GRADUATE STUDENTS ON BIODIVERSITY SCIENCE
“The problem that is presented by the phytoplankton is essentially how it is possible for a number of species to coexist in a relatively isotropic or unstructured environment all competing for the same sorts of materials.” –G.E. Hutchinson, 1961 In this one sentence, which he calls the paradox of the plankton, G.E. Hutchinson has captured the crux of the problem […]
Read moreMany different aspects of biodiversity (e.g. taxonomic diversity, genetic diversity) can be monitored in an ecosystem and each of these aspects has the potential to provide a unique answer to environmental change. However most monitoring programs traditionally estimate biodiversity only considering a single taxonomic approach while functional dimensionality is generally neglected. The paper of Vandewalle et al. (2010) shows that […]
Read more“The social organization of Antelope in relation to their ecology” by P.J. Jarman was very imperative in helping me understand how management interventions in savanna habitats, that may affect vegetation determines species diversity, distribution and habitat utilization by African antelopes. It is still the classical piece that is a must read for any graduate student with interest in the study […]
Read moreMy original intent in writing this post was to compare the 5 most-cited papers on biodiversity to the 5 most blogged-about papers on biodiversity to address the differences between what we value as researchers versus what we value as general science communicators. However, I was shocked by the results of my search. Over 49,000 papers have been published containing the […]
Read moreThe Biodiversity Concept Diagram illustrates the interacting components of biodiversity research and provides a roadmap to our discussions of papers in different areas of biodiversity research. After hours of discussion our team settled on several main components: biodiversity—including three main dimensions, humans, drivers, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services, as well as the links between them. The links, shown as arrows, indicate […]
Read moreNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead What if it’s not a small group, but an army of thousands? Citizen science may lead the way to a greater understanding of causes and consequences of biodiversity change.
Read moreThe importance of trophic interactions (i.e., how species interact with one another for and as food) in determining the structure and composition of ecological communities and ecosystem stability is something that has been mind-boggling ecologists and naturalists for a long time. Back in 1880, at the very infancy of ecology itself, L. Camerano was the first to investigate the effects […]
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