[ECOLOG-L] AnAge database of animal ageing and longevity

[J Pedro Magalhaes]

Dear Colleagues,

I thought you may be interested to learn of our AnAge database of ageing 
and longevity in animals. We have recently released build 10 with over 
4,200 species and over 3,500 longevity records.


In addition to longevity records, which continue to be our main focus 
and we make a great effort to verify their authenticity, AnAge features 
one of the most comprehensive collections of quantitative life history 
data (age at sexual maturity, litter (or clutch) size, adult body 
weight, etc.) in animals. Metabolism data is also available for hundreds 
of species of birds and mammals.


AnAge is available online at:
http://genomics.senescence.info/species/

We hope you will continue to find this resource useful for your 
research. Comments and suggestions are always appreciated.


With the very best wishes,
Joao Pedro

--

Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, PhD

Institute of Integrative Biology
Biosciences Building, Room 245
University of Liverpool
Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB
United Kingdom

Phone: +44 151 7954517; Fax: +44 151 7954408
Integrative Genomics of Ageing Group: http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~aging/ 

[ECOLOG-L] 2nd CAll for papers: Payments for Ecosystem Services: Paths toward Sustainability

[Li An]

Dear ECOLOG-L Subscribers,

Please share with people with interest in this call. Thanks.

Call for Papers: AAG Annual Meeting, 9-13 April 2013

*Session Title: *Payments for Ecosystem Services: Paths toward 
Sustainability**


Co-organizers: Li An, Alex Zvoleff, and Sarah Wandersee

Co-chairs: Li An, Douglas Stow

Many important ecosystem services have been degraded as a result of 
human activities. Even services derived from so-called protected areas 
are not immune to these threats. Indeed, much debate surrounds the topic 
of the most effective approaches to conservation. One approach has been 
to provide compensation to the parties protecting them in the form of 
payments for ecosystem services (PES).To counteract forces of 
degradation, governments, the private sector, and non-governmental 
organizations worldwide invest billions of dollars each year in PES 
programs that provide incentives to resource users to take actions that 
sustain ecosystem services (or to refrain from taking actions that 
threaten ecosystem services). Despite reported successes in restoring 
and preserving ecosystems and their corresponding services such as clean 
air and water, food, soil fertility, forest resources, and eco-tourism, 
long-term PES program sustainability remains uncertain. PES lack of 
sustainability can arise from many reasons, one being that PES 
participants may return to their previous behavioral patterns when 
payments end.


This session will explore possible pathways toward PES sustainability, 
addressing the complex reciprocal relationships between PES programs and 
corresponding socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental systems. We 
particularly encourage review and research articles to address 
theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues related to (but not 
limited to) the following topics:


1. Land use or land cover change associated with PES programs

2. Ecological effects of PES programs (e.g., wildlife habitat or 
behavioral change)


3. Potential mechanisms for success/failure observed in current PES programs

4. Socioeconomic, demographic, and political consequences of PES programs

5. Methodological issues: collection of qualitative and quantitative 
data related to PES, data analysis and modeling, application of GIS 
techniques and spatial statistics, integration of multidisciplinary and 
multi-scale data, etc.


6. Complexity in coupled natural and human systems (CNH) arising from 
PES programs (e.g., feedback, nonlinearity, time lags). Analyses using 
similar integrated frameworks including coupled human and natural 
systems (CHANS), social-ecological systems, or social-environmental 
systems are also welcome.


This session (sessions) is co-sponsored by multiple AAG Specialty 
Groups: Geographic Information Science and Systems, Spatial Analysis and 
Modeling, Human Dimensions of Global Change, and China Geography. To be 
considered for the sessions:


1. Please register and submit your abstract online following the AAG 
Guidelines (http://www.aag.org/cs/annualmeeting); and


2. Please send your paper title, PIN, and abstract no later than 
Wednesday, October 20 to Dr. Li An (l...@mail.sdsu.edu 
), Sarah Wandersee (wande...@rohan.sdsu.edu 
), and Alex Zvoleff 
(azvol...@mail.sdsu.edu ).



