Sat & Sunday : Monday : Tuesday : Wednesday : Thursday : Friday

Integrating ecosystem services into the policy realm
Monday, August 7, 8-11:30 am
Organizers: Robert Manson, Richard Pouyat

By illustrating the links between ecosystem function and human well-being, studies of ecosystem services promote a pragmatic approach to ecological science, an informed public, and the sustainable use of natural resources. Such services were a main focus of the ESA 's Visions Committee charged with “preparing an action plan that would accelerate our progress in addressing the major environmental challenges of our time and increase the contribution of ecological science in the coming decades”. Two of the main recommendations of this committee were to enhance the role of ecological knowledge in policy decisions and use ecological research proactively to promote sustainability in a human-dominated world. While the ecological research challenges regarding the study of ecosystem services are fairly clear, the question of how to best insure the information generated by such studies is utilized in policy and management decisions is not. To address this concern and generate a discussion that should be useful to the ESA in carrying out the Vision Committee's recommendations, this symposium focuses on strategies for integrating ecological knowledge on ecosystem services into the policy realm. This symposium brings together an interdisciplinary array of experts who will provide their diverse and practical insights on this topic.

Ecological effects of Gulf Coast hurricanes: short-term impacts and long-term consequences
Monday, August 7, 8-11:30 am
Organizers: Colin Jackson, Gary Shaffer, Paul Keddy

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made landfall along the Gulf Coast in 2005. While their impacts on human communities were devastating, the ecological effects of these storms were also considerable. Storm surges flooded coastal areas and strong winds felled forests. Some of these effects were immediate; others will appear in the long-term. Louisiana 's coastal wetlands are declining at alarming rates and tidal surges from hurricanes accelerate this process. The forests of south Louisiana and Mississippi are havens for wildlife and migratory birds and some may no longer be functional refuges. Lake Pontchartrain experienced initial surges of saltwater and the subsequent addition of polluted floodwaters from New Orleans . This symposium draws together ecologists from the impacted region to discuss the effects of hurricanes on Gulf Coast ecosystems. Speakers will address the impacts of hurricanes on terrestrial and aquatic systems, and on plant and animal communities. The symposium combines studies on short-term impacts, with perspectives on the long-term consequences of hurricanes in this region. The use of this information in adaptive environmental planning will also be addressed.

Integrating microbial ecology into the general science of ecology: opportunities and challenges
Monday, August 7, 8-11:30 am
Organizers: Brendan Bohannan

The science of Microbial Ecology has historically developed very separate from the general science of Ecology. It has become increasingly clear that this separation has come at a cost to both disciplines. This separation has denied microbial ecologists easy access to the rich theoretical and experimental foundation that general ecologists have developed and prevented general ecologists from truly testing the universitality of ecological concepts. The integration of microbial ecology into the general science of ecology has become both a major challenge and an exciting opportunity for ecologists. This symposium will address how this integration can be encouraged. The speakers will address such questions as: Where might microbial ecology most benefit from better communication with general ecology? What aspects of microbial ecology pose the greatest challenges for integration? How might our picture of the ecological world change if we included microorganisms more fully in the general science of ecology?

Designing, restoring, and managing ecosystems
Monday, August 7, 8-11:30 am
Organizers: Marty Matlock, W. Cully Hession

The need for competent ecosystem design, restoration, and management criteria and methods is great, as articulated by the ESA Visions Committee. This session is organized to explore the breadth and depth of ecosystem design, restoration, and management practices. Specific questions to be addressed include: 1) How much and what in ecological knowledge base is appropriate for application in design, restoration, and management of ecosystems; 2) What are the greatest challenges in applying ecological knowledge for design, restoration, and management of ecosystems; 3) What criteria can we establish now as governing principles in ecosystem design; 4) What criteria can we establish now as governing principles in ecosystem restoration; 5) What criteria can we establish now as governing principles in ecosystem management; 6) What authority/oversight role will ESA play in establishing these criteria; 7) What role should public engagement play in developing and implementing ecosystem design, restoration, and management projects/criteria; and 8) How should the public be engaged in developing and implementing ecosystem design, restoration, and management projects/criteria?

