Re: [ECOLOG-L] Humans in the definition of ecosystems
By its very nature, the only unquestionable authority of science is that all results and methods must be questioned. Malcolm On Sun, Jul 4, 2010 at 5:35 PM, Wayne Tyson landr...@cox.net wrote: JLH: Culture is, by definition, an institutionalizing (codifying) force. But in each culture, different shards of pre-cultural social organization are present or absent in varying degrees, which accounts for the differences between them--the size of a culture's law libraries might be one measure, but not necessarily an absolute one. But the extent to which a culture relies on (coercive) codes RATHER than (voluntary) social mores is a measure of how authoritarian it is. While science is always in danger of being authoritarian (and in net effect--and sometimes by intention-- it often is), the questioning nature of science tends to preserve its social (cooperative) warp and woof, no matter how colored it has been, is, or can be, with the taint of unquestionable authority. To the extent that science reflects the essential qualities of ecosystems, its underlying character remains resilient and adaptable. WT - Original Message - From: Jamie Lewis Hedges hedge...@yahoo.com To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Sunday, July 04, 2010 9:01 AM Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Humans in the definition of ecosystems WT, In thinking of culture as a psychological phenomenon that serve(s) a utilitarian purpose--that of permitting humans to manipulate their environment, it is important to state that this manipulation (culture) has beeen in many contexts, and can continue to be in given contexts, both utilitarian for humans and beneficial to their environment. While the institutionalization of mistakes does seem to be a characteristic behavior of modern Western Culture, it is certainly neither a characteristic definitive of culture nor a behavior characteristic of all cultures. Otherwise, we are without hope, and science is merely a utility for institutionalizing those mistakes. jlh Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone, powered by CREDO Mobile. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.439 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2981 - Release Date: 07/04/10 06:35:00 -- Malcolm L. McCallum Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology 1880's: There's lots of good fish in the sea W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
[ECOLOG-L] help--waterproofing hip boots
Hello! I am hoping someone can recommend a way to waterproof leaking hip boots. I bought a number of pairs of crushed neoprene Proline hip boots for stream work for my classes. After two years of infrequent use (and good storage), the crushed neoprene is leaking. It is not the result of cracked seams or holes--all of the boots are leaking from everywhere the crushed neoprene exists. I have tried to use regular hiking boot waterproofing spray, but it was useless. Anyone else have a suggestion? I can't bring myself to throw out 12 pairs of (expensive) boots, but if they leak, they are useless. (Funny, my student object to using leaky boots in February in Pennsylvania streams. I don't know why. . .). I also wanted to give others a heads up about these boots--I would not recommend them to anyone. Here, the cheaper boots would have been better (and are what I now have). I called Forestry Suppliers about them, but the warranty is one year, and they had no suggestions for ways to fix the problem. They said it sounded like faulty crushing of the neoprene--but that does me no good. So much for deluxe, insulated, with thinsulate. Thanks for any suggestions, Erika Iyengar iyen...@muhlenberg.edu Biology Dept, Muhlenberg College
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Help: regressions involving aspect -- how to deal with circular x-axis?
Hi Madhu, Seems tricky! I think you might be best served by using explicitly circular methods for your circular data. I don't really know anything about such things (so why I'm responding to your post, I don't know!) but what little information I've gathered leads me to believe that you could use circular statistics to evaluate whether there's greater probability of finding a plant species over certain degrees compared to others (e.g. SE is most likely). I think the idea would be to fit a circular probability density function to your data, and see if it has a central tendency, and if so where. You could look at some R documentation to starting finding some ideas and references: http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/circular/index.html I think matlab also has some tools for doing this kind of thing. I think either linear regression methods have some problems, and the take home message is that for either you'd want/need to re-interpret your results in light of the initial circular nature of the data. E.g. if you just used plain degrees (and 0 = north) and you found sp1 = 0.001*(x-180)^2...that's a U shaped curve with peaks at 0 and 360...kind of strange to think of a response like that in linear space, but makes perfect sense if you re-connect (0 deg = 360 deg) the two ends--that plant likes north-facing slopes. Anyway, hopefully that's at least a little helpful. Best of luck! Andy On Sun, Jul 4, 2010 at 7:04 PM, Madhu Srinivasan m...