Re: [ECOLOG-L] Plants Invasive natives? Re: [ECOLOG-L] Invasion, or progression?
That would be most of them, if by eradicate you mean to remove all reproducing individuals from a defined region such that all individuals are put at risk, and reinvasion or recovery is unlikely. The implication being that after an eradication no further management investment is needed, since the targeted invasive species is eradicated. By the time most invasive plant problems are detected or recognized they are uneradicable with normally available resources. Some notable exceptions exist and many eradications have been successful under the right conditions Chris Buddenhagen On Apr 26, 2012 11:11 PM, Martin Meiss mme...@gmail.com wrote: How about if we consider that invaders have become native when all efforts to eradicate them are futile? Martin M. Meiss 2012/4/26 David Duffy ddu...@hawaii.edu I feel that competition without a doubt is beneficial, perhaps necessary, for an ecosystem to continue progressing towards a more complex and stronger state. However, my thought was that ecosystems are cyclical and self-regulating. native (albeit weaker) species I am not sure there is much evidence that ecosystems progress towards a more complex and stronger state, even if we do not ask whether if competition is beneficial or even a dominant force. Nor is there evidence, with a few exceptions, that ecosystems are cyclical, much less self regulating and then only if you carefully pick your scale. One might argue that much of ecological theory has been a repeat of the Gleason-Clements debate, an argument between those who seem life dominated by random events and those who see homeostasis and orthogenesis, perhaps with a pinch of Nietzchian der Wille zur Macht thrown in. This colors current discussions of invasive species, probably far more than any confusion over what invasive means. David Duffy On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 3:11 PM, Joshua Wilson joshua.m.wils...@gmail.comwrote: Good evening, First off, thank you for the wealth of responses, a number of them helped to solidify and clarify ideas on this issue. I had been waiting for all responses before I replied with a sort of meta-analysis of what came in. The replies were more numerous and substantial than I had anticipated, so thank you again. Now to clarify. When I mentioned progression, my idea was that an invasive species encourages competition, and in some cases extreme and insurmountable competition. I feel that competition without a doubt is beneficial, perhaps necessary, for an ecosystem to continue progressing towards a more complex and stronger state. The complication arises when an introduced species or a native species that becomes dominant are able to outcompete the other species in the ecosystem to the point of the only species able to compete is itself. In these instances, there are various stances to take, some of which I've heard through responses (again, thank you). From the complete control and restoration of native (albeit weaker) species, to letting nature run its course. However, my thought was that ecosystems are cyclical and self-regulating. And as Wayne Tyson said, we are interrupting and influencing this. This leads to many more questions. With what I've learned so far through this posting, exhaustive studies would be needed to determine the best course of action for a particular system or species. Even then, the needed actions to benefit one species might directly contradict the needs of another. There are multitudes of variables that need to go into project planning, not the least of which is *us, *and we cannot foresee the ripple effects of what we'll do. On the other hand, certain invasive species have led to unforeseen benefits. I will mention *Tamarix* *spp.* in this instance. But even with the detriments and benefits, there is a threshold to each. Likewise, invasive species seem to provide species-specific detriments (or benefits). One can call it a culling of the weak species and the establishment of stronger (which in my mind is necessary for progression), or unfair competition, invasive species are not by nature detrimental. I've rambled far more than I expected to, and not as cohesive as some might like. My knowledge and experiences are limited, hence my original question, but I've a sincere interest in these ideas. Again, I would welcome any thoughts, ideas, questions, or comments. Thank you all ECOLOG, this is a great resource for undergrads, post-docs, and interested individuals alike. Keep it up. Have a good night all, Josh On Thu, Apr 26, 2012 at 4:44 PM, Wayne Tyson landr...@cox.net wrote: Ecolog, I am dismayed that there has been so little response to Huang's questions. Perhaps I am wrong in that assumption and they have been. But it seems
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Families in Science - Balancing your personal and professional life
...however, why should the USA modify the system producing among the best and most successful scientists in the world... I would simply like to add a quick clarification. I struggled with how to respond to this US-centric statement. There is no doubt that the USA is a scientific powerhouse and I have wonderful things to say about my experience as a scientist there, which has brought me wonderful collaborations I hope last long. However I am not sure it is fair to compare a country of over 300 million inhabitants with another of 5 (Finland). In fact, I took the liberty do do a quick search in Web of Science for articles in the area of 'Environmental Sciences and Ecology' for both countries in the last 5 years. USA showed 204,414 in front of 8,119 Finnish articles indexed in ISI. If one thinks 'per capita', the USA has produced 650 indexed articles in ecology per million inhabitants, while Finland has produced 1,500. With this I do not mean to say that Finland is better or worse... but just to show that, when the comparison is done 'fairly', maternity leaves do not seem to be hampering Finnish ecology. Productivity can be achieved without equality and social welfare suffering. Andres Lopez-Sepulcre Laboratoire d'Ecologie, UMR 7625 Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris alo...@biologie.ens.fr http://web.me.com/asepulcre On Apr 12, 2012, at 6:52 PM, Amanda Quillen wrote: ...however, why should the USA modify the system producing among the best and most successful scientists in the world...
