[ECOLOG-L] Convention on Biodiversity and Agricultural Production and Food Security
Dear All, Please see our recent articles Biological Diversity Act 2002: threat to agricultural production and food security in the latest issue of Current Science and Shared Ownership of Biological Resources in Science (copies attached) Biological resources were historically treated as the common heritage of mankind. India and other third world countries in 1992 in the Convention on Biodiversity demand benefit sharing and successfully fought for sovereign rights over biological diversity. The nations of the world are linked in a complex network of genetic interdependence. About 2/3 of India's food production is based on exotic biological material. With out considering the above, Biological Diversity Act 2002 was enacted to establish national sovereign rights over India's biodiversity. Third world countries position on biodiversity in the CBD is bound to boomerang severely affecting agricultural production and food security. With warm regards Priyan Links to the article: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/324/5930/1014-c.pdf http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/sep102009/626.pdf _ Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan Fellow Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bangalore - 560 064, India. Ph:91-80-2363 (R) 91-80-23535287; Fax: 91-80-23530070 Other ID: priyadar...@gmail.com URL: www.atree.org/priyan.html Need a taxi? Check out taxi service listings on Yahoo! India Local http://in.local.yahoo.com/
[ECOLOG-L] Assistantships in sustainable agriculture at Penn State
An assistantship for a Masters student in HORTICULTURE or ECOLOGY is available for 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 at The Pennsylvania State University to study sustainable cropping systems based on ecological principles with special emphasis on mycorrhizal fungi. The degree can be awarded in either Horticulture or Ecology, and the student will have the opportunity to interact with a diversity of researchers, a postdoc, and other graduate students in Horticulture, Crop and Soil Sciences, Entomology, The Rodale Institute, and the US Department of Agriculture. Cropping-system practices are being designed to minimize pest populations, conserve nutrients, soil, energy, and off-farm inputs. For more information, contact: Dr. Roger Koide (rx...@psu.edu), Department of Horticulture, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Assistantships for an MS or PhD Graduate degrees are available in AGRONOMY and SOIL SCIENCE at The Pennsylvania State University to study sustainable cropping systems based on ecological principles. Cropping-system practices are being designed to minimize pest populations, conserve nutrients, soil, energy, and off-farm inputs. A recently funded 3-year project with a team of Penn State and USDA-ARS scientists, is seeking graduate applicants for 2009/2010 (even though it is late in the application process) and for 2010/2011. For more information, contact: Dr. Heather Karsten or Dr. Douglas Beegle, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (h...@psu.edu; 814-863-3179; d...@psu.edu).
[ECOLOG-L] PhD Research Assistantship in Quantitative Floristics
Research Assistantship in Quantitative Floristics The LIBRA group at Oklahoma State University (http://ecology.okstate.edu/Libra/index.htm) is seeking a PhD student to assist with the FloraS of North America Project (http://botany.okstate.edu/floras/index.html) as part of an NSF-EPSCoR funded collaborative proposal on Ecological Forecasting. This position is funded for 2.5 years, after which teaching or other assistantships will be available. The student is expected to enroll in the OSU Plant Sciences PhD program, and to develop a dissertation project related to the funded research. A start date of 4 January 2010 is desirable but negotiable. The ideal candidate would have strong scientific writing skills, experience with GIS, and familiarity with North American floristics - although applicants with a subset of such experience will still be considered. The student will be expected to collaborate with a diversity of scholars with expertise in computer science, statistics, geography, botany, ecosystem science, and global change. For full consideration, send a statement of interest, contact information for three references, and a current CV by 13 October 2009 to Michael Palmer at mike.pal...@okstate.edumailto:mike.pal...@okstate.edu. Informal inquiries by email are welcome. Michael W. Palmer, Regents Professor, Botany Department, Oklahoma State University 104 LSE Stillwater OK 74078 USA 405-744-7717 LABORATORY FOR INNOVATIVE BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: http://ecology.okstate.edu/Libra/ Wildfuels Blog: http://cas.okstate.edu/debo/blogs/ OSU Botany: http://botany.okstate.edu/ OSU Ecology: http://ecology.okstate.eduhttp://ecology.okstate.edu/
[ECOLOG-L] Arctic Ecology GRA and Postdoc Available
A Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) and a Postdoctoral Scientist position (one year, possibility for renewal up to three years) are available to participate in two arctic ecology research projects with field work based at Toolik Field Station (http://www.uaf.edu/toolik/) in northern Alaska, the site of the Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project (http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/ARC/). Both positions are in the plant ecology laboratory of Dr. Laura Gough at the University of Texas at Arlington (www.uta.edu) and could begin as early as January 2010. Briefly, the projects are: 1. investigating how moist acidic tundra communities above- and belowground respond to release from nutrient limitation in terms of species compositional and functional changes and how such changes affect carbon cycling (ongoing collaboration with John Moore, Colorado State University) 2. determining how migratory songbird species are affected by availability of shrub habitat across several sites on the North Slope to predict how ongoing changes in vegetation associated with climate warming may affect bird mating success and population viability [new collaboration with Natalie Boelman (Columbia University) and John Wingfield (University of California, Davis)]. Applicants must be in good physical condition, be able to hike over uneven terrain carrying heavy packs, and be available to spend most field seasons (up to three months) in a remote location. To apply for either position, please e-mail a c.v., names and contact information for three references, and a brief statement of interest to go...@uta.edu. GRA applicants can find information relevant to our graduate program at: http://www.uta.edu/biology/graduate/index.htm. Review of applications will begin mid-October and continue until the positions are filled. * Laura Gough Associate Professor and Graduate Advisor Department of Biology Box 19498 University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX 76019 phone: 817-272-1453 FAX: 817-272-2855 http://www.uta.edu/biology/gough/index.htm
[ECOLOG-L] PhD Graduate Research position: Stream amphibian ecology
PhD Graduate Research position: Stream amphibian ecology Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park. A graduate research assistantship (Ph.D.) is available for a student to conduct research on the spatial population ecology of stream salamanders. The student will be co-advised by Evan Grant at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and Bill Fagan at the University of Maryland, College Park. The successful applicant will be able to propose additional research to meet his or her specific interests, provided it fits within the broader goals of the program. Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in stream ecosystems, population biology, and amphibians. Preference will be given to those with experience conducting field research on amphibians and applicants with a strong mathematical background are encouraged to apply. The project will involve fieldwork, estimation of demographic parameters from mark-recapture data and computer modeling. Applicants must possess a valid US driver's license and are expected to work both independently and collaboratively. Strong verbal, written, and computational skills are essential. Funding is available for 2 years including stipend, benefits and tuition. If interested, please forward by email your transcript, curriculum vitae, recent GRE scores, cover letter describing your research interests and career goals (2 page limit), and the names and contact information of three references to Evan Grant (ehgr...@usgs.gov). Evan H. Campbell Grant, PhD NE Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center 12100 Beech Forest Rd., Laurel, MD 20708 phone: 301.497.5842 fax: 301.497.5784 http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/nearmi/
[ECOLOG-L] Post-doc in Modeling Chronic Wasting Disease in deer
POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW/RESEARCH ASSOCIATE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND MODELING OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE IN WISCONSIN DEER DEPARTMENT OF FOREST AND WILDLIFE ECOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON CLOSING: 15 October 2009 or until filled PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The position will focus on spatial epidemiological models for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer populations in Wisconsin and Illinois. Research will combine computer simulation and maximum likelihood estimation of alternative epidemiological models of CWD. Specific objectives include evaluation of different forms of disease transmission with host density and prevalence, potential importance of environmental transmission, rate of spatial spread, spatial management strategies, and alternative surveillance strategies. The Research Associate will work in close collaboration and coordination with state biologists in Wisconsin and Illinois, with federal research scientists, academic researchers, and other state or federal agencies. QUALIFICATIONS: A Ph.D. in Ecology, Biology, Wildlife Ecology, Zoology or related discipline with strong biological emphasis and applied modeling experience in disease epidemiology and/or population dynamics. Knowledge and experience in epidemiology, demographic and spatial modeling, and statistical analysis strongly preferred. Experience with Matlab is required. A strong independent work ethic, good verbal and written communication ability, ability to work independently and as part of a research team, demonstrated record of publication, and good interpersonal skills. SALARY: $33,000 - $38,000/year depending on qualifications, plus standard benefits. Minimum 12 month appointment, with continued employment for 2 years dependent on funding and satisfactory performance. START DATE: 1 November 2009 or as soon thereafter as possible. APPLICATIONS: Candidates should send a formal letter of interest, curriculum vitae, transcripts, and 3 references to: Michael D. Samuel, Department of Wildlife Ecology, 204 Russell Lab, 1630 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706.
