Re: [ECOLOG-L] Some ideas for advancing grad education in the face of scarcity
Ryan has many good points. There are certainly roles for faculty, students, and groups of each. My comments are on some low hanging fruit concerning graduate student training. Recognizing the mentioned employment trends, highly motivated/passionate (grad) student groups should identify opportunities to have speakers from varied careers provide not only scientific talks but separate short talks on their careers. Any school with a seminar series could easily increase their students' exposure to varied careers by 1) promoting career diversity among the roster of speakers and 2) asking relevant speakers to add content (5-10 min of their 45 min talk) on career/jobs stuff [or provide a separate mini-talk on their career as X working for Y to the student group]. I know of one large biology department that has acknowledged the cited employment trends and funded an annual roundtable organized by their students. The goal appears to be to empower students to organize a workshop and expose their students to varied career opportunities. The professionals (6-12) were all non-academics and were pressed to talk about their unique career paths. ESA has done similar things. Kurt ___ Kurt Reinhart, Experimental Plant Ecologist USDA-Agricultural Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Rd. Miles City, MT 59301 Ph: (406) 874-8211 Lab website -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of Ryan McEwan Sent: Monday, August 25, 2014 6:01 AM Subject: Some ideas for advancing grad education in the face of scarcity As the semester kicks off, I wanted to share some thoughts I had over the summer on graduate eduction: --- August 25, 2014 Some ideas for advancing graduate education in ecology in a time of scarcity The science of Ecology, like most scientific disciplines, is in the midst of a crisis of sorts stemming from at least two underlying factors. First, funding for science at a national level is stable or in decline, while the number of labs that need funding to persist is rising sharply. Second, the number of PhDs being granted is vastly outpacing the job market. According to some analyses the percentage of newly granted PhDs that got a job as a tenure track academic in the 1970s was nearly 50%, while that number today is less than 10% http://www.ascb.org/ascbpost/index.php/compass-points/item/285-where-will-a-biology-phd-take-you . In the face of this gloomy picture, action is required and I believe there are some clear steps we can take. In my view, lobbying for more federal money, tweaking how funds are distributed, working toward some supplements to federal funds (e.g., crowdsourceing..like this https://www.kickstarter.com/ and that https://experiment.com/) are good things to fight for. Those are supply side issues...I would like to also propose some practices in graduate training that may be helpful: (a) revive and respect the Master's degree. In my experience, some faculty view a Master's degree as a kind of failure. They tell their very best undergrads to avoid doing a Master's and head straight to the PhD. It is a waste of time they advise, “the Master's degree is functionless”, you can't do anything with that degree, etc. In fact, many, talented, intelligent, undergraduates have no business doing a PhD because they are not suited to the particulars of the academic enterprise. We should do our best to only bring people into PhD programs who are clearly dedicated to every facet of the pursuit (see below). A MS is a good option for many (most, all?) students interesting in career in ecology. A MS serves as a vital testing ground, even for students who feel confident they want to do a Doctorate. A MS gives the student a chance to discover if research is really an endeavor they want to dedicate their life to-- statistical analysis, writing, digging through the literature-- in addition to field work, lab work, or setting up and maintaining an experiment. In my experience ~50% of the undergraduates who think they want to do a PhD, who faculty might say you really should do a PhD, will change their mind during a MS degree. In which case, that student can finish up the MS and head off to a job, instead of leaving a PhD partway through, which is a bad situation for both the student and the mentor. Screening students in this way will help the PhD glut we currently face, resulting in fewer ABDs in the world, fewer PhDs who leave the field, and will allow those involved with training PhD students to focus energy on students who are more likley to stay the course and succeed. (b) filter hard for students coming into our PhD programs. I would recommend a MS and at least one peer-reviewed article submitted, as a general qualification for admittance into a PhD program. GREs and course
[ECOLOG-L] grinding equipment for plant DNA barcoding project (but large quantities of plant material per sp)
I'm needing to devise a system to grind 28 samples of single species plant material (range of 0.5-26g per sp) for a DNA barcoding project. There are DNA extraction procedures for grinding plant material but they typically work with miniscule amounts of plant material (~0.05 g) and don't seem relevant. I need something that will enable me to process much larger amounts. I also need it to be simple enough to effectively clean and remove extraneous DNA (e.g. bleach or DNA Exitus Plus) between samples. We have a wiley mill but it seems highly likely to have DNA carryover (i.e. DNA contamination). My first thought was liquid nitrogen and a mortar and pestle but this techniques is also typically done on samples that are pretty small (~1g) and am not sure it would work with such large quantities of plant material without me getting a repetitive use injury. I then thought larger quantities of material could be processed with a blender (with water not liquid nitrogen) then freeze dry the homogenized sample. Ideally, I would like the final material fine enough to pass through a 2mm screen but can possibly change this tolerance. Suggestions? Kurt ___ Kurt Reinhart, Experimental Plant Ecologist USDA-Agricultural Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Rd. Miles City, MT 59301 Ph: (406) 874-8211 Lab websitehttp://www.grasslandscience.net/ 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.