Alteration of North American forest communities by invasive invertebrates
Monday, August 7, 8-11:30 am
Organizers: Lee Frelich, David Foster

Invasive invertebrates as a group are altering temperate hardwood and conifer forests of eastern North America on a massive scale. Eastern hemlock, a foundation tree species, is disappearing from Connecticut to North Carolina due to the introduced hemlock wooley adelgid, several species of ash are threatened by the emerald ash borer, European earthworms have infested several million hectares of forest and changed soil nutrient cycling and water status, and exotic selective herbivores such as gypsy moths and European slugs are altering the species composition of plant communities. This organized oral session will provide a broad survey and synthesis of invasive insects, earthworms, and slugs that collectively threaten to remove entire tree species from the forests of eastern North America, put the remaining species through the filter of selective herbivory, and re-engineer ecosystems by changing soil structure, nutrient cycling, water flow, and seedbed properties. These changes brought about by invasive invertebrates are occurring (or will shortly occur) within our most treasured parks, natural areas, and designated wilderness areas (e.g., Great Smoky Mountains National Park , Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness). This group of invaders will both illuminate ecosystem function by altering fundamental resource gradients and species composition on large scales and force us as ecologists to grasp for new conservation strategies. Case studies of impacts by several invasive invertebrates will be presented, along with paleoecological perspectives on forest response to past loss of tree species, modeling the spread of invasive insects and susceptibility of plant communities to invasion, and policy and biological strategies for managing these invasions.

Highlights of SEEDS campus ecology chapters
Monday, August 7, 11 :30 am-1:15 pm
Organizers: Katherine Hoffman, Melissa Armstrong, Jeramie Strickland

Campus Ecology Chapters are one key component of the ESA 's SEEDS program, which strives to diversify and advance the profession of ecology by promoting opportunities that stimulate and nurture the interest of underrepresented students. Numbering almost thirty, SEEDS Campus Ecology Chapters serve as local affiliates of the program, furthering the mission of SEEDS through ecology education, outreach, recruitment, and career development on campuses throughout the country. At this workshop, Chapters represented at the Annual Meeting will share their accomplishments from the past academic year. Chapter projects have included constructing a greenhouse, building a nature trail, planting native species on campus, and organizing a conference on Native American pathways in ecology. All are welcome to attend and this session will be especially useful for those who are interested in starting a Chapter. Lunch is provided.

Opportunities for funding in environmental biology and related areas at NSF
Monday, August 7, 11 :30 am-1:15 pm
Organizers: Henry Gholz, Martyn Caldwell, Saran Twombly, Emily Leichtman

National Science Foundation (NSF) program directors from the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) and related programs will discuss sources of funding for environmental research, including the core research-funding programs within DEB and other research and educational programs in the Directorate for Biological Sciences as well as in other NSF directorates. The current status of each program and target dates for proposal submission will be shown. Key aspects of the peer review process and suggestions for writing successful research proposals will also be discussed. More importantly, program directors will provide honest answers to questions regarding NSF funding for ecological research. Our goal is to provide insight into the opportunities and process for obtaining NSF support for environmental research and education projects. Lunch is provided.

Book publishing 101 -- for ecologists
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Meg Lowman, Jean Thomson Black

When, why and how should you consider publishing a book? What kind of book? For whom? And does it enhance your credibility as an ecologist? This session is aimed at graduate students and early- and mid-career ecologists who have wondered about the credentials, timeline, and effort required to publish a book. A group of experienced book publishing professionals and authors will discuss and demystify different types of books including trade, scholarly, and public science books as applicable to ecologists. This session is informal, with short presentations by five professionals on a diversity of issues that relate from start to finish the book publication process, followed by a discussion period to engage the audience in current issues relating to the book publishing trade in ecology. This session will provide insights and overviews for ecologists at a variety of career stages about the process of writing a book. It is intended to be educational in scope, providing education to the attendees about the publishing process and ultimately leading to better science literacy of the general public, as ecologists learn to embrace book publication as part of their career paths.

