[ECOLOG-L] UC Merced Faculty position in Natural Resource Management
Please help us spread the word for a new Natural Resource Management faculty position at UC Merced. Cheers, Asmeret --- Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Soil Biogeochemistry School of Natural Sciences University of California, Merced Office phone: (209) 228-4712 Cell: (510) 967-7196 Fax: (209) 724-4459 E-mail: aabe...@ucmerced.edu Web: http://faculty.ucmerced.edu/aaberhe = Associate or Full Professor Area: Natural Resource Management Position Title: Associate or Full Professor Position Code: ASENG4231A Status: Open Description:The University of California, Merced is a dynamic new university campus in Merced, California, which opened in September 2005 as the tenth campus of the University of California and the first American research university in the 21st century. In keeping with the mission of the University to provide teaching, research and public service of the highest quality, UC Merced offers research-centered and student-oriented educational opportunities at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels through three academic schools: Engineering, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences/Humanities/Arts. UC Merced invites applications for a ladder-rank faculty position at the Associate or Full Professor level in Natural Resource Management of Public Lands and Protected Areas. We seek a distinguished scholar who will provide leadership in establishing a program of international stature within the interdisciplinary area of adaptive management of complex coupled human (legal, administrative, economic, cultural) and natural (ecological, climatic, geologic, hydrologic) systems to sustain native species, ecosystems, and landscapes, and to preserve cultural heritage. We seek a leader in scholarship and practice that addresses lands and resource management broadly in the context of changing global earth systems and governance, including ecosystem services and climate adaptation. Appropriate candidates will have distinguished research, educational, and leadership experience that emphasizes science, conservation, social science, and/or management. The ideal candidate will bridge science and management, and will lead efforts to develop interdisciplinary research and education programs at UC Merced associated with science, management, and sustainability of public lands and protected areas, such as national parks. The Sierra Nevada Research Institute and other campus units provide excellent opportunities for interdisciplinary research collaboration as well as established collaborations with external stakeholders. The primary appointment may be in Natural Science, Social Sciences, or Engineering, or may be a joint appointment between schools. The successful candidate is expected to participate actively in the development of innovative, interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate programs in the future School of Management, and to contribute to the teaching and mentoring of a diverse student population. The University of California at Merced is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer with a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of diversity among its faculty, staff, and students. The University is supportive of dual career couples. Qualifications: Ph.D in a relevant field and exemplary research, publication, and teaching commensurate with a faculty appointment at the University of California at the appropriate level. Salary: Negotiable, based on the University of California academic pay scale. Closing Date: 12/01/2012 To Apply: Interested applicants are required to submit 1) a cover letter 2) curriculum vitae 3) statement of research 4) statement of teaching and 5) a list of five references with contact information including mailing address, phone number and e-mail address. Please do not submit individual letters of recommendation. Applications must be submitted via this website. Apply Online For more information: Contact Professor Paul Maglio at: pmag...@ucmerced.edu
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity
Dear Wayne, In my point of viewn, ecosystem functions directly refer to how energy flows are shaped through ecosystem and how they allow ecosystem to maintain by themselves (without human intervention this time). So, when we measure a functional diversity we try to evaluate the number of different ways a given energy flow can be realized. One aim is to link living communities diversities to ecosystem functioning (energy flow) and so define how organisms participate to the success of energy transfer. This is a quite fuzzy and very general definition but I hope this helps. Regards, Nicolas Le Fri, 28 Sep 2012 02:43:00 +0200, Wayne Tyson landr...@cox.net a écrit: Thanks, Juan; I do appreciate the reference, but I am looking for a simper answer than that--a scientifically-based explanation of what ecosystem function means as an actual or theoretical feature of actual ecosystems. I am definitely not interested in . . . an anthropocentric concept (as humans depend on ecosystems to survive) because is described as the capacity of the natural processes to provide an array of direct or indirect services or benefits to humans. I would be delighted to hear a discussion of benefits to humans some other time, however, but I do not want this discussion to wander off the central, very basic question now. WT - Original Message - From: Juan Alvez To: Wayne Tyson Cc: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 10:25 AM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity Hi Wayne, You can best visualize ecosystem functions in a paper written 10 years ago by De Groot and others, (Ref: de Groot, R.S., Wilson, M.A., Boumans, R.M.J., 2002. A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. Ecological Economics 41, 393-408.). It describes four main ecosystem functions (regulation [climate, nutrient cycling, polination], habitat [refugia, nursery, etc.], information [scientific info, recreation, cultural and aesthetic] and production [food, genetic and medicinal resources, raw materials, etc.] functions). It is certainly an anthropocentric concept (as humans depend on ecosystems to survive) because is described as the capacity of the natural processes to provide an array of direct or indirect services or benefits to humans. Best, Juan On 9/26/2012 10:11 PM, Wayne Tyson wrote: Please describe function in ecosystems. WT - Original Message - From: Katharine Miller kmill...@alaska.edu To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 4:07 PM Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity Hello, I have used Rao's quadratic entropy to evaluate functional diversity between a number of estuaries for which I also have a GIS database. I would like to be able to visualize which sites are more functionally similar across the region to evaluate patterns in dispersal, etc. I know it is possible to use the pairwise functional beta diversity values as a distance matrix in a Mantel test or multivariate regression on distances matrices (MRM) when comparing functional diversity to, for example, environmental data. Would it also be appropriate to use these values in a PAM or other clustering method to identify estuaries that are more/less similar in functional diversity? This is likely to sound like a very naive question, but I have done an extensive literature search and have not found where this has been done before - perhaps because it is a bad idea for other reasons? Any insights and/or references on this approach would be greatly appreciated. Thank you - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1427 / Virus Database: 2441/5293 - Release Date: 09/26/12 -- Nicolas PERU, PhD 33-(0)4 72 43 28 94 06-88-15-23-10 CNRS, UMR 5023 - LEHNA Université Claude Bernard - Lyon 1 43 Bld du 11 novembre 1918 Rdc Bât Forel 69622 VILLEURBANNE cedex FRANCE
[ECOLOG-L] Assistant professor - restoration ecology
RESTORATION ECOLOGY. The Department of Biology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha seeks applications for a tenure-track ASSISTANT PROFESSOR position to begin August 2013. Ph.D. in biology or related field and postdoctoral experience required. The successful candidate will be expected to develop an active, externally-funded research program focused on ecological restoration and engaging undergraduate and graduate students. The area of research emphasis is open but we encourage applicants with interests related to prairie or wetland restoration in the Great Plains that would complement the department’s existing strengths. The department has a goal of building its strength in translational ecology and we encourage applicants whose research goals include engagement with policy makers, resource managers, or community stakeholders to seek science-based solutions to environmental challenges. The candidate will contribute to teaching the department’s core courses in ecology and introductory biology. The candidate will also be expected to develop additional upper-level and graduate courses in the candidate’s areas of expertise. The teaching commitment will be 0.5 FTE in the first year and continue at 0.5 FTE when extramural funding is in place. In the absence of extramural funding, theteaching commitment will be 0.75 FTE. Mentoring of undergraduate and M.S. students in research is expected and mentoring of PhD students is anticipated. The department has substantial commitment to the university-owned prairie preserves. Recent addition of new land, continued land acquisition, and establishment of a prairie research and education center provide exciting opportunities for faculty in restoration ecology. As part of their service commitment, the candidate will contribute to a faculty committee overseeingthese university-owned prairies preserves. The Department of Biology serves over 700 majors in the biological sciences, providing B.A. and B.S. degrees in biology as well as B.S. degrees in biotechnology, bioinformatics, neuroscience and environmental studies. At the graduate level, we offer thesis and non-thesis M.S. degrees. Our faculty is comprised of 22 tenured or tenure-track lines with a broad range of teaching and research interests. For additional information, please see the departmental website at www.unomaha.edu/biologyhttp://www.unomaha.edu/biology. Apply for the position at www.unomaha.edu/humanresources/employment.php. Attach a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of teaching objectives, and a statement of research objectives to the electronic application. Please arrange for three letters of recommendation, either emailed to jmcca...