[ECOLOG-L] information about behaviour of invasive animal species
Dear Ecologgers: I would like to prepare a lecture for students on the behaviour of invasive species As a behavioural biologist I'am convinced that behavioural traits of individuals/populations/species that will have good chance to become succesfull invaders (or are already) play a crucial role, and it could therore be also used as a predictive tool. E.g. neophilia/neophobia, propensity to risk, exploratory behaviour, decision making etc. I would appreciate if some of you could suggest some recent references/links concerning this aspect Thank you Claudio Carere Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy claudiocar...@unitus.it
[ECOLOG-L] vacuum sampler suggestions
Hello, I'm a graduate student at the Univ of Kansas and am planning a field experiment for the summer. I want to sample the arthropod community present in enclosures (circular, 0.5 m2) constructed in tall prairie grasses using a vacuum sampler. Does anyone have suggestions for an affordable vacuum sampler to buy or methods for rigging one up from a handheld vacuum? I want to ensure nearly complete sampling of the arthropods in fairly thick grass, so the device needs to be of decent power. Thanks! Mari Pesek -- Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Kansas KBS, 2101 Constant Ave Lawrence, KS 66045
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Families in Science - Balancing your personal and professional life
Since we're at it, it did the same calculation for all four countries ranked first in gender equality by the Global Gender Gap Report. All four, as far as I remember, provide generous paternity leaves that guarantee job security and can be shared between mother and father. ISI indexed publications in Ecology per capita (countries ranked in order of 'gender equality index') Iceland: 1167 Norway: 1794 Finland: 1500 Sweden: 1361 Not only do these countries do significantly better in ecology 'per capita' than the less family-oriented scientific powerhouses (e.g. USA: 650, UK: 660), but it almost seems that if anything, their ranking in the gender equality index is correlated with their productivity, not an 'impediment' ... safe for Iceland, but do remember that Iceland suffered the largest financial collapse in world history in these last 5 years. Even when this small sample and oversimplified analysis is not proof of anything, I hope it can change peoples' perceptions that countries that have increased social welfare, gender equality and more protective labour laws are less productive. Andres Lopez-Sepulcre Laboratoire d'Ecologie, UMR 7625 Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris alo...@biologie.ens.fr http://web.me.com/asepulcre On Apr 27, 2012, at 6:43 PM, Cecilia Hennessy wrote: PERFECT response, thank you so much! If we Americans could stop patting ourselves on the back long enough to realize that other countries have successful ways of doing things too, maybe we could learn from international example and progress more efficiently. cheers! On Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 7:48 AM, Andres Lopez-Sepulcre lopezsepul...@gmail.com wrote: ...however, why should the USA modify the system producing among the best and most successful scientists in the world... I would simply like to add a quick clarification. I struggled with how to respond to this US-centric statement. There is no doubt that the USA is a scientific powerhouse and I have wonderful things to say about my experience as a scientist there, which has brought me wonderful collaborations I hope last long. However I am not sure it is fair to compare a country of over 300 million inhabitants with another of 5 (Finland). In fact, I took the liberty do do a quick search in Web of Science for articles in the area of 'Environmental Sciences and Ecology' for both countries in the last 5 years. USA showed 204,414 in front of 8,119 Finnish articles indexed in ISI. If one thinks 'per capita', the USA has produced 650 indexed articles in ecology per million inhabitants, while Finland has produced 1,500. With this I do not mean to say that Finland is better or worse... but just to show that, when the comparison is done 'fairly', maternity leaves do not seem to be hampering Finnish ecology. Productivity can be achieved without equality and social welfare suffering. Andres Lopez-Sepulcre Laboratoire d'Ecologie, UMR 7625 Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris alo...@biologie.ens.fr http://web.me.com/asepulcre On Apr 12, 2012, at 6:52 PM, Amanda Quillen wrote: ...however, why should the USA modify the system producing among the best and most successful scientists in the world... -- Cecilia A. Hennessy PhD Candidate Purdue University 715 W. State St Pfendler Hall, G004 West Lafayette, IN 47907-2061 lab: 765-496-6868 cell: 574-808-9696
[ECOLOG-L] Inside NSF’s New Pre-Proposals: A Panelist ’s Perspective
Hello all, Many of you may find this guest post on NSF's new pre-proposal system to be of interest. You can read it at my blog, The Contemplative Mammoth, here: http://contemplativemammoth.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/inside-nsfs-new-pre-proposals-a-panelists-perspective/ It highlights the author's experiences as a reviewer, some thoughts about what makes a successful pre-proposal, and suggestions for how the system might be improved. Feel free to discuss the post in the comments; e-mail is required, but you can enter in fake information if you prefer to remain anonymous. Best wishes, Jacquelyn -- Jacquelyn Gill(https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/jlgill/web/Home.html) PhD Candidate John W. Williams Lab(http://www.geography.wisc.edu/faculty/williams/lab/) University of Wisconsin - Madison Department of Geography 550 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706 608.890.1188 (phone) 608.265.9331 (fax)