[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.
[ECOLOG-L] soil health demos
Had to pass this link along for Ray the Soil Guy- http://vimeo.com/channels/raythesoilguy If you're interested in reducing erosion and use of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and petroleum while increasing drought tolerance, agricultural production, carbon sequestration in soils, and overall sustainability of agriculture then have a look, link to your website, /or share with a friend. Many of you are familiar with these stories but these guys are on the front lines and doing an amazing job of changing the minds of farmers ranchers. Hats off to Ray's group for promoting sustainable stewardship of land. ___ Kurt Reinhart, Ecologist USDA-Agricultural Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3087 243 Fort Keogh Rd. Miles City, MT 59301 Ph: (406) 874-8219 Email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov Personal educational website: http://www.iecology.net/
[ECOLOG-L] post-doc Microbial Ecology
A postdoctoral fellow position in Microbial Ecology is available at the Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory (http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3087 http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3087 ) in eastern Montana. The fellow will collaboratively contribute to a team project on recovery of mixed-grass prairie vegetation following fire and contribute to building an understanding of fire effects of fluxes in soil nutrients, microbial populations, and microbial functional genes. Major duties include developing and optimizing real-time quantitative (qPCR) PCR and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiling techniques. Fellow will also coordinate research with ARS scientists and technicians, perform management duties, analyses, and development manuscripts. The ideal candidate will have a PhD in microbial ecology or a related field of study that has equipped the applicant with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position. Extensive research experience in microbial ecology and capacity to develop and optimize techniques in molecular biology (e.g. qPCR) and/or PLFA profiling are important. Excellent written and oral communication skills are also essential in order to communicate effectively with colleagues, the public, other researchers, and prepare research publications. This is a full-time, temporary position not to exceed 2 years with a possible extension up to 2 years. Fellow will most likely be a GS-11: $57,408 per year plus benefits package ( no relocation compensation). Start date is preferably May 2011, but flexible. For a full description of the job advertisement and necessary application materials please visit- http://federalgovernmentjobs.us/jobs/Interdisciplinary-Research-Ecologis t-Research-Molecular-Biologist-2156113.html [this link often gets broken in two for some reason so double check that it makes sense looks complete] In a nutshell, read full advert to determine if you are eligible/interested and email a cover letter, CV, and reference contacts as a PDF to Kurt Reinhart (kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov), with the subject line as FK Postdoc application your name by February 28, 2011. ___ Kurt Reinhart, Ecologist USDA-Agricultural Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3087 243 Fort Keogh Rd. Miles City, MT 59301 Ph: (406) 874-8219 Email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov Personal educational website: http://www.iecology.net/
[ECOLOG-L] R code to calculate relative interaction intensity soil feedback
This message contains some R code that some of you may find useful.
Previously, I emailed some R code to various people that I knew were
doing soil feedback studies. However, I began to realize that other
people (e.g. plant competition folks, etc.) might benefit from
seeing/using the code to estimate relative interaction intensity (RII)
[or something else] with a resampling (bootstrapping) approach. The
code is relatively simple so not worthy of a paper but something that is
still worth sharing. You can decide.
Pasted email-
I'm a bit of a newbie with R but after beating my head against a wall
for a couple of days made a (minor to R experts) breakthrough that I
thought was worth sharing. The R code estimates a soil feedback
parameter (RII [relative interaction intensity {Armas et al Ecology
2004}]) and its confidence intervals using a bootstrapping procedure in
R. You can change this equation to something else if you wish. You
should be able to paste it into R and have it work as a trial as written
(you may need to download the boot library 1st if you don't already have
it). You can then adapt it as needed by changing the city, x and u
names to fit your own dataset. Enjoy!
I derived it mostly from here-
http://stat.ethz.ch/R-manual/R-patched/library/boot/html/boot.ci.html
A statistician reviewed and approved it so it should work as expected.