@unomaha.edumailto:jmcca...@unomaha.edu or sent to Dr. John McCarty, Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68182. Review ofmaterials will begin 5 November 2012 and continue until the position is filled. The university and department are strongly committed to achieving diversity among faculty and staff. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from members of under-represented groups and strongly encourage women and persons of color to apply for this position. Professor of Biology Director of Environmental Studies Department of Biology AH422G University of Nebraska at Omaha 6001 Dodge Street Omaha, NE 68182-0040 Ph: 402/554-2849tel:402%2F554-2849 Fax: 402/554-3532tel:402%2F554-3532 jmcca...@unomaha.edumailto:jmcca...@unomaha.edu http://www.unomaha.edu/environmental_studies/JPM_Home.html
[ECOLOG-L] postdoc opportunity
The National Research Council of the National Academies is accepting applications for a postdoctoral research award tenable at the US Environmental Protection Agencys Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH. Duration of award is one year, possibly renewable for up to three years maximum. Award includes a competitive stipend, relocation, professional travel, and health insurance. The postdoctoral research associate will conduct research related to ecological and environmental sustainability along with other researchers in the Sustainable Environments Branch (SEB). SEB uses a multidisciplinary approach, which employs ecologists, economists, engineers, environmental scientists, geographers, and physical scientists, to address sustainability issues in both watershed management and regional environmental management. Additional information about ongoing research in the branch is on our web site (see www.epa.gov/nrmrl/std/watershed.html and www.epa.gov/nrmrl/std/esm.html). This research opportunity focuses on land use in urban systems and related aspects of quantifying sustainability. It will require collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing data in order to assess management decisions about sustainable urban land use. The overall objective is to identify and test metrics/indicators that address ecological issues related to sustainability. Qualified candidates will have a strong background in ecology, but their area of expertise is flexible (i.e., mammals, birds, insects, plants, algae, forests, streams, biogeochemical cycles, etc.). Prospective applicants should visit the NRC Web site at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/RAP/PGA_046584, click on Search for Research Opportunities, key in Hopton and press the Click to Search button. The opportunity is titled Estimating Ecological Sustainability in Urban Systems. Inquires about the opportunity should be directed to Dr. Matt Hopton or Dr. Hale Thurston. Dr. Hopton can be contacted at 513-569- 7718 (tel) or hopton.matt...@epa.gov and Dr. Thurston at thurston.h...@epa.gov. Applicants should begin a dialog with Dr. Hopton as early as possible, before their anticipated application deadline. Applications must be submitted online directly to the NRC. CVs will not be accepted in lieu of online applications. Application deadline is 1 November. Check Web site for availability of online applications. Questions about the application process can be directed to the NRC at 202- 334-2760 (tel) or r...@nas.edu.
[ECOLOG-L] Ecosystem function definition Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity
Ling and Ecolog: It seems to me that before one moves into method, one should understand the question first, and I make no claim to being able to do so. When you say I have done an extensive literature search and have not found where this has been done before . . . were you referring to a definition of ecosystem function or to the methodology? I remember well a conversation with Dick Vogl years ago when I blithely used the term ecosystem function. Dick said I'm not sure that anybody knows what ecosystem function is. Vogl had a way of stimulating one's thinking with stuff like that. I do have some vague ideas about what ecosystem function is, but I have never brought it all together, so I thought maybe you had, or knew of someone who had, as you seemed to be using the term at least as confidently as I did when Vogl made his statement. My thoughts about ecosystem function are still at the question phase and yet consist of an assemblage of stuff like Juan mentioned rather than a complete explanation of the phenomenon. Functional diversity is to me a yet more mysterious concept which I would have to come to understand before venturing forth any ideas about methodology, and certainly would have no clue about the relative usefulness of one method or set of methods over the other. It does, however, seem sensible to me that almost any kind of comparative analysis of similar ecosystem subsets like estuaries would be useful, even if it would not, in of itself, get at causality, for example, as it would at least pave the way toward further analysis. This is the sort of question that I think might be helped by the proposal I have submitted to the Smithsonian Encyclopedia of Life program and kindly posted by one of the staff. Briefly, that proposal is to begin to gather data on organisms' ranges of requirements and limitations. I hope someone can lead me to whoever may have defined ecosystem function in a comprehensive, scientific way that is widely accepted by the discipline. WT - Original Message - From: ling huang ling.hu...@prodigy.net To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 8:52 PM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity Hi No (sorry Wayne I was not clear) my response was not to the 'Please describe function in ecosystems.question,' but about the 'but I have done an extensive literature search and have not found where this has been done before - perhaps because it is a bad idea for other reasons?' and 'Would it also be appropriate to use these values in a PAM or other clustering method to identify estuaries that are more/less similar in functional diversity?' I am suggesting to make use of some stat software such as SAS or SYSTAT and do a multivariate cluster analysis on the variables (functional diversity variables on hand) for the statistical grouping of like estuaries. These variables may well include a subset of those mentioned by Juan; namely '(regulation [climate, nutrient cycling, pollination], habitat [refugia, nursery, etc.], information [scientific info, recreation, cultural and aesthetic] and production [food, genetic and medicinal resources, raw materials, etc.] functions)'. Best wishes, Ling Ling Huang Sacramento City College Thanks, Juan; I do appreciate the reference, but I am looking for a simper answer than that--a scientifically-based explanation of what ecosystem function means as an actual or theoretical feature of actual ecosystems. I am definitely not interested in . . . an anthropocentric concept (as humans depend on ecosystems to survive) because is described as the capacity of the natural processes to provide an array of direct or indirect services or benefits to humans. I would be delighted to hear a discussion of benefits to humans some other time, however, but I do not want this discussion to wander off the central, very basic question now. WT - Original Message - From: Juan Alvez To: Wayne Tyson Cc: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 10:25 AM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity Hi Wayne, You can best visualize ecosystem functions in a paper written 10 years ago by De Groot and others, (Ref: de Groot, R.S., Wilson, M.A., Boumans, R.M.J., 2002. A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. Ecological Economics 41, 393-408.). It describes four main ecosystem functions (regulation [climate, nutrient cycling, polination], habitat [refugia, nursery, etc.], information [scientific info, recreation, cultural and aesthetic] and production [food, genetic and medicinal resources, raw materials, etc.] functions). It is certainly an anthropocentric concept (as humans depend on ecosystems to survive) because is described as the capacity of the natural processes to provide an array of direct or indirect services or benefits to humans. Best, Juan --- On Thu, 9/27/12,
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity
Hi, I wanted to thank everyone for their responses and recommendations. Some of them were quite helpful and have got me thinking in new ways. With respect to the use of the Rao index, I didn't express my question very well. What I was really trying to discern was whether it was appropriate to use the Rao index values as a distance matrix of functional dissimilarity between estuaries that could then be evaluated using standard multivariate methods (i.e. clustering). I have not seen Shannon entropy used this way either, but it is understood that pairwise beta diversity calculated by either of these approaches is a measure of dissimilarity between sites. So, on that basis, it doesn't seem too much of a stretch. Also, the index values are used as dissimilarities in Mantel tests or other matrix calculations. I am not sure whether the reason these indices have not been used this way is because it would be inappropriate statistically or mathematically, or whether there is some ecological reason for not doing it. Thanks again. - Katharine
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity
Nicolas, Why would you restrict your interest to the flow of energy, and not include the flow of material, such as a nutrient like fixed nitrogen, or potassium? Martin M. Meiss 2012/9/27 Katharine Miller kmill...@alaska.edu Hi, I wanted to thank everyone for their responses and recommendations. Some of them were quite helpful and have got me thinking in new ways. With respect to the use of the Rao index, I didn't express my question very well. What I was really trying to discern was whether it was appropriate to use the Rao index values as a distance matrix of functional dissimilarity between estuaries that could then be evaluated using standard multivariate methods (i.e. clustering). I have not seen Shannon entropy used this way either, but it is understood that pairwise beta diversity calculated by either of these approaches is a measure of dissimilarity between sites. So, on that basis, it doesn't seem too much of a stretch. Also, the index values are used as dissimilarities in Mantel tests or other matrix calculations. I am not sure whether the reason these indices have not been used this way is because it would be inappropriate statistically or mathematically, or whether there is some ecological reason for not doing it. Thanks again. - Katharine
[ECOLOG-L] North American Forest Ecology Workshop
First Call for Abstracts 9th Biennial North American Forest Ecology Workshop Piecing Together the Fragments: Sustaining Forest Ecosystems in the 21st Century June 16-20, 2013 Bloomington, Indiana Please join fellow researchers and land managers to discuss basic and applied ecological research in forests throughout North America. Fragmentation is a pervasive issue in forest management. Nowhere is the issue as pronounced as in the Central Hardwood Region where agriculture and urbanization continue to reduce the forested land base. This conference will not only highlight ecology of these hardwood ecosystems, but will also include concurrent sessions on: * disturbance ecology * forest management effects on wildlife * invasive species management * climate change impacts and carbon storage * forest restoration * temperate and tropical silviculture * long-term forest ecological research * fire ecology and management The conference will include day-long tours of the following (others to be announced): * Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment - a long-term forest and wildlife management study * Donaldson's Woods - an old-growth forest remnant * The Hoosier National Forest - oak ecology and silviculture DEADLINES: Selected papers from this workshop will be published in a special issue of Forest Science in mid-2014. Authors who wish for their presentation to be considered for this issue should submit an extended abstract. Please visit the website for abstract submittal guidelines and online submission. January 15, 2013Presentation abstracts (300 word maximum) and extended abstracts (1500 word maximum) March 1, 2013 Poster abstracts (300 word maximum) May 15, 2013Early registration deadline For more information see www.nafew.org or contact msaun...@purdue.edu.
[ECOLOG-L] soil feedbacks plant abundance
Hello- I'm trying to determine all studies that have quantified soil feedbacks for 6 or more plant species in a community and also have measures of plant relative abundance for each species with a soil feedback value. If you have such data (published or unpublished), know of someone who has done this work, or have questions then please contact me. Thanks in advance. These are studies I'm already familiar: Klironomos, J. N. 2002. Feedback with soil biota contributes to plant rarity and invasiveness in communities. Nature 417:67-70. MacDougall, A. S., M. C. Rillig, and J. N. Klironomos. 2011. Weak conspecific feedbacks and exotic dominance in a species-rich savannah. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 278:2939-2945. Mangan, S. A., S. A. Schnitzer, E. A. Herre, K. M. L. Mack, M. C. Valencia, E. I. Sanchez, and J. D. Bever. 2010. Negative plant-soil feedback predicts tree-species relative abundance in a tropical forest. Nature 466:752-755. McCarthy-Neumann, S., and R. K. Kobe. 2010. Conspecific plant-soil feedbacks reduce survivorship and growth of tropical tree seedlings. Journal of Ecology 98:396-407. Cheers, Kurt ___ Kurt Reinhart, Ecologist USDA-Agricultural Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratoryhttp://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3087 243 Fort Keogh Rd. Miles City, MT 59301 Ph: (406) 874-8211 Email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov 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.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity
Finally, people are talking on my simplistic level, and I hope I can respond in a meaningful way. I say these things with the definite understanding that they may mark me as just an old, irrelevant fart in today's exciting world. It seems to me that ecosystems do two things, and that both are outlined in Ecology 101 and the texts used for that course. First, they collect and process energy (one ecosystem function is energy flow). Second, they move materials through ecosystem compartments (a second ecosystem function is biogeochemical cycling). Each of these two functions drives and modulates the other. That does not mean that the other things that people are interested in, and sometimes speak of as ecosystem functions are not important, and should not be considered. Those things can also contribute to understanding ecosystems in greater depth and more accurately. The things mentioned by others on here are certainly important. But the function of an entity is, to me, simply what it does. What ecosystems do is process energy and matter, in the general ways I have described above. Certainly many of the things we are interested in, things like carbon balance and heat accumulation, natural resource use and protection, agriculture are dependent on what ecosystems do -- process energy and matter. To speak of the other things that have been discussed as the functions of ecosystems would be akin to saying that the function of the pancreas is to prevent diabetes. The function of the pancreas is to secrete hormones and digestive enzymes. The part about diabetes relates more to its integration with the body of which it is a part. I hope this is of some use. Just thought a reminder of fundamentals might be appropriate. David McNeely Martin Meiss mme...@gmail.com wrote: Nicolas, Why would you restrict your interest to the flow of energy, and not include the flow of material, such as a nutrient like fixed nitrogen, or potassium? Martin M. Meiss 2012/9/27 Katharine Miller kmill...@alaska.edu Hi, I wanted to thank everyone for their responses and recommendations. Some of them were quite helpful and have got me thinking in new ways. With respect to the use of the Rao index, I didn't express my question very well. What I was really trying to discern was whether it was appropriate to use the Rao index values as a distance matrix of functional dissimilarity between estuaries that could then be evaluated using standard multivariate methods (i.e. clustering). I have not seen Shannon entropy used this way either, but it is understood that pairwise beta diversity calculated by either of these approaches is a measure of dissimilarity between sites. So, on that basis, it doesn't seem too much of a stretch. Also, the index values are used as dissimilarities in Mantel tests or other matrix calculations. I am not sure whether the reason these indices have not been used this way is because it would be inappropriate statistically or mathematically, or whether there is some ecological reason for not doing it. Thanks again. - Katharine -- David McNeely
[ECOLOG-L] CAP LTER Research Technician Position, Tempe, AZ
The Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) project at Arizona State University seeks a full-time research technician to provide field and analytical support for urban ecology research programs in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The position will involve a combination of administration, laboratory work, and field work with emphasis on studies of animal behavior and ecology in the field. Minimum qualifications: Bachelor's degree in a field appropriate to the area of assignment; OR, four years research experience appropriate to the area of assignment; OR, any equivalent combination of experience and/or education from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved. Desired qualifications: Evidence of a Bachelor or Master's degree in ecology or related field. Experience in: conducting sample collections (field work) in remote locations; identifying Sonoran desert plants, Arizona bird and/or reptile species; using GIS; using spreadsheets, databases and/or other data management software; organization and attention to detail; working in a team environment with other researchers from a variety of culturally diverse backgrounds For the complete job description and to apply, please visit https://cfo.asu.edu/hr-applicant and search for Research Technician with job number 29521 under staff positions.