Re: [ECOLOG-L] Families in Science - Balancing your personal and professional life
This is not meant as a wet blanket, as I encourage family friendly employment practices for all countries and for all occupations. But, I wonder how those figures would look if all areas of science were considered? It may be that smaller economies, and the Scandinavian countries in particular, put a greater fraction of their available resources for scientific research into ecology than do larger economies and non-Scandinavian countries. Is U.S. science more diversified than Finnish or Icelandic science? David McNeely Andres Lopez-Sepulcre lopezsepul...@gmail.com wrote: Since we're at it, it did the same calculation for all four countries ranked first in gender equality by the Global Gender Gap Report. All four, as far as I remember, provide generous paternity leaves that guarantee job security and can be shared between mother and father. ISI indexed publications in Ecology per capita (countries ranked in order of 'gender equality index') Iceland: 1167 Norway: 1794 Finland: 1500 Sweden: 1361 Not only do these countries do significantly better in ecology 'per capita' than the less family-oriented scientific powerhouses (e.g. USA: 650, UK: 660), but it almost seems that if anything, their ranking in the gender equality index is correlated with their productivity, not an 'impediment' ... safe for Iceland, but do remember that Iceland suffered the largest financial collapse in world history in these last 5 years. Even when this small sample and oversimplified analysis is not proof of anything, I hope it can change peoples' perceptions that countries that have increased social welfare, gender equality and more protective labour laws are less productive. Andres Lopez-Sepulcre Laboratoire d'Ecologie, UMR 7625 Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris alo...@biologie.ens.fr http://web.me.com/asepulcre On Apr 27, 2012, at 6:43 PM, Cecilia Hennessy wrote: PERFECT response, thank you so much! If we Americans could stop patting ourselves on the back long enough to realize that other countries have successful ways of doing things too, maybe we could learn from international example and progress more efficiently. cheers! On Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 7:48 AM, Andres Lopez-Sepulcre lopezsepul...@gmail.com wrote: ...however, why should the USA modify the system producing among the best and most successful scientists in the world... I would simply like to add a quick clarification. I struggled with how to respond to this US-centric statement. There is no doubt that the USA is a scientific powerhouse and I have wonderful things to say about my experience as a scientist there, which has brought me wonderful collaborations I hope last long. However I am not sure it is fair to compare a country of over 300 million inhabitants with another of 5 (Finland). In fact, I took the liberty do do a quick search in Web of Science for articles in the area of 'Environmental Sciences and Ecology' for both countries in the last 5 years. USA showed 204,414 in front of 8,119 Finnish articles indexed in ISI. If one thinks 'per capita', the USA has produced 650 indexed articles in ecology per million inhabitants, while Finland has produced 1,500. With this I do not mean to say that Finland is better or worse... but just to show that, when the comparison is done 'fairly', maternity leaves do not seem to be hampering Finnish ecology. Productivity can be achieved without equality and social welfare suffering. Andres Lopez-Sepulcre Laboratoire d'Ecologie, UMR 7625 Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris alo...@biologie.ens.fr http://web.me.com/asepulcre On Apr 12, 2012, at 6:52 PM, Amanda Quillen wrote: ...however, why should the USA modify the system producing among the best and most successful scientists in the world... -- Cecilia A. Hennessy PhD Candidate Purdue University 715 W. State St Pfendler Hall, G004 West Lafayette, IN 47907-2061 lab: 765-496-6868 cell: 574-808-9696 -- David McNeely
[ECOLOG-L] Job: Research Assistant I - PIE-LTER
Position: Research Assistant I - PIE-LTER Date: April 26, 2012 Position Summary: The Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory is seeking applicants for an entry-level Research Assistant I position with the Plum Island Ecosystems Long-Term Ecological Research (PIE-LTER) project. We seek individuals with strong experiences in independent research (e.g., senior thesis or REU project) and coursework with laboratory and field components. The LTER project is directed at understanding how trophic structure and productivity in estuaries is affected by changes in organic matter, nutrient and water fluxes caused by changing land cover, climate and sea level. Research is conducted in the watersheds of the Parker and Ipswich Rivers as well as in the marshes, tidal creeks and bays of Plum Island Sound. The successful applicant will gain broad experiences through strenuous field and laboratory work in all environments. Applicants should have a demonstrated aptitude for biology, ecology and/or physics and chemistry including advanced coursework. Additional Information: Funding for this position is available for up to 2 years. The preferred start date is within 2 weeks of being offered the position. Basic Qualifications: This is an entry level position, requiring a B.A. or B.S. in Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Ecology. Physical Requirements The applicant should be capable of getting into and out of small boats and walking significant distances across salt marshes. Special Instructions to Applicants: Your cover letter should include a description of how this position addresses your long-term goals. Unofficial transcripts are required documents, but may either be uploaded with your application materials or faxed to the MBL Human Resources Office, 508-289-7931. If faxing, please reference this posting. APPLY ONLINE AT: https://mbl.simplehire.com/https://mbl.simplehire.com AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Molly Kelleher Human Resources Office Marine Biological Laboratory 7 MBL Street Woods Hole, MA 02543 human...@mbl.edu