Feel free to share it with others. If you make any useful changes then
please let me know.
Cheers, Kurt
# lets you see city dataset so that you can understand its simple
structure
city
library(boot)
# makes RII calculation for city dataset which has two columns of data
# imagine column U being equivalent to a column of biomass data when
plants
# are grown in soil A and X equivalent to a column of biomass data when
plants
# were grown in soil B
# confidence intervals for the city data
RII - function(d, w) (mean(d$x * w) - mean(d$u * w))/(mean(d$x * w) +
mean(d$u * w))
boot(city, RII, R=999, stype = w)
city.boot - boot(city, RII, R = 999, stype = w, sim = ordinary)
boot.ci(city.boot, conf = c(0.90,0.95),
type = c(norm,basic,perc,bca))
___
Kurt Reinhart, Ecologist
USDA-Agricultural Research Service
Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3087
243 Fort Keogh Rd.
Miles City, MT 59301
Ph: (406) 874-8219
Email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov
Personal educational website: http://www.iecology.net/
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Camera Help Needed
Miranda others, Finding a relatively inexpensive solution to a long term photography setup may not be possible. Here are some ideas though. A couple of reasonably priced cameras with housing exist that can be set to do time-lapse pictures where you specify the time the camera is on (e.g. 7-8AM) and the picture interval (e.g. 15min). This would give you 2-4 pics per day. You have a 4MP camera option (PlantCam) for $80 not including memory cards and possible DIY power options http://swampschool.org/new/outdoor-nature-cameras/wetland-plantcam/ (note: they show some wetland field applications on this website) I just purchased one of these but haven't started using it yet but can possibly answer some related questions. For the price it looks like it will work well. The Swampschool mentions the unit will run for ~8wks. Might go longer with lithium batteries... Whether you can ID birds with only 4MP is another question. A higher end 8MP option with motion sensor capabilities and time-lapse capabilities (probably like those described above) is the Wingscapes BirdCam 2.0 (http://www.wingscapes.com/productdetail.aspx?id=WSCA02) ($199). Both products are actually made by Windscapes. I don't know if this will also run for 8wks or not. For DIY power options, you may want to check out this forum (http://www.timescapes.org/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=12sid=fce0929ad7886c3 9ca92703c42d305c4) on how to power time-lapse camera rigs. You can pretty much modify anything to run off extended power... This website also has information on DIY camera enclosures so you could go that route and use the previously mentioned Canon CHDK route. However, there are a lot of factors to consider when doing these (internal glare off glass, humidity) besides the obvious power and memory issues. Some pricey options (~$2K) can be found in a few different places- https://www.harbortronics.com/Products/TimeLapsePackage/ and http://www.video-monitoring.com/products.htm (I think you can rent these) If you google sciencelookers you'll see that this person has made some really inexpensive longterm time-lapse cameras and enclosures. Not sure if he/she'll loan you or sell you one... Cheers, Kurt ___ Kurt Reinhart, Ecologist USDA-Agric. Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Road Miles City, MT 59301-4016 Ph: (406) 874-8211 email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov personal educational website: http://www.iecology.net/ -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Miranda Redmond Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 1:04 PM Subject: Camera Help Needed Hi, I am looking to set up field cameras at different wetland sites to get an idea of what bird species are present. I would like the camera to be able to: -stay out in the field for 4 months without needing to be checked on -have a timer setting where it could take a few photos every morning (on a timer, ie one at 7 am and one at 8am) -be protected and safe from the elements -be fairly inexpensive I was thinking I could hook up the camera to a car battery or solar panels, and hopefully get a camera with an intervalometer built in. Does anyone have any recommendations? I know trail camera's have the power supply set up and will last in the field for a few months, but they are only used for taking motion detection photos. Let me know if you have any ideas and recommendations! Thank you! Miranda Redmond mirandaredm...@gmail.com (415) 300-6901
[ECOLOG-L] Summer internship: Soil Ecology
(Sorry if this is a repost but my original submission did not initially appear) The Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Montana is advertising a summer internship as a Soil Ecologist for a college/university student. The job pays well and provides the intern with the opportunity to acquire hands-on work experience and learn about employment opportunities with the USDA's dedicated research unit the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The application deadline is April 2, 2010 and a full announcement (pdf) can be found here http://ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/5434/SoilEcologyInternAnnc.pd f. Cheers, Kurt ___ Kurt Reinhart, Ecologist USDA-Agric. Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3087 243 Fort Keogh Road Miles City, MT 59301-4016 Ph: (406) 874-8211 email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov personal educational website: http://www.iecology.net/ http://www.iecology.net/
[ECOLOG-L] Ques: seed germination of few mixed-grass prairie plants