[ECOLOG-L] ecology in China
I returned two days ago from a trip to northeast China, where I gave lectures at a couple of universities, and thought I'd share a few observations about ecological research in China. The Chinese government is putting significant resources into trying to enhance the quality of research in that country. Sending students and faculty overseas for training is one way they're doing this. My faculty host went to the Botanical Society meeting here in the US last summer, and a host at the other university I visited will spend 3-4 months at Yale this winter, in his first trip to the USA. They have access to funding to bring international visitors about once a year, and in addition to my visit this year, they've had guests from Australia and Germany in the past year or two. I gave a couple of seminars about my research, and a talk about how to publish in high-profile journals. The graduate student who served as my translator says that he won't get his Ph.D. until he has an article accepted in such a journal, and there are financial incentives for the faculty who do so. Ecology, and Ecology Letters, were mentioned as two journals that would be preferred venues for papers. I also spent a few hours providing feedback after a presentation about ongoing research there, and talked later with both faculty and grad students about their work. My host (Dr. Yan-Wen Zhang, Changchun Normal University) has had several papers published in good journals about the interesting work he does with plant-pollinator interactions, and the host at Northeast Normal University (Dr. Deli Wang, head of the Institute of Grassland Science, and director of Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology) also has a good publication record, and a large new grant for an experimental study of grazing (mammals and grasshoppers, on experimentally warmed plots that include manipulations of precipitation) in grasslands of northeast China. Both of these (Normal) universities specialize in training teachers, and have about 10 -15,000 students. I learned that male Professors in China have a mandatory retirement age of 65, and female Professors must retire at 55. This is at least in part a way of ensuring job opportunities for the growing number of Ph.D. students. I was not told the rationale for difference in retirement age. The grad student who translated for me lives in campus housing ($100/yr for Ph.D. students, $200 for undergraduates) and eats his meals in the dining hall (about $5/day). He hopes to visit an international university in a few years, possibly for a postdoc. The amount of construction going on in Changchun, and in Shenyang (largest city in northeast China) is staggering, and automobile traffic was about as heavy as in the Washington, D.C. area. But there was quite a bit of what seemed to be natural forest in some areas outside the cities, and the protected Changbai Mountain park on the North Korean border was impressive (and apparently has two species of bears, tigers, and other wildlife). The ecologists I met with recognize the environmental problems (e.g., air pollution) that face their country, but are hopeful that in another decade or two, once economic development has improved, that the country will be able to afford to prioritize environmental protection. Although students study English in schools in China, writing papers in English is still a challenge for many of the ecologists (and spoken English even more so). The Ecological Society of America maintains an http://www.esa.org/authorhelp/ESA Author Help Directory (http://www.esa.org/authorhelp/ ) that lists volunteers who will help non-English speakers in preparing papers for submission, if you're interested in helping such authors. I expect that we'll be hearing more in the future about ecological research in China. There is already at least one NSF-funded collaborative program with China funded by the Dimensions of Biodiversity program. David Inouye Dr. David W. Inouye, Professor Associate Chair, Director of Graduate Studies Dept. of Biology University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-4415 Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory PO Box 519 Crested Butte, CO 81224 ino...@umd.edu 301-405-6946
[ECOLOG-L] Ecologists Prisoners?
An innovative project exists in Washington State partnering scientists with inmates, the Sustainability in Prisons Project. The SPP has received support to expand nationally and we are interested in recruiting ecologists and conservation biologists interested in partnering with local prisons to expand their research projects. See the following NY Times article for more information: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/us/raising-frogs-for-freedom-prison-project-opens-doors.html?ref=science Recent projects have included: 1. raising endangered frogs in prison for release in restoration areas 2. raising rare or endangered plants in prison for restoration and revegetation 3. raising endangered butterflies in prison for release in restoration areas 4. research on predator evasion responses by frogs 5. research on oviposition preferences by butterflies 6. research on smoke-water induced germination of prairie plants 7. research on rates of moss growth in culture But the possibilities of bringing your research into a prison environment may be quite limitless! To top it off, the opportunities for doing innovative science outreach to underserved audiences is fantastic! Contact me directly if you are interested in being part of a national network of similar partnerships. We have interest from prison administrators in many states already and we are gaining steam! -Carri Carri J. LeRoy, Ph.D. Co-Director, Sustainability in Prisons Project Member of the Faculty, The Evergreen State College 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia, WA ler...@evergreen.edu www.sustainableprisons.org 360-867-5483
Re: [ECOLOG-L] [ECOLO G-L] Ecosy stem funct ion defini tion Re: [ ECOLOG-L] Visualizin g function al diversi ty
Hi Wayne, I've been interested in the meaning of function in ecology for a couple of years and the most exhaustive and synthetic attempt to define the multiple meanings of the term as it features in the ecology literature are by Kurt Jax. You may want to have a look at : Jax 2005 Function and “functioning” in ecology: what does it mean? in Oikos, Volume 111, Issue 3, pages 641–648, December 2005 Jax 2010 Ecosystem Functioning, Cambridge University Press. This is work that I could call philosophical but by a ecological scientist. I'm myself doing some work on the topic as a PHD student in philosophy of ecology, so I would appreciate any suggestion of reading on the topic. Hope Jax helps! Best, Antoine Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2012 07:50:32 -0700 From: landr...@cox.net Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Ecosystem function definition Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Ling and Ecolog: It seems to me that before one moves into method, one should understand the question first, and I make no claim to being able to do so. When you say I have done an extensive literature search and have not found where this has been done before . . . were you referring to a definition of ecosystem function or to the methodology? I remember well a conversation with Dick Vogl years ago when I blithely used the term ecosystem function. Dick said I'm not sure that anybody knows what ecosystem function is. Vogl had a way of stimulating one's thinking with stuff like that. I do have some vague ideas about what ecosystem function is, but I have never brought it all together, so I thought maybe you had, or knew of someone who had, as you seemed to be using the term at least as confidently as I did when Vogl made his statement. My thoughts about ecosystem function are still at the question phase and yet consist of an assemblage of stuff like Juan mentioned rather than a complete explanation of the phenomenon. Functional diversity is to me a yet more mysterious concept which I would have to come to understand before venturing forth any ideas about methodology, and certainly would have no clue about the relative usefulness of one method or set of methods over the other. It does, however, seem sensible to me that almost any kind of comparative analysis of similar ecosystem subsets like estuaries would be useful, even if it would not, in of itself, get at causality, for example, as it would at least pave the way toward further analysis. This is the sort of question that I think might be helped by the proposal I have submitted to the Smithsonian Encyclopedia of Life program and kindly posted by one of the staff. Briefly, that proposal is to begin to gather data on organisms' ranges of requirements and limitations. I hope someone can lead me to whoever may have defined ecosystem function in a comprehensive, scientific way that is widely accepted by the discipline. WT - Original Message - From: ling huang ling.hu...