@uky.edu wrote: Hi all, I am currently writing one of my dissertation chapters. I collected plant community data in a grassland ecosystem along with environmental variables . One of the questions I am addressing is: How do the dominant grasses respond to the aspect? Aspect was the direction that the slope faced. In the linked graphs (http://sweb.uky.edu/~mpsrin2/aspect_fig.pdfhttp://sweb.uky.edu/%7Empsrin2/aspect_fig.pdf) I have displayed aspect in two ways: (1) in degrees as measured by compass bearings, Fig. 2,and (2) converted to linear scale using: A' = cos (45 - A) + 1, where A is the aspect in degrees (Beers et al, 1966, Journal of Forestry), Fig.3. The resulting index values range from 0 to 2 (0 = SW, 1 = SE and NW, 2 = NE), see Fig. 1. I have fitted regression lines after determining the appropriate fit. One of my concerns is: in Fig. 3, the hump around A'=1.5 could either correspond to N or E, as both take the value 1.5 (see Fig.1). So this index of aspect does not allow me to interpret if the plants are more abundant at N or at E facing slopes. Fig 2. allows me to distinguish data from the different aspects, and it is easier to explain; but the explanatory variable here is circular, and I am concerned whether it is correct to apply regressions on circular data. I showed these graphs to some of my colleagues and I got mixed responses. I would like to know which representation is more appropriate? Right now I am leaning towards Fig. 2, but I am concerned about the statistical appropriateness. I will include the explanatory Fig. 1 with either graph that I choose to finally use. Also, if there is a better way to display/ analyze this, please let me know. Thanks, Madhu Srinivasan Department of Biology University of Kentucky
[ECOLOG-L] UW Madison Postdoctoral Position--Collaborative Conservation Research
Please distribute widely! Post Doctoral Research Associate Position Available Private Land Conservation: Adaptation and Vulnerability Conduct collaborative interdisciplinary research on conservation easements in a changing climate, involving six universities, multiple agencies and NGOs, and research in law, ecology, and social sciences. A full-time 1-year postdoctoral position, Fall 2010 to Fall 2011, will spearhead collaborative research on the adaptive capacity and vulnerability of conservation easements to climate change in diverse contexts. We will integrate research and graduate education, conducting a distributed graduate seminar in Spring 2011 to collect data on 30 organizations and over 400 conservation easements in six states through a centralized online database. Students and professors span law, ecology, and social science backgrounds and include Denver Univ, Indiana Univ, Stanford Univ, SUNY-Buffalo, Univ of Utah, and UW-Madison and collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and other conservation organizations. Position is based in Madison, WI. The postdoc will have the opportunity to collaborate on grant proposals. Salary is $33,000-40,000 plus benefits, depending on experience. Preferred start date is early Fall 2010. REQUIREMENTS . Ph.D. in natural resources or environmental policy and management, geography, social-ecological systems, or related field required . Quantitative and qualitative data analysis including statistics required . Survey experience preferred . Experience with GIS preferred . Knowledge of land conservation desired . Experience with climate change impacts and social/organizational adaptation processes desired . Proven oral and written communication skills Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting August 2, 2010. To apply, send cover letter, CV, unofficial graduate transcripts, and contacts for 3 references to: Adena R. Rissman Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology University of Wisconsin e-mail: arriss...@wisc.edu
Re: [ECOLOG-L] help--waterproofing hip boots
I have used a technique to waterproof tents made from very lightweight nylon in the past that may sound a bit ridiculous but it works well. You can dissolve 100% silicon caulking (the cheapest brand of clear bathroom caulking) in coleman camp fuel, also known as white gas. This solution can then be painted onto nylon or in your case neoprene. You then let the fuel evaporate and all that remains is a think coating of silicon. I would guess this would work a bit better than the spray version b/c you can control the viscosity of the silicon. Just a thought to possibly keep some stuff out of landfills! I suppose it goes without saying that this job should be done outside with gloves on! On Mon, Jul 5, 2010 at 12:53 PM, Dr. Erika Iyengar iyen...@muhlenberg.eduwrote: Hello! I am hoping someone can recommend a way to waterproof leaking hip boots. I bought a number of pairs of crushed neoprene Proline hip boots for stream work for my classes. After two years of infrequent use (and good storage), the crushed neoprene is leaking. It is not the result of cracked seams or holes--all of the boots are leaking from everywhere the crushed neoprene exists. I have tried to use regular hiking boot waterproofing spray, but it was useless. Anyone else have a suggestion? I can't bring myself to throw out 12 pairs of (expensive) boots, but if they leak, they are useless. (Funny, my student object to using leaky boots in February in Pennsylvania streams. I don't know why. . .). I also wanted to give others a heads up about these boots--I would not recommend them to anyone. Here, the cheaper boots would have been better (and are what I now have). I called Forestry Suppliers about them, but the warranty is one year, and they had no suggestions for ways to fix the problem. They said it sounded like faulty crushing of the neoprene--but that does me no good. So much for deluxe, insulated, with thinsulate. Thanks for any suggestions, Erika Iyengar iyen...@muhlenberg.edu Biology Dept, Muhlenberg College