[ECOLOG-L] Feedback needed: conceptual framework for continental-scale ecology
Dear ecologists, ESA is seeking input from the ecological community on a Conceptual Framework For Teaching Continental-Scale Ecology. In collaboration with NEON staff, workshop facilitators, and workshop participants, two versions of the Conceptual Education Framework, a graphic and text outline, were drafted at a 2008 faculty development workshop. We would appreciate your feedback on the two drafts to help us understand how to further develop them from here. How might the framework be a useful reference for you if you were teaching continental-scale ecology? Are there changes we should make to improve them? To review the drafts, please visit the website and submit your comments through the Feedback form: http://www.esa.org/education_diversity/neon/workshop/framework We are also seeking recommendations of teaching resources that the community identifies as useful for teaching continental-scale ecology. A second form for recommendations is also linked from the same webpage. We invite you to submit information about any resources you would recommend to your colleagues. Please submit your feedback and any teaching resource recommendation by October 5. You do not need to register or login to the site to submit the forms. Once the deadline has passed we will make a summary of the feedback and the resource list available on the same website and announce the posting through ESA email lists. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Thank you for your input, Jennifer Riem Jennifer Riem Education Coordinator Ecological Society of America jenni...@esa.org 202.833.8773 x 236
[ECOLOG-L] Ph.D. student position: community ecology/macroecology
GRADUATE STUDENT OPENING The Ernest Lab at Utah State University has an opening for a Ph.D student in the general areas of Community Ecology or Macroecology to start fall 2010. Active areas of research in the Ernest lab include desert ecology, long-term dynamics of community properties, and the role of body size in the ecology and life-history of mammals. While students interested in one of the general areas listed above are preferred, students are free to develop their own research projects depending upon their interests. Graduate students in the Ernest lab are funded through a combination of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. Utah State University has an excellent graduate program in ecology with over 50 faculty and 80+ graduate students across campus affiliated with the USU Ecology Center (http://www.usu.edu/ecology/). More information about the lab is available at: ernestlab.weecology.org Interested students should contact Dr. Morgan Ernest (morg...@biology.usu.edu) by Dec 1st, 2009 with their CV, GRE scores, and a brief statement of research interests.
[ECOLOG-L] Youth Writing Contest and Poster Session - The New Green Economy Conference
NCSE's New Green Economy Conference January 20-22, 2010 | Washington, DC Youth Writing Contest and Poster Session The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) values youth perspectives on environmental issues and is including a writing contest for youth in the upcoming 10th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment: The New Green Economy (http://ncseonline.org/conference/greeneconomy/) (held January 20-22, 2010 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC). NCSE also invites abstract submissions for scientific posters that also will be highlighted at the conference. Generation Green: Youth Voices and Visions Generation Green is a writing contest which provides a forum for university and high school students to express personal perspectives and experiences relevant to the emerging green economy, aiming to identify key issues and solutions. Selected articles will be published in a six-page insert distributed at the conference and included in the online Encyclopedia of Earth (http://www.eoearth.org/). The winners will also be published online in Solutions (http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/), a magazine focused on sustainable environmental solutions. To view article criteria or to submit an article, visit the Generation Green webpage (http://ncseonline.org/conference/greeneconomy/cms.cfm?id=3302). Poster Session Research scientists, students, university faculty, entrepreneurs and others are invited to submit abstracts to participate in poster sessions. Posters provide an opportunity to share research, innovations, and initiatives relevant to the creation of a new green economy. Posters will be displayed on January 21 and 22. The poster session fee is $70 in addition to full conference registration and will be due upon abstract acceptance. This fee is waived for NCSE University Affiliates (http://ncseonline.org/conference/greeneconomy/cms.cfm?id=3303). For more information or to submit an abstract, visit the Poster Session webpage (http://ncseonline.org/conference/greeneconomy/cms.cfm?id=2842). About NCSE The National Council for Science and the Environment is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the scientific basis for environmental decision making. We envision a society where environmental decisions by everyone are based on an accurate understanding of the underlying science, its meaning and limitations, and the potential consequences of their action or inaction. For more information on NCSE's programs, projects, or conferences, please visit the NCSE homepage. (http://ncseonline.org/) Having trouble with the link? Simply copy and paste the entire address listed below into your web browser: http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?1Q,P1,1BD3BD6F-7342-48D8-B61E-99E877802D5C If you no longer want to receive emails from Caley Corsello please click the link below. http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?8D,E1,7c0313e2-8ed9-46b8-880b-e1856ab616f7 Powered by Cvent
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Are ecologists the problem? making environmentalism cool