@prodigy.net To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 8:52 PM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity Hi No (sorry Wayne I was not clear) my response was not to the 'Please describe function in ecosystems.question,' but about the 'but I have done an extensive literature search and have not found where this has been done before - perhaps because it is a bad idea for other reasons?' and 'Would it also be appropriate to use these values in a PAM or other clustering method to identify estuaries that are more/less similar in functional diversity?' I am suggesting to make use of some stat software such as SAS or SYSTAT and do a multivariate cluster analysis on the variables (functional diversity variables on hand) for the statistical grouping of like estuaries. These variables may well include a subset of those mentioned by Juan; namely '(regulation [climate, nutrient cycling, pollination], habitat [refugia, nursery, etc.], information [scientific info, recreation, cultural and aesthetic] and production [food, genetic and medicinal resources, raw materials, etc.] functions)'. Best wishes, Ling Ling Huang Sacramento City College Thanks, Juan; I do appreciate the reference, but I am looking for a simper answer than that--a scientifically-based explanation of what ecosystem function means as an actual or theoretical feature of actual ecosystems. I am definitely not interested in . . . an anthropocentric concept (as humans depend on ecosystems to survive) because is described as the capacity of the natural processes to provide an array of direct or indirect services or benefits to humans. I would be delighted to hear a discussion of benefits to humans some other time, however, but I do not want this discussion to wander off the central, very basic question now. WT - Original Message - From: Juan
[ECOLOG-L] Land Health Assessment District Lead- Northern Nevada
Contract length: November 19, 2012 (or upon availability) November 15, 2013; potential for extension pending funding and performance review Rate of Pay: $17.50/hour Benefits: Health insurance, Paid personal leave Locations: Winnemucca, NV; Elko, NV Number of Positions: 3 Position Objectives: The Great Basin Institute, in cooperation with the Nevada Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is recruiting an experienced ecologist to work cooperatively as a Northern Nevada District Lead on a three-person interdisciplinary field team. The overall objective of the team is to perform land health assessments through inventory and monitoring of sage grouse habitat on NV public range lands and riparian systems. Biotic, hydrologic, and soil qualitative indicators are used in conjunction with quantitative data to inform conservation planning and adaptive management decisions Duties: General field duties include generating sampling site locations using a randomized selection process in ArcGIS; implementation of standardized assessment and monitoring protocols (1. Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring [AIM] Strategy and 2. Interpreting Indicators for Range Health [IIRH]); walking long distances over uneven terrain; taking GPS points and photos at each site; data management; and reporting on a quarterly basis. The District Lead will also coordinate with the GBI State Program Lead and the BLM Lead for project planning, field protocol and data QA/QC, team deployment and supervision, equipment organization and maintenance, and coordination of designated field vehicle. This is a supervisory position, thus the successful applicant must have strong communication skills (both verbal and written) and exhibit strong leadership and organization skills. Office tasks include data organization, processing and QA/QC; post-processing GPS points; utilizing geoprocessing tools in GIS to create and edit polygons as well as point and line data; creating queries in an Access database and creating reports with GIS maps, pictures and concise field notes. This position requires advanced GIS skills in ArcGIS 10.x and related mapping software and will play a vital role in facilitating the effective and efficient collection of monitoring data. This position will require regular travel and camping during the field season in order to ensure that all transects are successfully completed during the field season and may require long hours including early mornings and weekends. Location: Terrain is typical of the Great Basin High Desert with wide, long valleys bordered by mountain ranges. Field conditions include hot, arid days with high exposure to the sun, as well as cold, damp winter weather. Resources of the region include threatened and/or endangered species habitat, big game habitat, Wilderness Study Areas, active grazing allotments, abandoned mine lands, historic and prehistoric cultural sites, and wild horse management areas. Qualifications: * Bachelors degree in one of the major natural sciences applicants with advanced degrees preferred; * Applicant must be able to demonstrate strong leadership skills; * Understanding of basic principles related to the fields of botany, soil science, wildlife biology, geology, and/or hydrology; * Applicants should possess relevant or related field experience knowledge of and/or experience in high desert and Great Basin ecology preferred; * Applicant must possess strong vegetation identification skills; those with additional soil identification experience will be given preference; * Ability to navigate and set a bearing using a compass and to read a topographical map; * Ability to collect, QA/QC, and post-process data using handheld GPS units, required; * Possess a clear understanding of GIS theory and applications, including experience with ArcGIS 10.x to create maps, manipulate and analyze data, and generate reports; * Ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally, with a diverse audience; * Physically fit to work outdoors, carry personal and field equipment, and withstand working and camping in inclement weather during late winter, spring, and summer in northern Nevada; * Possess a clean, valid, state-issued drivers license and the ability to operate a 4WD vehicle on and off paved roads; and * Meet requirements of federal agency security background checks (e.g.: FBI criminal and National Sex Offender Public Registry, Department of Interior Security Screening) How to Apply: Qualified and interested applicants should forward a cover letter, their résumé, and a list of three professional references to Stacy Mitchell, GBI HR Coordinator, at smitch...@thegreatbasininstitute.org. Please include where you found this position posted. This program is available to all, without regard to race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or religion. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
[ECOLOG-L] Conservation Biologist position, Minnesota Zoo
