"To do science is to search for repeated patterns, not simply to accumulate facts, and to do the...
If you can't read please download the document
"To do science is to search for repeated patterns, not simply to accumulate facts, and to do the science of geographical ecology is to search for patterns
"To do science is to search for repeated patterns, not simply
to accumulate facts, and to do the science of geographical ecology
is to search for patterns of plant and animal life that can be put
on a map.... Doing science is not such a barrier to feeling or such
a dehumanizing influence as is often made out. It does not take the
beauty from nature. The only rules of scientific method are honest
observations and accurate logic. To be great science it must also
be guided by a judgment, almost an instinct, for what is worth
studying. No one should feel that honesty and accuracy guided by
imagination have any power to take away nature's beauty." Robert A.
MacArthur, 1972
Slide 2
DEF: The scientific study of the distribution & abundance
of organisms and their interactions that determine their
distribution & abundance Its vague Its boring It doesnt capture
the flavor of ecology What is Ecology the science of?
Slide 3
Something more captivating
Slide 4
Phainopepla & mistletoe Decorator crab 1) The fit of Form
& Function
Slide 5
Deepest recorded dive of an Elephant Seal is 2,388 metres
(7,835 ft)
050100150 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 Nest daily mortality
rate Rodent abundance (per 2.25ha) Bad years < 10% Good years ~
65% Moderate ~ 20% Probability of fledging young: Translate into
regional fluctuations in songbird densities w/respect to
rodent/acorn densities
Slide 19
Rodents Nest predation If then Rodents Adult birds (t+1) The
Breeding Bird Survey is a network of over 3000 sampling routes
across NA ?
Slide 20
Slide 21
S t+1 AtAt - + -- When rodents common When rodents crash Two
ways songbirds can lose Model
Slide 22
Survivorship of fledgling birds was lowest during a rodent
crash
Slide 23
Part II : Using population models to examine the relationship
between long-term population growth and masting dynamics 2000: =
1.028 - 1.267 1999: = 0.712 - 0.878 020406080100120 0.00 0.02 0.04
0.06 0.08 0.10 Nest daily mortality rate Veery Rodent abundance
(MNA)
Slide 24
0102030405060708090100 Year 0 10 20 30 Crop size -5-4-3-201234
Ln (crop size) 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 Proportion per Bar (a)
(c) Simulated masting dynamics
Slide 25
Acorns rodents nest predation rates seasonal fecundity Acorns:
simulated to match the range of variability (min-max) seen at IES
Acorns rodents: empirical relationships Rodents nest predation:
empirical relationships Nest predation seasonal fecundity:
formulation in Schmidt and Whelan (1998) Survival rates: estimated
from the literature Prey-switching by raptors: juvenile
survivorship declines 25% following crash of rodent population
Slide 26
0.00.10.20.3 0.94 0.96 0.98 1.00 1.02 1.04 1 0.75 0.5 0.25 0
Masting frequency Long-term growth rate Negative relationship
Strong relationship Population increasing Population
decreasing
Slide 27
Is variability in masting dynamics responsible for geographical
differences in songbird population trends? Veery (Catharus
fuscescens)
Slide 28
Forest regeneration and succession.. Forest Destruction Gypsy
mothsChestnut blight A brief history (and future) of changes to
eastern forests and mast-producing trees Climate Change; SOD Beech
bark disease Declines in moth outbreaks? ? Extirpation of Pass.
Pigeon