2009 LTER All Scientists Meeting - Species range

The discovery of the tardigrade, Milnesium sp., in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, and the potential implication for biotic interactions

Uffe N. Nielsen — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:48:05 +0000

Poster Number:

399

Presenter/Primary Author:

Uffe N. Nielsen

Co-Authors:

Diana H. Wall

Co-Authors:

Byron J. Adams

Co-Authors:

Jeremy Whiting

Co-Authors:

Scott Peat

The McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are a cold desert and represent one of the most inhospitable environments on earth. As a consequence the food webs are simple compared to most other terrestrial ecosystems, and limited to microbes and the nematode Scottnema lindsayae in dry areas, which includes most of the landscape. However, the few wet areas represent hotspots for soil organisms and support a greater diversity of soil fauna, often including the nematode genera Plectus and Eudorylaimus, and a few species of rotifers and tardigrades.

The propagating response of inner shelf circulation to wind relaxations along the central California Coast

Libe Washburn — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:38:43 +0000

Poster Number:

395

Presenter/Primary Author:

Libe Washburn

Co-Authors:

Chris Melton

Co-Authors:

Melanie Fewings

Co-Authors:

Chris Gotschalk

Following relaxations prevailing equatorward winds, warm water from the Santa Barbara Channel flows poleward around Point Conception and along the central California coast. Sequences of satellite sea surface temperature images show the events as bands of warm water extending up to 20 km offshore. Characteristics of these flows were examined using time series of currents and temperature from an array of moorings along the inner shelf (15 m depth), a mooring on the mid-shelf (100 m depth), and surface current observations from high frequency radars.

Niwot Ridge LTER Program: Alpine Ecosystems as Early Warning Systems

Mark Williams — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:42:43 +0000

Poster Number:

377

Presenter/Primary Author:

Mark Williams

Co-Authors:

Tim Seastedt

Co-Authors:

Diane McKnight

Co-Authors:

Alan Townsend

Co-Authors:

Bill Bowman

Co-Authors:

Steve Schmidt

Co-Authors:

Peter Blanken

The Niwot Ridge (NWT) LTER site was one of the five original LTER sites established in 1980. The LTER program is based at the University of Colorado-Boulder and is administered through the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) and in cooperation with the Mountain Research Station, with special use permits from the US Forest Service.

Interactive Effects of Plant Species Diversity and Climate on Seedling Establishment in Grassland

Peter Wragg — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:38:45 +0000

Poster Number:

365

Presenter/Primary Author:

Peter Wragg

Co-Authors:

David Tilman

How will anticipated changes in climate interact with grassland plant community composition and diversity to affect the performance of seedlings? We ask this question for two reasons. 1) If plant species are to track spatial shifts in the locations of suitable climatic conditions, plant species must invade communities by means of seedling establishment; more diverse plant communities have been shown to be less invasible, but it is not known how warming will interact with diversity to affect invasion.

Is there evidence for a trade-off between cold tolerance and growth among North American willows?

Jessica Savage — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:38:43 +0000

Poster Number:

332

Presenter/Primary Author:

Jessica Savage

Co-Authors:

Jeannine Cavender-Bares

It has been hypothesized that the range limits of woody plants are determined by a trade-off between freezing tolerance and growth rate, such that species with high freezing tolerance have low growth rates. However, willows (genus Salix) appear to be an exception to this pattern as they have high growth rates and high freezing tolerance. To determine whether there is evidence for this trade-off in willows, I compared the growth and freezing tolerance of twenty-eight willow species collected across North America.

Student Poster:

Yes

Seasonal use of a New England estuary by a top predator: implications for higher trophic levels at PIE LTER

Cristina Kennedy — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:50:44 +0000

Poster Number:

315

Presenter/Primary Author:

Cristina Kennedy

Co-Authors:

Martha E. Mather

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) are a top predator that make annual migrations along the Atlantic coast to forage. Striped bass have rebounded from low numbers in the early 1980s and are now seasonally abundant in many New England estuaries. For these reasons, PIE LTER may provide critical foraging habitat for striped bass. In addition, striped bass could potentially alter trophic structures in estuarine environments.

Student Poster:

Yes

The LTER site Apennines high elevation ecosystems

Michele Freppaz — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:15:39 +0000

Poster Number:

263

Presenter/Primary Author:

Michele Freppaz

Co-Authors:

Angela Stanisci

Co-Authors:

Bruno Petriccione

Co-Authors:

Graziano Rossi

Co-Authors:

Jean-Paul Theurillat

Co-Authors:

Maurizio Cutini

Co-Authors:

Ermanno Zanini

Co-Authors:

Giuseppe Corti

The International Long-Term Ecosystem Research network (ILTER) includes national networks of scientists and their stakeholders engaged in long-term, site-based ecological, social and economic research. The LTER-Italy network, established in 2006, joined ILTER in 2007. The “Apennines (high elevation)” site joined LTER-Italy in 2007. It consists of “orographic islands” of alpine tundra along the Apennines chain, where many endemic and rare taxa occur that are critically endangered by climate warming.

Plum Island Ecosystem Lawn Mapping Exploration

Nicholas Perdue — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:45:14 +0000

Poster Number:

221

Presenter/Primary Author:

Nicholas Perdue

Co-Authors:

Dr. Colin Polsky

Co-Authors:

Dr. Robert Gilmore Pontius

Co-Authors:

Albert Decatur

Co-Authors:

Rahul Rakshit

Co-Authors:

Dan Runfola

Co-Authors:

Nick Giner

Co-Authors:

Tom Hamill

Co-Authors:

Matt Salem

Dr Colin Polsky, Dr. Robert Gilmore Pontius Jr, Albert Decatur, Dan Runfola, Nick Giner, Rahul Rakshit, Matt Salem, Nick Perdue, Tom Hamill

Title
Looking for Lawns: How We Know What’s In Your Yard

Student Poster:

Yes

The Tardigrades of Andrews LTER

Joshua Heward — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:17:35 +0000

Poster Number:

155

Presenter/Primary Author:

Ryan Colton

Co-Authors:

Scott Brady

Co-Authors:

Stephanie Calloway

Co-Authors:

Carleigh Takemoto

Co-Authors:

Joshua D. Heward

Co-Authors:

Byron J. Adams

The known biodiversity of tardigrades in North America is limited. Less than one-fourth of the known tardigrade species have been recorded in the United States. As part of the NSF-Biotic Surveys and Inventory and Research at Undergraduate Institutions programs we are attempting to expand the known biodiversity of North American Tardigrades by sampling 23 of America’s LTER sites. This work is a collaborative effort between Fresno City College, Baker University, Brigham Young University and the Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia.

Student Poster:

Yes