2009 LTER All Scientists Meeting - Biological Diversity

Investigating host feeding strategy as a determinant of gut microbial community profile

Cristina Takacs-Vesbach — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:01:34 +0000

Poster Number:

401

Presenter/Primary Author:

Cristina Takacs-Vesbach

Co-Authors:

Dan Colman

Co-Authors:

Eric Toolson

Diverse microbial communities live in the gut regions of animals. The precise ecological and evolutionary circumstances that govern relationships between hosts and their gut communities is unclear. In this study, we hypothesize that host feeding strategy shapes the microbial communities within the gut systems of insects. We collected five insect species from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge that exhibited herbivorous, detritovorous and carnivorous diets.

PPBio Program for Planned Biodiversity Studies - Australian Consortium

Steve Read — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:46:14 +0000

Poster Number:

384

Presenter/Primary Author:

Steve Read

Co-Authors:

Jean-Marc Hero

PPBio provides a sound basis for standardised biodiversity assessment and monitoring. IT allows the integration of research activities for a wide range of taxa and provides a database that is accessible to managers and stakeholders. PPBio methodology can be integrated into wetland, marine, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems with grids established in Brazil, Australia and Nepal, and proposed in Malaysia.

Further information can be obtained from Jean-Marc Hero, m.hero@griffith.edu.au and www.griffith.edu.au/centre/cics/ppbio

The Malawi Environmental Observatory Network(MEON): Constitution, Strategy and Implementation Plan

James Chimphamba — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:37:05 +0000

Poster Number:

381

Presenter/Primary Author:

James Chimphamba

Malawi is a land of farmers and facing rampant environmental problems whose capability for restoration is made dimmer by the looming shadow of climate change and variability. The Malawi Environmental Observatory Network is a small candle flickering with light for identification of prioritized environmental problems and setting of the road map of how such monumental problems could efficiently be tackled with the available meager resources.

Aeolian flux of microorganisms in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Marie Sabacka — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:38:14 +0000

Poster Number:

380

Presenter/Primary Author:

Marie Sabacka

Co-Authors:

John C. Priscu

Co-Authors:

Mark C. Greenwood

The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (MCM) forms one of the most extreme deserts on Earth. It consists of a mosaic of permanently ice-covered lakes, ephemeral streams, exposed soils, and glaciers. Microorganisms are the only life forms occupying these landscape units. Given the relatively low and seasonal growth rates of these organisms, we contend that the distribution of microorganisms within this environment is controlled by physical factors.

Student Poster:

Yes

Impacts of microbial competition, coevolution, and plant-microbe feedbacks on plant productivity and microbial communities in soil

Matthew Bakker — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:52:06 +0000

Poster Number:

344

Presenter/Primary Author:

Matthew Bakker

Co-Authors:

Rosenzweig N

Co-Authors:

Lange AJ

Co-Authors:

Otto-Hanson L

Co-Authors:

Manning DWP

Co-Authors:

Bradeen JM

Co-Authors:

Montgomery R

Co-Authors:

Muller-Landau H

Co-Authors:

Kinkel LL

Plant diversity has been studied extensively for its impact on a few basic measures, such as biomass production. However, relatively little is understood about interactions between plant diversity and microbial communities. Through removal of natural enemies with pesticide treatments, we found that foliar fungi have a significant impact on plant productivity, and that the impact is greater at higher than at lower plant diversity.

Pathways to Ecological Literacy: Developing a Biodiversity Learning Progression

Brook Wilke — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:20:56 +0000

Poster Number:

298

Presenter/Primary Author:

Brook Wilke

Co-Authors:

Laurel Hartley

Co-Authors:

Charles Anderson

Co-Authors:

Eric Keeling

Co-Authors:

Jonathon Schramm

Co-Authors:

Robin Tinghitella

Co-Authors:

Liz Ratashak

Co-Authors:

Yeni Garcia

Co-Authors:

Shawna McMahon

Co-Authors:

Cornelia Harris

Co-Authors:

Mitch Burke

Humans make decisions daily that impact biodiversity, and it is essential that citizens understand the implications of these decisions. Yet, ecological systems are extremely complex, with many details still being discovered. Our challenge is to identify the underlying principles and concepts governing the distribution of organisms, and then communicate these details to students in a way that influences their citizenship decisions as participants in local and global communities.

ULTRA-Ex: Connecting the social and ecological sciences with planners, managers, and the public: Building a broad foundation for the Chicago Region ULTRA

David Wise — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:58:54 +0000

Poster Number:

285

Presenter/Primary Author:

David Wise

Co-Authors:

Lynne M Westphal

Co-Authors:

Liam Heneghan

Co-Authors:

Bryan C Pijanowski

Co-Authors:

Nancy C Tuchman

Co-Authors:

Aaron N Durnbaugh

Co-Authors:

Paul H Gobster

Co-Authors:

Jennifer L Hirsch

Co-Authors:

Eric V Lonsdorf

Co-Authors:

Emily S Minor

Co-Authors:

Susan I Stewart

Co-Authors:

Moira L Zellner

The Chicago Region ULTRA-Ex will address a question fundamental to understanding the dynamic interactions between biodiversity conservation, ecosystem processes, and human well being in urban landscapes: In a complex urban/metropolitan system, what are the synergies and tradeoffs between conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem services to people? The project focuses on the Green Infrastructure Vision of the Chicago Wilderness alliance, a conservation consortium of over 240 organizations.

The Harvard Forest LTER

Audrey Barker Plotkin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:45:57 +0000

Poster Number:

257

Presenter/Primary Author:

Audrey Barker Plotkin

Co-Authors:

David Foster

The temperate forests of eastern North America support high biodiversity and critical ecosystem functions while providing natural resources and cultural benefits to an expanding human population. The region is shaped by a legacy of landscape change: major shifts in climate, vegetation and disturbance at millennial time scales; extensive deforestation for agriculture in the 17th – 19th centuries; and abandonment of farmlands, natural reforestation and increasing urbanization through the mid-21st century.

Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program

Nick Brokaw — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:19:02 +0000

Poster Number:

241

Presenter/Primary Author:

Nick Brokaw

Tropical environments are changing fast due to deforestation and regrowth, urbanization, climate change, and other forces. The consequences are immense for the whole array of ecosystem services people require. The Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program (LUQ) is tackling these issues in Puerto Rico. LUQ began in 1988 and focused on natural disturbances (hurricanes, landslides, droughts, floods) and ecosystem response. That work revealed patterns of resistance and resilience to cycles of natural disturbance.

The STREON Experiment – Experiments as accelerators of change in NEON

Heather Powell — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:10:52 +0000

Poster Number:

233

Presenter/Primary Author:

Heather Powell

Co-Authors:

Patrick J. Mulholland

Co-Authors:

Hank Loescher

Co-Authors:

Tom Cilke

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a national-scale research platform for assessing the impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species on ecosystem structure and function. NEON partitions the United States into 20 ecoclimate domains. Each domain hosts fully instrumented aquatic sites in permanent (wildland area) and relocatable sites (36 sites in current definition). Relocatable sites aims to capture ecologically significant contrasts within and between domains.