Re: [ECOLOG-L] help--waterproofing hip boots
I have nylon waders that recently tore and I used Tear-aid to patch them up. It did a good job the only problem is that my tear was right along the seam and made it difficult to really get everything; it slowed the leak by 97% though. I also found this posting on a forum that recommends various methods: http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflatNumber=488362 I also came across this site as well: http://www.trails.com/how_894_repair-neoprene.html I hope these can get you started in the right track. I recommend the Tear-Aid though. Zuri K. -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Dr. Erika Iyengar Sent: Monday, July 05, 2010 1:54 PM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] help--waterproofing hip boots Hello! I am hoping someone can recommend a way to waterproof leaking hip boots. I bought a number of pairs of crushed neoprene Proline hip boots for stream work for my classes. After two years of infrequent use (and good storage), the crushed neoprene is leaking. It is not the result of cracked seams or holes--all of the boots are leaking from everywhere the crushed neoprene exists. I have tried to use regular hiking boot waterproofing spray, but it was useless. Anyone else have a suggestion? I can't bring myself to throw out 12 pairs of (expensive) boots, but if they leak, they are useless. (Funny, my student object to using leaky boots in February in Pennsylvania streams. I don't know why. . .). I also wanted to give others a heads up about these boots--I would not recommend them to anyone. Here, the cheaper boots would have been better (and are what I now have). I called Forestry Suppliers about them, but the warranty is one year, and they had no suggestions for ways to fix the problem. They said it sounded like faulty crushing of the neoprene--but that does me no good. So much for deluxe, insulated, with thinsulate. Thanks for any suggestions, Erika Iyengar iyen...@muhlenberg.edu Biology Dept, Muhlenberg College
[ECOLOG-L] conservation genetics positions available in India
Positions available at National Centre for Biological Sciences www.ncbs.res.in, India, at Uma Ramakrishnan’s lab. Lab research website: http://www.ncbs.res.in/index.php?option=com_contenttask=viewid=170Itemid=181 Investigating connectivity in the montane ‘sky-island’ ecosystem in the Western Ghats through genetics of a threatened, endemic bird, the White-bellied Shortwing Montane species live at high elevations, making their distributions naturally fragmented. Habitat degradation further accentuates fragmentation, making it critical to investigate connectedness between habitat patches for threatened, endemic montane species, such as the White-bellied Shortwing. We seek to use genetic tools to investigate both evolutionary (using slower evolving mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data) and historical (using faster evolving microsatellite data) connectivity in this species. The data we generate will aid in future conservation efforts for this species. We hope to extend this approach to other montane species, including shola and grassland specialist birds and plants. The project involves lab-based molecular biology, followed by extensive population genetics analyses. The position is available for 2.5 years (on this grant), extendable to 3 years (on other grants). Quantitative skills are very important for this position. Please contact urama...@ncbs.res.in if you are interested. More details on the project are at www.tinyurl.com/robinv Conservation genetics of tigers in the Western Ghats Assemblages of large mammals decisively influence the structure and functioning of biological communities. We hope to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of tigers and their prey in the Malenad-Mysore Landscape of Karnataka. Specifically, we plan to estimate (1) density, abundance and demographic ratios of different tiger populations in the landscape, (2) vital rates, connectivity and movement among tiger populations and (3) genetic structure between and relatedness within tiger populations. A joint project between the WCS India and NCBS, we hope to use as combination of field and analytical methods, including distance sampling of herbivore prey, camera trap and genetic capture recapture sampling of tiger populations and modeling of spatial occupancy and movement rates through sign surveys and fecal-DNA genetic analyses. These data will enable estimation of meta-population dynamic patterns as well as understand the genetic structuring between sub-populations. The advertised position will be focused on tiger conservation genetics in the Western ghats: including individual identification and population connectivity. We are also interested in looking at other carnivores including leopards and possibly Dhole. Position will be primarily laboratory based, at NCBS. Please contact urama...@ncbs.res.in if you are interested. Robin Vijayan Website: www.tinyurl.com/robinv Tel: +91 9449002297 National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science campus Bangalore 560012, India National Centre for Biological Sciences GKVK Campus, Bangalore 560065, India Narendra Babu Memorial Research Fund www.nberig.org