The Minnesota Zoo is seeking applications for the following position: Conservation Biologist Location (primary): Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley, Minnesota Permanent, Full-time Travel required Desired start date: January 2013 (with some flexibility) Application deadline: October 29, 2012 Job description The Minnesota Zoo seeks a dedicated Conservation Biologist to implement current and future Zoo-based conservation programs, achieve recognition of the Zoo's conservation programs and lead a field conservation program. On an annual basis, approximately sixty percent (60%) of the incumbent's time will be spent implementing zoo-based conservation programs and communicating the Minnesota Zoo's conservation work in accordance with the Zoo's mission and strategic plan. The incumbent will work closely with the Director of Conservation to perform duties such as assisting the Tiger Species Survival Plan and its Tiger Conservation Campaign, leading the Zoo's Recycle for Rainforests Program, and leading and/or developing other zoo-based conservation programs. The incumbent may also work with other Zoo staff on the conservation programs they lead. The time devoted to implementing zoo-based conservation programs and communicating the Zoo's conservation work will vary seasonally, with up to one-hundred percent (100%) of the incumbent's time and location to be spent on those initiatives during the entire months of June and July. The Minnesota Zoo strives to communicate its conservation mission and work to a variety of audiences in order to raise awareness and achieve internal and external recognition. This position will be responsible for communicating those messages in a variety of formats, including creating and delivering public presentations; writing all or segments of reports, articles, grant proposals, social media posts, and text for the Zoo's website; and assisting various Zoo staff with conservation-related interpretive graphics. The Minnesota Zoo also seeks to further its vision of saving wild animals and wild places by supporting a field-based conservation effort. The incumbent will spend approximately forty percent (40%) of time annually on field conservation-related activities and research for a threatened or endangered species of significance to the Minnesota Zoo and/or a region of significance to the Zoo. The incumbent should currently lead or be a major participant in a field conservation effort and be able to continue participation if hired for this position. The incumbent's duties will include planning, obtaining funding, conducting, and reporting upon field conservation activities. If the incumbent currently does not participate in a field conservation project or a project with the significance outlined above, he/she must demonstrate the ability and opportunity to lead such a project by the start date of this position. The Minnesota Zoo welcomes the possibility to partner with a conservation organization for this position, with the Zoo providing employment and time for the incumbent to work on a field-based conservation initiative hosted by the partnering organization. Such an arrangement must meet the needs of both the Minnesota Zoo and the conservation organization. Please contact the Director of Conservation, Dr. Tara Harris (tara.har...@state.mn.usmailto:tara.har...@state.mn.us), for details. Potential applicants should visit the Minnesota Zoo's website (www.mnzoo.orghttp://www.mnzoo.org) to learn more about the species and regions of interest to the Zoo. Further inquiries can be made by contacting the Director of Conservation at tara.har...@state.mn.usmailto:tara.har...@state.mn.us. Application process To apply for this position, please visit the State of Minnesota careers website at www.careers.state.mn.ushttp://www.careers.state.mn.us (posting number: 12MZG77). Applicants must demonstrate in the resume (submitted online) the minimum qualifications listed below in order to be considered for the position. In addition, applicants must submit the following to the Minnesota Zoo's Human Resource Office (tresa.fasna...@state.mn.usmailto:tresa.fasna...@state.mn.us) OR by mail (Minnesota Zoo, Attn: Tresa Fasnacht Human Resources, 13000 Zoo Blvd., Apple Valley, MN 55124 USA): 1) A cover letter that explains how/why you meet each minimum qualification for the position and all relevant preferred qualifications, and that describes the field conservation effort for which you are/will be involved and its relevance to the Minnesota Zoo; AND 2) Graduate school transcripts (unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but official transcripts must be provided upon request); 3) Copy of your resume or curriculum vitae (optional). Complete applications must be submitted by October 29, 2012 in order to be considered for this position. Please note that though this position is open to all applicants, the Minnesota Zoo and the State of Minnesota are unable to
Re: [ECOLOG-L] ecology in China
This is enlightening. If they wait another decade or two will there be anything left of the environment to prioritize protection for? Steve -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of David Inouye Sent: Friday, September 28, 2012 1:51 PM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] ecology in China I returned two days ago from a trip to northeast China, where I gave lectures at a couple of universities, and thought I'd share a few observations about ecological research in China. The Chinese government is putting significant resources into trying to enhance the quality of research in that country. Sending students and faculty overseas for training is one way they're doing this. My faculty host went to the Botanical Society meeting here in the US last summer, and a host at the other university I visited will spend 3-4 months at Yale this winter, in his first trip to the USA. They have access to funding to bring international visitors about once a year, and in addition to my visit this year, they've had guests from Australia and Germany in the past year or two. I gave a couple of seminars about my research, and a talk about how to publish in high-profile journals. The graduate student who served as my translator says that he won't get his Ph.D. until he has an article accepted in such a journal, and there are financial incentives for the faculty who do so. Ecology, and Ecology Letters, were mentioned as two journals that would be preferred venues for papers. I also spent a few hours providing feedback after a presentation about ongoing research there, and talked later with both faculty and grad students about their work. My host (Dr. Yan-Wen Zhang, Changchun Normal University) has had several papers published in good journals about the interesting work he does with plant-pollinator interactions, and the host at Northeast Normal University (Dr. Deli Wang, head of the Institute of Grassland Science, and director of Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology) also has a good publication record, and a large new grant for an experimental study of grazing (mammals and grasshoppers, on experimentally warmed plots that include manipulations of precipitation) in grasslands of northeast China. Both of these (Normal) universities specialize in training teachers, and have about 10 -15,000 students. I learned that male Professors in China have a mandatory retirement age of 65, and female Professors must retire at 55. This is at least in part a way of ensuring job opportunities for the growing number of Ph.D. students. I was not told the rationale for difference in retirement age. The grad student who translated for me lives in campus housing ($100/yr for Ph.D. students, $200 for undergraduates) and eats his meals in the dining hall (about $5/day). He hopes to visit an international university in a few years, possibly for a postdoc. The amount of construction going on in Changchun, and in Shenyang (largest city in northeast China) is staggering, and automobile traffic was about as heavy as in the Washington, D.C. area. But there was quite a bit of what seemed to be natural forest in some areas outside the cities, and the protected Changbai Mountain park on the North Korean border was impressive (and apparently has two species of bears, tigers, and other wildlife). The ecologists I met with recognize the environmental problems (e.g., air pollution) that face their country, but are hopeful that in another decade or two, once economic development has improved, that the country will be able to afford to prioritize environmental protection. Although students study English in schools in China, writing papers in English is still a challenge for many of the ecologists (and spoken English even more so). The Ecological Society of America maintains an http://www.esa.org/authorhelp/ESA Author Help Directory (http://www.esa.org/authorhelp/ ) that lists volunteers who will help non-English speakers in preparing papers for submission, if you're interested in helping such authors. I expect that we'll be hearing more in the future about ecological research in China. There is already at least one NSF-funded collaborative program with China funded by the Dimensions of Biodiversity program. David Inouye Dr. David W. Inouye, Professor Associate Chair, Director of Graduate Studies Dept. of Biology University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-4415 Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory PO Box 519 Crested Butte, CO 81224 ino...@umd.edu 301-405-6946
[ECOLOG-L] How important are lab science courses in Gen Ed?