Hi, Despite having collected seed and done some preliminary germination trials, we are now having some trouble getting seed for a few species to germinate in sufficient quantities for an experiment. Our biggest offender is an exotic forb (Logfia arvensis aka Filago arvensis, Gnaphalium arvense, and Oglifa arvensis). We have limited viable seed for Loar so are trying to use it sparingly. I would appreciate receiving germination recommendations and/or purchasing any extra seed that you may have of Loar. I would also appreciate germination tips for three others that we have ample seed supplies. 1) Pascopyrum smithii (western wheatgrass) 2) Astragulus crassicarpus 3) Astragulus missouriensis For #1-3, we had 10-30% germination in our trial (Petri plate and filter paper) but are having lower success now in pots and trays. Thanks, Kurt Kurt Reinhart, Research Ecologist USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Road Miles City, MT 59301 USA email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov Office: (406) 874-8211 Fax: (406) 874-8289 educational website: http://iecology.net http://iecology.net/
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Are ecologists the problem?-- can cows get a break
It seems that the green movement has chosen beef as their poster child for all that is wrong with agriculture. I agree that overconsumption of any one thing, including beef, is likely to have negative effects on health and that livestock produce methane, an important greenhouse gas. Most of the vilification though appears to stem from high profile news stories about livestock production in feedlots. However, I am continually amazed to see cattle and wildlife convert the inedible semi-arid grasslands that surround where I live in Montana into something that I can use (meat and leather) and provide incomes for others in the region. I certainly could not survive by eating native plants from the northern steppe mixed-grass prairie but ruminant livestock can. This makes me think that a piece of the production cycle is likely being overlooked by the critics of livestock production as they selectively choose to portray the industry as one dimensional. Here in Montana (ranking in the top 10 cattle production states), most cattle are supported by grasslands (i.e. rangelands) for a considerable portion of the year. Our extreme winters require that many receive supplementation (hay) in the winter but use rangelands during much of the year. In fact, the production cycle has been set to maximize utilization of the natural rangeland forges/NPP (i.e. late winter/early spring calving) to build the bulk of a cow while they are mostly just maintained over winter. We still have feedlots but they are rare relatively to rangeland fed beef production systems. Although you can cherry pick examples of how livestock grazing degrades regional rangelands (probably mostly from other regions), most producers ( BLM) in the region have adopted grazing management that is sustainable. This region historically had bison, so the grasslands are resistant to grazing. In many respects, the livestock are now functional analogs to bison (see http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/04-1958). I suspect bison also emit methane. To have a sustainable business and maintain the numerous multi-generational ranches in the region, livestock producers HAD to develop sustainable practices since the days of the open range, overgrazing, and forage exploitation are long gone. This has helped to maintain relatively natural and diverse grasslands throughout the region that probably don't look that different from what they did ~120 years ago when bison grazed the region (but who really knows). This region has found what appears to be a balance between maintaining considerable natural habitat and wildlife while also providing food and fiber that provide incomes and maintain livelihoods to those in rural communities. In most cases, I would say the livestock industry is an important partner in maintaining natural lands and wildlife in this region much more than an antagonist. Most livestock operations here make money by selling cattle that are exported to other states and likely end up on feedlots at the later stages of their production cycle (e.g. 8 months or more prior to slaughter) [I know that uses fossil fuels]. They are moved to feedlots to improve their meat quality which is now part of market expectations. However, much of their body was built off of resources from natural grasslands. I suspect it is inaccurate to assume that most cattle on feedlots have been their for their entire lives eating corn. Someone out there probably has an actual statistic for the % of American beef that have spent at least a portion of their lives on rangelands. So lets not get too caught up in negative stereotypes and not forget that livestock production systems are diverse and some help to support natural systems that other forms of agriculture/development would likely degrade while still providing food, fiber, and incomes. Kurt Kurt Reinhart, Research Ecologist USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Road Miles City, MT 59301 USA email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov Office: (406) 874-8211 Fax: (406) 874-8289 educational website: http://iecology.net -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Kevin McCluney Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 8:50 PM Subject: Are ecologists the problem? I recently attended the 2009 annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA). The theme of this year's meeting was sustainability. There were many great talks on this subject and a few truly pessimistic ones. One speaker proposed that human beings are, by our very nature, destined to consume and reproduce as much as possible, and despite our best efforts, this will lead to our own demise. During the same talk the speaker also asked, who is responsible? He answered his question by saying that we at this conference are just as much a part of the problem as anyone else. Is this true? I know I myself have taken many steps to lower my