Li

--
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Li An, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
San Diego State University
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~lian/  (Personal website)
http://complexity.sdsu.edu/  (Group Website)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[ECOLOG-L] Call for Masters, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows, UBC

[David Inouye]

Call for Masters, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows:

The NSERC-CREATE funded initiative TerreWEB (Terrestrial Research on
Ecosystem & World-wide Education & Broadcast), at the University of
British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, has funding opportunities for
Masters, PhD and post-doctoral fellows available. National and
international Students and post-docs from diverse academic backgrounds
with interest in research and communication of global change / climate
change issues are encouraged to apply.

Deadlines are bi-annual (May 1, and December 1st). For further
information visit www.terreweb.ubc.ca

Re: [ECOLOG-L] correlation v. causation

[Wayne Tyson]

ABSQOLUTELY!

WT

PS: "It's no use, Professor Agassiz, it's turtles all the way down!" --A 
woman who asserted that the earth rested upon the back of a giant turtle, 
and made this remark when Agassiz asked ". . . upon what, then, madam, does 
the turtle rest?" "Another turtle, of course," the woman kept responding. 
(At least this is how I remember the story.)


McCallum has touched upon the reason why I have suggested to the Smithsonian 
Library of Life project that they accumulate data on the ranges of 
organism's requirements and limitations.



- Original Message - 
From: "malcolm McCallum" 

To: 
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2012 8:16 PM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] correlation v. causation



The whole point of a correlation is that you don't really know what is
going one with two or more variables, but you think there might be a
relationship of some kind. That is why we say correlation doesn't
indicate causation.
A regression does indicate causation because we name a determinant
variable.  For example, if you take a bunch of guppies in a glass of
water and add salt until the die, then you are testing to see how much
salt kills guppies.  You do a regression.  However, if you go out in
the wilderness and measure salt concentrations and count guppies for
unrelated reasons, and after looking at your data you say, hey it
looks like guppies might be getting killed by salt, you still do a
regression because you are looking for the effect of salt on guppies,
it sure isn't very logical even if narrowly possible that guppies are
changing the salt concentration of the water.  Now, if you are doing
measurements on all kinds of data.  YOu happen to notice that a lot of
guppies are in ponds that also have plants.  You have no idea if the
plants are helping the guppies, if the guppies are helping the plants,
or if some third factor is influencing both of their apperaance.  SO,
you run a correlation to see if the association you seem to observe is
actually happening.  Later, you can set up experimetns to determine
why plants and guppies have correlated presence absence rates. In
those following experiments you might use a regression.  (this all
assumes you have the experiment set up properly for the tests I
mention :)

Make sense?

On Tue, Oct 9, 2012 at 12:56 PM, Wayne Tyson  wrote:

Hi y'all,

If I remember the quote correctly, it said "Correlation is not 
causation."
It did not say that it didn't imply causation. The distinction is 
crucial,
eh? (It appears that my initial response to the initial question didn't 
make
its way to Ecolog, possibly because I neglected to approve it or because 
it

was rejected.

WT

PS: Correlation is not in opposition to (v.) causation.

Let us not jump to contusions.

- Original Message - From: "Devan McGranahan"

To: 
Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2012 8:57 AM

Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] correlation v. causation



Hi Shelley, others,

Slate recently had a great article on correlation and causation with a
historical perspective.

My favorite line: "'No, correlation does not imply causation, but it
sure as hell provides a hint."


http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/10/correlation_does_not_imply_causation_how_the_internet_fell_in_love_with_a_stats_class_clich_.html







"Having nothing better to do, I set fire to the prairie."
-- Francis Chadron, 1839, Fort Clark, North Dakota

http://www.devanmcgranahan.info


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--
Malcolm L. McCallum
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
School of Biological Sciences
University of Missouri at Kansas City

Managing Editor,
Herpetological Conservation and Biology

"Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" -
Allan Nation

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!

The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi)
Wealth w/o work
Pleasure w/o conscience
Knowledge w/o character
Commerce w/o morality
Science w/o humanity
Worship w/o sacrifice
Politics w/o principle

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