My institution is cutting credits from the General Education program. A popular option is to reduce the required lab sciences from 2 to only 1 course. If anyone has any literature, data, or other justification to assist our case for keeping two lab science courses it would be greatly appreciated. -- Ross R. Conover In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy --John Sawhill
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity
Martin, You're perfectly right, this is was an oversight from my part and David gave a more general definition of my point of view (including flow of material). Now, if I go back on Katharine question, this is important to understand that traits are just a kind of proxy to evaluate ecosystems functions and more particularly ecosystems functions realized by estuarine fishes. Consequently, in traits studies we are quite far from a pure evaluation of functional diversity. My PhD thesis was on freshwater invertebrates traits and some people said to me that I wasn't measuring a functional diversity because there was no direct link with nutrient or energy. This is true of course. But this is the reason why I wrote in my first message that functional diversity measures the different way to manage energy (or material). As traits highlight organisms strategies to maximize their success in ecosystems, we can consider them as a good way to quantify one part of the possible ways to transport energy and material. Mathematically speaking, I'm not sure that beta diversity derived from Rao's index can be considered as a real distance (ie with all properties of a distance) and so included in a cluster analysis. This is a quite complicated index giving a disproportionate weight to abundant species. Consequently, by using Rao's index, you consider that species with high counts are more important for ecosystems functions. Quite simply, a prey (generally abundant) is more abundant than a predator to ensure flows of energy and material. In addition, Rao's index express the mean (functional, biological...) distance of two individual taken at random in the community. As a mean, this index tend to stabilize as the number of species increase (at a rate depending on the distance matrix used and so on the chosen traits) leading to the conclusion that the more species you have the more functionally redundant they are. I could say many things on Rao's index but the most important is that we must be very careful about our biological hypotheses on functional diversity to check if indices are able to really illustrate them. HTH again Nicolas Le Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:41:02 +0200, Martin Meiss mme...@gmail.com a écrit: Nicolas, Why would you restrict your interest to the flow of energy, and not include the flow of material, such as a nutrient like fixed nitrogen, or potassium? Martin M. Meiss 2012/9/27 Katharine Miller kmill...@alaska.edu Hi, I wanted to thank everyone for their responses and recommendations. Some of them were quite helpful and have got me thinking in new ways. With respect to the use of the Rao index, I didn't express my question very well. What I was really trying to discern was whether it was appropriate to use the Rao index values as a distance matrix of functional dissimilarity between estuaries that could then be evaluated using standard multivariate methods (i.e. clustering). I have not seen Shannon entropy used this way either, but it is understood that pairwise beta diversity calculated by either of these approaches is a measure of dissimilarity between sites. So, on that basis, it doesn't seem too much of a stretch. Also, the index values are used as dissimilarities in Mantel tests or other matrix calculations. I am not sure whether the reason these indices have not been used this way is because it would be inappropriate statistically or mathematically, or whether there is some ecological reason for not doing it. Thanks again. - Katharine -- Nicolas PERU, PhD 33-(0)4 72 43 28 94 06-88-15-23-10 CNRS, UMR 5023 - LEHNA Université Claude Bernard - Lyon 1 43 Bld du 11 novembre 1918 Rdc Bât Forel 69622 VILLEURBANNE cedex FRANCE
[ECOLOG-L] Job: Chair of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University
Applications are invited for the position of Chair and Professor of Biological Sciences at East Tennessee State University starting 1 July, 2013. The successful candidate will have an earned doctorate in the life sciences, a demonstrated commitment to both teaching and research, a sustained record of external research funding, a record that qualifies him/her for tenured full professorship, and evidence of strong leadership and administrative abilities. The Department seeks to expand its research productivity and graduate program and to strengthen the undergraduate program. Area of expertise in the life sciences is open. The salary will be commensurate with experience with an excellent benefits package. Please submit an ETSU faculty profile, CV, and statements of teaching, research, service, and leadership philosophy, and three letters of reference at: https://jobs.etsu.edu. Further information may be obtained from the chair of the search committee, Dr. Jim I. Mead, Chair, Department of Geosciences, Box 70357, ETSU, Johnson City, TN 37614; m...@mail.etsu.edu . Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. ETSU is an AA/EO employer.
[ECOLOG-L] Spatial Analyst Job Opening - The Nature Conservancy - Tucson, AZ
The Nature Conservancy's Arizona Chapter and its Center for Science and Public Policy is seeking a GIS spatial analyst who is a skilled communicator to provide leadership and technical expertise in spatial analyses and modeling, database development and management, and GIS technology. The ideal candidate will have a graduate degree in ecology, geography, GIS information science or related field and 2-4 years of relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience. S/he will have a working knowledge of GIS software applications (ArcGIS 10, ArcSDE/SQL Server 2008) and GIS scripting programs (e.g. python model builder). For more information and to apply, please visit www.nature.org/careershttp://www.nature.org/careers and search for job ID#40444 in the keyword search. Job location is Tucson, Arizona. Deadline to apply is October 26, 2012. The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
[ECOLOG-L] Postdoctoral position at the University of Idaho
Postdoctoral Fellow (GAP Postdoctoral Fellow ) Fish and Wildlife Sciences - GAP Open for Recruitment: September 27, 2012 - October 25, 2012 Announcement #: 12508045900 Salary Range: $40,000+ DOE Full or Part Time: Full Time Location: Moscow This position is contingent upon the continuation of work and/or funding. Materials Required: Online Application https://www.sites.uidaho.edu/AppTrack/Agency/Applicant/ApplyForJob.asp? AN=12508045900class_no=12508 (click to apply) Job References Resume Letter of Qualification Postdoc will design research that will build upon spatial databases of land cover, vertebrate species' ranges and distribution models, and protected areas from the USGS Gap Analysis Program (GAP) to inform a national biodiversity analysis. The exact research will depend on the interests and expertise of the successful applicant, in consultation with PIs and USGS GAP Program Manager. Potential general areas of inquiry include: building upon existing efforts to identify the most threatened and least protected areas of biodiversity in the U.S.; design of national biodiversity assessment of vertebrate species and their habitat; comparing alternative methods to identify Species of Greatest Conservation Need; predicting the effects of future climate change and/or changes in land-use on biodiversity, and; analysis of trends in acquisition of protected lands and how that influences which habitats and species are protected. Applicant should have strong communication skills and ability to coordinate with project partners, work independently, and participate as team member to reach consensus on research goals and to carry-out those goals. Responsibilities: Research: Percentage of Time: 65% Essential responsibility Description of Responsibilities: -develop and design research questions that help advance the goals and objectives of GAP -develop research goals and objectives in cooperation with project partners -develop, create, or obtain comprehensive data needed to meet research objectives -perform digital computer mapping and database functions -apply complex combinations and sequences of specialized computer programs to process spatial and relational data -establish, maintain, and monitor processes and workflow related to spatial data, such as data compatibility, spatial accuracy, metadata, and data integrity -may require training and supervision of temporary employees -create maps of US that illustrate biodiversity conservation issues based on GAP data -perform spatial analysis using GIS and other software -perform statistical analysis -develop understanding of current and future needs of GAP in relation to applying data to biodiversity conservation -prepare and submit reports to project partners -prepare and submit manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals Presentation of Research Results: Percentage of Time: 10% Essential responsibility Description of Responsibilities: -present results of research at professional conferences and workshops -develop presentation materials to clearly and concisely explain research goals, objectives, and results. -represent University of Idaho-GAP (UI-GAP) at professional conferences -develop maps illustrating research results Coordinate with partners and cooperators: Percentage of Time: 20% Essential responsibility Description of Responsibilities: -coordinate with state, federal, non-profit, and university personnel to accomplish research project goals -help to identify federal, state, and nonprofit partners and cooperators throughout the country to obtain best data available for national biodiversity analysis including threats to biodiversity, climate change, land-use change, and trend analysis -provide assistance to other GAP projects and coordinators Contribute to team efforts: Percentage of Time: 5% Marginal responsibility Description of Responsibilities: -work as a productive and effective member of UI-GAP team -perform other tasks as needed Minimum Qualifications: Education: Ph.D. degree in Natural Resources, Ecology, Conservation Biology, Environmental Science or related field Extensive knowledge: theoretical and applied ecology and conservation biology, GIS including spatial analysis, geodatabase design, database management, and data workflow Research Experience: applying conceptual ecological ideas and models to applied research questions, spatial analysis, GIS. Research Skills: ESRI software (ArcMap, ArcGIS, Geodatabase), ERDAS Imagine, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, and Python programming or other scripting language Demonstrated oral and written communication skills Demonstrated ability to work independently and effectively with a diverse group of cooperators and partners Experience in: planning, designing, and