[ECOLOG-L] Educational website with multimedia content
I've been revising and re-revising an educational website of mine during the evenings. It is now polished enough that I would like to share it with you. I hope that you'll take the time to check it out (http://www.iecology.net/index.html http://www.iecology.net/index.html ). At the bottom is a list of some of my favorites to help get you started. The site is dedicated to providing multimedia content to experience ecological concepts in a fresh and inviting way. Topics cover a range of fields (biology, ecology, plant development, botany, microbiology, etc.). The site contains 37 unique narratives (17 in panorama section and 20 in time-lapse section) that include 20 time-lapse videos, 8 interactive panoramas, and numerous other panoramas and photographs. Besides this, the site also contains helpful information on Ecology as a career and pursuing graduate studies in Ecology (see Favorites section). A range of other helpful links are also provided. Here are a few of my favorites: time-lapse videos (the first two were redone this week)- http://www.iecology.net/tl_dampingoff.html http://www.iecology.net/tl_dampingoff.html http://www.iecology.net/tl_monarch.html http://www.iecology.net/tl_monarch.html http://www.iecology.net/tl_mushroom.html http://www.iecology.net/tl_mushroom.html interactive panoramas- http://www.iecology.net/pano_gaps.html http://www.iecology.net/pano_gaps.html If you really like the site then please let me know. Enjoy, Kurt Kurt Reinhart, Research Ecologist USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Road Miles City, MT 59301 USA email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov Office: (406) 874-8211 Fax: (406) 874-8289 educational website: http://iecology.net http://iecology.net/
[ECOLOG-L] tubes for inserting bags to explore mycorrhizae
As a graduate student, I painstakingly build PCV tubes with carefully drilled holes and glued selective membranes over the openings to allow arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to pass into tubes where plants grew. Now, I would like to do something similar but with a different aim. I would like to insert tubes with selective membranes (or no membranes and instead have sand in membrane sacks) into grasslands to permit sampling of AMF related response variables each year. A tube would allow repeated sampling from a location instead of burying sacks and extracting them--this incorporates spatial variability if sacks are planted into different spots each interval. Ideally, I would like to purchase something that already has openings (holes, slits, etc.) that will permit me to add sand bags, cap, and periodically remove bags. Are any of you doing something similar to measure extraradical hyphae, glomalin, nutrients using resin bags, etc.? I'm sure there is a product related to some sort of filtration for aquaculture, industry, etc. that already has openings and can be modified to function as such a tube. Any tips? Cheers, Kurt Kurt Reinhart, Research Ecologist USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Road Miles City, MT 59301 USA email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov Office: (406) 874-8211 Fax: (406) 874-8289 educational website: http://iecology.net http://iecology.net/
[ECOLOG-L] simulate grazing with mowing treatments
I am looking for ideas on modifying a lawn mower (or something functionally equivalent) to create mowing treatments that will approximate different levels of non-selective herbivory by livestock in semi-arid grasslands. Unfortunately, the chemical treatments to the vegetation that I'm planning prevents utilizing e.g. sheep to naturally graze plots. A mowing solution might require modifying it to attach to an alternate frame to create the ability for setting a wide range of cutting heights to produce different utilization levels (e.g. 45 and 75%) and compensate for variable production among years. Ideally it will also collect/suck up cut material to avoid creating profuse leaf litter so it might need a separate vacuum for sucking up material when cutting at e.g. 25cm off the ground. I suspect safety flaps will also need to be installed to protect the operator from flying debri. We have some really handy shop staff that can build just about anything. So I'm mostly looking for ideas, likely pitfalls to avoid, etc. Any body built something similar or know someone that has? Kurt mailto:ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Kurt Reinhart, Research Ecologist USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Road Miles City, MT 59301 USA email: kurt.reinh...@ars.usda.gov Office: (406) 874-8211 Fax: (406) 874-8289 educational website: http://iecology.net http://iecology.net/
Re: [ECOLOG-L] How To Read Critically [ other related stuff]
