > > > > USDA-APHIS, PPQ > > Center for Plant Health Science and Technology > > Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory > > 1730 Varsity Drive, Suite 300 > > Raleigh, NC 27606 U.S.A. > > (919) 855-7506 > > (919) 855-7595 (Fax) > > thomas.w.culli...@aphis.usda.gov > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto: > ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of jason.strickland > > Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2012 11:38 AM > > To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Discussion Panel Topic Suggestions > > > > Dear group, > > > > I have compiled some of the ideas that were given to me about my > discussion panel. The response was much lower than I expected so if you > have any ideas, feel free to share those as well. Thank you to all those > that contributed. > > > > > > 1. Will most organisms be capable of adapting quickly enough to > respond to climate change/sea level rise to be evolutionarily relevant? > > > > 2. What impact will Genetically Modified Organisms have on the > ecology and evolution of the modified species and other species? > > > > 3. Do organisms progress/improve/advance through evolution? > > > > 4. Do ecological processes/interactions last long enough to have > any meaningful impact on the evolutionary trajectory of a species? > > > > Please share your thoughts on these topics or suggest others. > > > > Cheers, > > Jason Strickland > > jason.strickl...@knights.ucf.edu > > > > From: jason.strickland > > Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 3:59 PM > > To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > > Subject: Discussion Panel Topic Suggestions > > > > Dear group, > > > > I am currently working on forming a discussion panel that will include > two ecologists and two evolutionary biologists to discuss topics that > involve merging ecology and evolution. The discussion will be in front of > 150-200 students ranging from undergraduates to post-docs (all in biology). > The panel will happen on a Saturday morning so it needs to be an exciting > discussion to hold the audience's interest and cause them to ask questions. > > > > I am looking for topics/questions that the two fields do not completely > agree on. The goal is to have the panel disagree on topics to allow the > students to learn and be entertained. If anyone can suggest topics or > questions that ecologists and evolutionary biologists have different > viewpoints on, they would be greatly appreciated. I have a few topics > already, but wanted to ask a larger audience to suggest topics to determine > if there are certain topics/questions that come up frequently. Feel free to > email me directly (jason.strickl...@knights.ucf.edu<mailto: > jason.strickl...@knights.ucf.edu>) or respond to this post with your > suggestions. > > > > Thank you in advance for your help, > > > > Jason Strickland > > jason.strickl...@knights.ucf.edu<mailto:jason.strickl...@knights.ucf.edu > > > > > > > > > > > > > > This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA > solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this > message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate > the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you > believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender > and delete the email immediately. > -- Alexis Mychajliw Graduate Student in Ecology & Evolution Department of Biology, Stanford University* *516-639-0180 amych...@stanford.edu amm...@cornell.edu