Re: [ECOLOG-L] information about behaviour of invasive animal species
I published an article last year on the role of behavior in the success of invasive crustaceans. Dear Ecologgers: I would like to prepare a lecture for students on the behaviour of invasive species As a behavioural biologist I'am convinced that behavioural traits of individuals/populations/species that will have good chance to become succesfull invaders (or are already) play a crucial role, and it could therore be also used as a predictive tool. E.g. neophilia/neophobia, propensity to risk, exploratory behaviour, decision making etc. I would appreciate if some of you could suggest some recent references/links concerning this aspect Thank you Claudio Carere Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy claudiocar...@unitus.it
[ECOLOG-L] Ph.D. fellowships in conservation and evolutionary ecology
(Originally sent 4-24-2012 but does not appear to have posted) Conservation Ecology Graduate Student Fellowships are available in the Environmental and Conservation Sciences Graduate Program at North Dakota State University. I am seeking highly motivated individuals to apply to the ECS fellowship program. Specifically I am looking for individuals who are interested in research examining the population dynamics, population genetics, and patterns of phenotypic variability of small mammal populations in western North Dakota. Students who successfully apply to the fellowship program will be provided with a 3-year research assistantship (yearly stipend of $16,200) and have their tuition fully waived during this period. Funding after the third year will be provided via a combination of research assistantships and possible teaching assistantships. Highly qualified students who are not successful in applying to the fellowship program will also be considered. As I will recommend students for Fellowship consideration, interested individuals should contact me directly at ned.dochterm...@gmail.com and provide (1) a brief cover letter including research interests, (2) a current curriculum vitae, (3) names and contact information for three references. Deadlines for Fellowship applications was recently extended but will close shortly so interested individuals will be considered in the order they contact me. Further information about my lab is available at:https://sites.google.com/site/neddochtermann/ -- Ned A. Dochtermann Department of Biology University of Nevada, Reno ned.dochterm...@gmail.com https://sites.google.com/site/neddochtermann/ http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7146-2010 (starting August 2012 I will no longer be at UNR and will be in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University) --
[ECOLOG-L] Summer ecosystem ecology workshop for secondary science educators
Hello everyone, I would like to announce a summer workshop at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign intended for secondary science teachers and informal science educators interested in ecosystem ecology, climate change, and related fields. This workshop is an opportunity for teachers to interact with nationally and internationally acclaimed ecologists involved in cutting-edge research. It incorporates scientific presentations, discussions, and original lesson plans all aimed at helping teachers incorporate ecosystem science and paleoecological concepts into their classrooms. There is an emphasis on current topics, ongoing research, and “real data,” including hands-on lab analysis of sediment cores. The workshop will run from June 18-21, 2012. Continuing Professional Development credits, as well as funding for meals and housing, are available. If you know of any teachers who may be interested in participating, please feel free to pass this information along. For those who wish to participate, please contact Barbara Hug (b...@illinois.edu) or visit us at www.life.illinois.edu/eew/ . Sincerely, Matias Fernandez Graduate Student Plant Biology Department University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign mcfer...@illinois.edu
[ECOLOG-L] Invasives-- Australia, NZ, Laos, Cambodia?
The recent discussion about invasives has been fasci Hi Ecologgers, The recent discussion about invasives has been fascinating. Does anyone on the list study invasive species (plant, animal, or fungal) in the countries above? I will be traveling in Australia, NZ, Laos Cambodia during July and August and would appreciate making contact with researchers who work in that part of the world. Please contact me on or off-list. Many thanks, nancy allison, science, culture conservation writer nancy AT nasw DOT org member, SEJ, NASW http://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyallison
[ECOLOG-L] Graduate student and post-doc opportunities at UBC
Call for Masters, Ph.D. 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 visit file:///C:/Users/DAVIDI~1/AppData/Local/Temp/x-msg://528/UrlBlockedError.aspxwww.terreweb.ubc.ca