This is a shameless plug for a document that I wrote entitled, On Graduate Studies in Biology. A pdf version can be downloaded from this link http://www.biol.ttu.edu/Graduate.aspx?#11 or you can email me directly if you would like me to email you a pdf version directly. This is an educational document. The three main sections are: 1. Getting into Graduate School, 2. Philosophy and Tactics for Graduate Studies in Biology, and 3. Tips Every Graduate Student Should Know from the Start. Near the start of section, Tips Every Graduate Student Should Know from the Start (On page 12 of 19) is a paragraph providing some tips on reading scientific papers efficiently. Admittedly, these are probably more advanced tactics that assume students can already interpret figures, tables, etc. Cheers, Kurt Reinhart
[ECOLOG-L] Research Leader Position - eastern Montana
We have an opening for a Research Leader position at the Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory (www.ars.usda.gov/npa/ftkeogh http://www.ars.usda.gov/npa/ftkeogh ) in Miles City, Montana. We are a modern research laboratory with genetics, animal nutrition, animal physiology, and grassland/range ecology labs. To compliment our modern laboratories we have 55,000-acre of experimental lands. This is literally where the deer and antelope roam. The city is surrounded by approximately a 100mile radius of intact mixed-grass prairie consisting of state, federal (BLM), and private lands. We are part of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) of the Northern Plains. The successful candidate will join the Livestock Range Research Laboratory and interact with nine research scientists, nearly forty support staff, Montana State University extension service staff, and regional producers and stakeholders (e.g. BLM, etc.). A successful candidate will supervise the research scientists and three administrative staff; maintain a research program; and oversee the management of the research facility. Research scientists conduct research in the areas of genetics, nutrition, and reproductive physiology and rangeland ecology with the goals of improving the efficiency of rangeland based animal production systems and reducing the ecological and economic risks inherent to managing a rangeland based animal production system. A formal job description can be viewed at http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=53679887 http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/getjob.asp?JobID=53679887 . The position is a GS 14/15 with a pay range of $91,781.00-140,355.00 per year plus federal health and retirement benefits. The position is scheduled to close July 14, 2008. About Miles City- We are situated in eastern Montana adjacent to the Yellowstone and Tongue Rivers amidst rolling grasslands and rugged badlands. This is a small city of 8,000+ but functions as a regional hub with hospitals, schools, a community college, etc.. Most scientists moving to the area from Universities boast of its affordability, town's Old West charm, outdoor opportunities, and quality of life. For more information see the Chamber of Commerce link: http://www.mcchamber.com/tiki-index.php?page=Community%20Profile. Kurt Reinhart, Research Ecologist USDA-ARS Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory 243 Fort Keogh Road Miles City, MT 59301 USA email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Office: (406) 874-8211 Fax: (406) 874-8289
Research Leader Position - USDA-ARS
Position- USDA-ARS Research Leader=20
=20
The 55,000-acre Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory
(http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3D3087
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3D3087 ) in Miles City,
Montana is opening a search for a new research leader. We are a modern
research laboratory [renovated in 2004] part of the Agricultural
Research Service of the Northern Plains area of the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA-ARS). =20
=20
The successful candidate will join the Livestock Range Research
Laboratory and interact with nine diverse research scientists, nearly
forty support staff, Montana State University extension service staff,
and regional producers and stakeholders. A successful candidate will
supervise the research scientists and three administrative staff;
maintain a research program; and oversee the management of the research
facility. Research scientists conduct research in the areas of
genetics, nutrition, and reproductive physiology and rangeland ecology
with the goals of improving the efficiency of rangeland based animal
production systems and reducing the ecological and economic risks
inherent to managing a rangeland based animal production system. =20
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A formal job description can be reviewed at http://www.usajobs.gov/
http://www.usajobs.gov/ ({just google ARS-X8W-0009} Job
Announcement #: ARS-X8W-0009). SALARY RANGE: 89,115.00 - 136,273.00 USD
per year. The due date for the job is November 28, 2007. =20
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About Miles City-
We are situated in eastern Montana amidst rolling grasslands and rugged
badlands. This small city of 8,000+ functions as a regional hub with
hospitals, schools, a community college, etc.. Most scientists moving
to the area from Universities boast of its affordability, town's old
west atmosphere, and quality of life (also read
http://www.mcchamber.com/tiki-index.php?page=3DCommunity%20Profile
http://www.mcchamber.com/tiki-index.php?page=3DCommunity%20Profile )
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Kurt Reinhart, Research Ecologist
USDA-ARS
Fort Keogh Livestock Range Research Laboratory
243 Fort Keogh Road
Miles City, MT 59301 USA
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Office: (406) 874-8211
Fax: (406) 874-8289
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