The following is a message from Paul Ehrlich relevant to this discussion. Dear Friends, There is growing consensus among environmental scientists that the scholarly community has adequately detailed how to deal with the major issues of the human predicament caused by our success as a species – climate disruption, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, toxification of the planet, the deterioration of the epidemiological environment, the potential impacts of nuclear war, racism, sexism, economic inequity, and on and on. I and my colleagues believe humanity must take rapid steps to ameliorate them. But, in essence, nothing serious is being done – as exemplified by the “much talk and no action” on climate change. The central problem is clearly not a need for more natural science (although in many areas it would be very helpful) but rather a need for better understanding of human behaviors and how they can be altered to direct humanity toward a sustainable society before it is too late. That’s why a group of natural scientists, social scientists, and scholars from the humanities decided to inaugurate a Millennium Assessment of Human Behavior (MAHB --- pronounced “mob”). It was so named to emphasize that it is human behavior, toward one another and toward the planet that sustains all of us, that requires rapid modification. The idea is that the MAHB might become a basic mechanism to expose society to the full range of population-environment-resource-ethics-equity-power* *issues, and to sponsor broad global discussion involving the greatest possible diversity of people. It would, I hope, serve as a major tool for promoting conscious cultural evolution. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) serves as a partial model for the MAHB. * * The IPCC involves hundreds of scientists from nearly every nation representing diverse disciplines, from atmospheric physics, chemistry, and ecology to economics and other social sciences. A major role of the IPCC is to sort out the scientific validity of claims and counterclaims of competing interests. It also puts a strong emphasis on finding equitable solutions. The sessions are open and transparent, and representatives of various governments, interested industries, and environmental organizations also participate as observers. An endeavor that might serve as another partial model for the MAHB is the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which was developed by environmental and social scientists to assess the condition of Earth’s life-support systems. Hundreds of ecologists and earth scientists all over the world gathered information to feed into a major report that was released in 2005. It included not only an assessment of the state of the world’s ecosystems but also projections of alternative future trends and consideration of related policy choices. What both lacked however, were broad open forums where people from different societies and with different viewpoints could discuss what humanity is and should be all about. Plans are for the MAHB to be kicked off with a world megaconference, more of less like the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The purpose of the first MAHB conference, which we hope to hold in 2011, would be to initiate a continuing process; the MAHB will be created as a semi-permanent institution. The MAHB is now at a very preliminary stage – although interest seems to be building rapidly. Our nascent web site has just been opened to the public. If you are interested in learning more or being involved go to: http://mahb.stanford.edu/ As you will see it is a work in progress, but there you will find our preliminary mission statement, sign up to get the newsletter when it is produced (click on “for more information”), read some of MAHB-pertinent articles (they will change over time), and/or leave a comment on a blog. And that means you can help us shape the entire program from the foundation up. Join us in trying to get humanity to do what is obviously required but thought to be impractical. Become a MAHB Pollyanna, tilt at windmills, spread the word, help develop a view of a decent future, and give humanity a little push toward a sustainable society. We’re not even asking you to help us get money (yet!). A global consensus on the most crucial behavioral issues is unlikely to emerge promptly from the MAHB--or any other international forum. But, since the MAHB is envisioned as an ongoing, large-scale global effort, not all the goals would need to be reached immediately. And if the scientific diagnosis of humanity’s collision with the natural world is accurate (and Anne and I believe it is), what alternative is there to trying? Thanks for listening. If you can, please call our start-up effort to the attention of as many friends and colleagues as you can. Spread the word! Best regards, Paul Paul R. Ehrlich Bing Professor of
[ECOLOG-L] measuring plant phenolics non-destructively
A recent e-mail targeting ESA members had a new product from Dynamax, Inc. called Dualex, capable of phenolic measurements. The description said: The Dualex clip leaf instrument is an easy to use tool to determine plant well-being and measure specific component contents. The patented technology used in the Dualex clip is based on chlorophyll fluorescence and on the screening properties of polyphenols contained in the plant leaf epidermis.This procedure is not destructive and is very quick and simple. It requires no calibration or adjustment of the light source. No preparation of the plant is required and the measurement can be taken outside, in an open field, or under ambient light. Has anyone used this machine before? Is it based on a sound premise? I don't work in the field of plant defense, but thought it might be useful for teaching labs (e.g., comparing species). Thanks, Becky Ostertag
[ECOLOG-L] Data sharing in ecology
Hej! Last week Nature published a special feature on data sharing (http://www.nature.com/news/specials/datasharing/index.html). it was mostly about other areas of science, but I think the problem of how to equitably share data is present in ecology too. SO, I blogged some thoughts: http://network.nature.com/people/boboh/blog/2009/09/14/data-sharing-some-ramblings I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone who wants to use the data, and I'd be interested in hearing other views - particularly from people who generate data on the problems associated with free access. All comments are welcome, preferably on my blog (just to keep the discussions in one place). Bob -- Bob O'Hara WWW: http://www.RNI.Helsinki.FI/~boh/ Blog: http://network.nature.com/blogs/user/boboh Journal of Negative Results - EEB: www.jnr-eeb.org Help send my wife to Antarctica (please?) http://www.blogyourwaytoantarctica.com/blogs/view/152