Re: [ECOLOG-L] ecology in China (Forestry)
I feel this is an pertinent thread and I would like to provide some more information to those who are interested. I attended a lecture given by Dr. Bing Wang with the Chinese Academy of Forestry on the CFERN (Chinese Forest Ecosystem Research Network) last February at the Luquillo LTER site (Puerto Rico). It seems that they are doing big things. All of the following information is from my personal notes on his lecture. The network was established in 1998 with 11 previouis field stations. China now has 75 field stations, and are projecting 99 stations by 2015, including at least half of them being 50 Ha forestry plots. Stations are planned to cover all vegetation types and classes present from tropical monsoon forests to plateau steppe meadows. They have standardized 13 across-site criterion to govern directed research goals. China lies at approximately at 30º N latitude, creating a temperature gradient N to S. The moisture gradient lies E(wetter) to W(drier) and an elevational gradient exists from the Himilayan mountains to sea level. This creates variable eco-tones for comprehensive study. Interestingly, recent soil transport data from a N to S transect shows significant change in the permafrost boundary to support global climate change theory. The industrialization of China has allowed for large-scale secondary forest regeneration, as seen in other parts of the world (e.g Puerto Rico). The focus of the CFERN research is conservation of ecosystem services to support a growing nation. Dr. Wang's estimates show 200 billion tons of carbon sequestered by Chinese forests annually. Furthermore, he states 1/4 of China's GDP is allocated to conservation of ecosystem services; 40% of this to water conservation, 25% to species conservation and 15% to Carbon Fixation. Perhaps, this was President Obama's motivation in passing the NEON bill. In my opinion, it is a monumental step for the discipline of Ecology in China that will provide an alternative opportunity for ecological study and a comparative to American finding . Please share your thoughts and/ or feelings on this matter. Thanks for your time. James Aaron Hogan University of Puerto Rico- Environmental Sciences (970) 485-1412 hogiesk...@gmail.com On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 4:55 PM, Steve Young steve.yo...@unl.edu wrote: This is enlightening. If they wait another decade or two will there be anything left of the environment to prioritize protection for? Steve -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of David Inouye Sent: Friday, September 28, 2012 1:51 PM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: [ECOLOG-L] ecology in China I returned two days ago from a trip to northeast China, where I gave lectures at a couple of universities, and thought I'd share a few observations about ecological research in China. The Chinese government is putting significant resources into trying to enhance the quality of research in that country. Sending students and faculty overseas for training is one way they're doing this. My faculty host went to the Botanical Society meeting here in the US last summer, and a host at the other university I visited will spend 3-4 months at Yale this winter, in his first trip to the USA. They have access to funding to bring international visitors about once a year, and in addition to my visit this year, they've had guests from Australia and Germany in the past year or two. I gave a couple of seminars about my research, and a talk about how to publish in high-profile journals. The graduate student who served as my translator says that he won't get his Ph.D. until he has an article accepted in such a journal, and there are financial incentives for the faculty who do so. Ecology, and Ecology Letters, were mentioned as two journals that would be preferred venues for papers. I also spent a few hours providing feedback after a presentation about ongoing research there, and talked later with both faculty and grad students about their work. My host (Dr. Yan-Wen Zhang, Changchun Normal University) has had several papers published in good journals about the interesting work he does with plant-pollinator interactions, and the host at Northeast Normal University (Dr. Deli Wang, head of the Institute of Grassland Science, and director of Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology) also has a good publication record, and a large new grant for an experimental study of grazing (mammals and grasshoppers, on experimentally warmed plots that include manipulations of precipitation) in grasslands of northeast China. Both of these (Normal) universities specialize in training teachers, and have about 10 -15,000 students. I learned that male Professors in China have a mandatory retirement age of 65, and female Professors must retire at 55. This is at least in part a way of ensuring job opportunities for the growing number of
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity
Hi Katharine Are you intending to do a cluster analysis on the original variables to group so called 'like' estuaries using euclidean distance measures and/or factor analytic methods, and then compare the results of the cluster analysis to results obtained from the distance matrix of functional dissimilarity between estuaries? Ling Ling Huang Sacramento City College --- On Fri, 9/28/12, Neahga Leonard naturalistkni...@gmail.com wrote: From: Neahga Leonard naturalistkni...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Visualizing functional diversity To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Date: Friday, September 28, 2012, 3:45 PM Hello Katharine, Interesting question (once it comes down to plain language). One thing I'd add to the conversation is as follows. In addition to processing energy and material ecosystems develop complex, non-linear internal relationships. An ecosystem is defined by these relationships, the material and energy flow are a way to facilitate these relationships, but describing only these does a poor job of describing the ecosystem as a whole. We often focus on these aspects because they are relatively easy to quantify, but when relationships come into play simplicity is not synonymous with accuracy. Many things process materials and energy, but are not ecosystems. Part of the difficulty with a question like this is that you are treading into the, What is life, type pf question. Every answer we give is an oversimplification. Cheers, Neahga Leonard On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 5:00 PM, Nicolas PERU nicolas.p...@univ-lyon1.frwrote: Martin, You're perfectly right, this is was an oversight from my part and David gave a more general definition of my point of view (including flow of material). Now, if I go back on Katharine question, this is important to understand that traits are just a kind of proxy to evaluate ecosystems functions and more particularly ecosystems functions realized by estuarine fishes. Consequently, in traits studies we are quite far from a pure evaluation of functional diversity. My PhD thesis was on freshwater invertebrates traits and some people said to me that I wasn't measuring a functional diversity because there was no direct link with nutrient or energy. This is true of course. But this is the reason why I wrote in my first message that functional diversity measures the different way to manage energy (or material). As traits highlight organisms strategies to maximize their success in ecosystems, we can consider them as a good way to quantify one part of the possible ways to transport energy and material. Mathematically speaking, I'm not sure that beta diversity derived from Rao's index can be considered as a real distance (ie with all properties of a distance) and so included in a cluster analysis. This is a quite complicated index giving a disproportionate weight to abundant species. Consequently, by using Rao's index, you consider that species with high counts are more important for ecosystems functions. Quite simply, a prey (generally abundant) is more abundant than a predator to ensure flows of energy and material. In addition, Rao's index express the mean (functional, biological...) distance of two individual taken at random in the community. As a mean, this index tend to stabilize as the number of species increase (at a rate depending on the distance matrix used and so on the chosen traits) leading to the conclusion that the more species you have the more functionally redundant they are. I could say many things on Rao's index but the most important is that we must be very careful about our biological hypotheses on functional diversity to check if indices are able to really illustrate them. HTH again Nicolas Le Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:41:02 +0200, Martin Meiss mme...@gmail.com a écrit: Nicolas, Why would you restrict your interest to the flow of energy, and not include the flow of material, such as a nutrient like fixed nitrogen, or potassium? Martin M. Meiss 2012/9/27 Katharine Miller kmill...@alaska.edu Hi, I wanted to thank everyone for their responses and recommendations. Some of them were quite helpful and have got me thinking in new ways. With respect to the use of the Rao index, I didn't express my question very well. What I was really trying to discern was whether it was appropriate to use the Rao index values as a distance matrix of functional dissimilarity between estuaries that could then be evaluated using standard multivariate methods (i.e. clustering). I have not seen Shannon entropy used this way either, but it is understood that pairwise beta diversity calculated by either of these approaches is a measure of dissimilarity between sites. So, on that basis, it doesn't seem too much of a stretch. Also, the index values are used as dissimilarities in Mantel tests or other matrix calculations. I am not sure whether the reason these indices have not been used this