Using qualitative ecological models to understand students' thinking about interactions
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Marion Dresner, Claire Steiner, Andrew Moldenke

Our goal is to integrate use of qualitative ecological models into students' ecology curriculum (high school, undergraduate) for the following reasons: 1) Systems Thinking: Qualitative models can illustrate aspects of ecological thinking and knowing (e.g., feedback, inputs and outputs, important interactions like mutualism, stability); students learn from first hand experiences with field ecology; 2) Causal Relationships: Students have a hard time understanding indirect interactions and need help in moving beyond simple direct effects; 3) “Authentic Learning”: In building models during ecological research projects, students are capable of generating new knowledge about interactions within the ecosystem; 4) Constructivism: Models that students generated themselves provide them with a personalized understanding of ecosystem processes that builds upon their prior knowledge; and 5) Scientific Inquiry: Models are used to generate researchable hypotheses, which are then tested, modified based on results, etc. In addition, we think there is a lot of potential in using student-generated models for assessment. Modeling is a way for teachers and students to communicate and convey complex information in a symbolic language. Series of student-generated models can be used to help us understand what students are learning about ecological concepts and interactions. We would like to meet with interested ecologists to talk about their experiences working with student-generated models and discuss the following: Which ecological concepts should students be able to thoroughly understand and show their skills in modeling to be proficient in carrying out field research in terrestrial ecology? Which concepts (e.g., food webs, pollination, succession, stability/redundancy/resilience) are of paramount importance for citizen science?

An exploration of the role of publication-related biases in ecology
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Christopher Lortie, Lonnie Aarssen, Julia Koricheva

Progress in a scientific discipline is normally achieved through publication and dissemination of knowledge. Number of publications and their citation frequency are also widely used for academic evaluation of individual researchers, departments, and universities. Therefore, any bias in publication and dissemination of scientific content may potentially affect the development of a field in terms of what kind of information is available for synthesis, who is successfully employed, and where funding is allocated. Different attributes of the publication and dissemination process in ecology will be explored including: characteristics of the study (number of hypotheses, effect size, support for main hypothesis), attributes of the publication itself (merit, length, number and gender of authors), and attributes of the journal (reputation, impact factor, circulation). Speakers will include an NCEAS working group of ecologists studying bias, publishers, and several editors. We will discuss these issues in a panel format including questions and answers with open discussion. Please visit our website to participate in a short on-line survey on the publication and review process in ecology (www.ecobias.org).

Profiles of ecologists: results from the ESA Membership Survey
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Jason Taylor, Allison Perkins, Carol Brewer

Last summer, the Ecological Society of America requested your help to better understand the current demographics of ecologists by completing the 2005 ESA Members' Survey. This special session will take an in-depth look at the results of the membership survey and involve participants in a discussion on its implications. Some of the issues that will be explored are: 1) current employment patterns of ecologists; 2) patterns of earned doctorates by sub-discipline of ecology over the past 40 years; 3) ecological science capabilities according to problem area (e.g., how many scientists are trained to study ecological complexity of global warming); and 4) ethnic and gender diversity of ecologists in comparison with the demographic composition of the workforce.

Sense of place
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Jesse Ford, Marilou Awiakta, Robin Kimmerer

The 2006 ESA meeting convenes within the ancestral homelands of the Chickasaw Nation. The banks of the Mississippi were for uncounted generations a central gathering place for meeting and trading amongst the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Cherokee. Memphis itself is on the site of the sixth of seven ancestral towns along the Mississippi . This very special session opens our meeting with reflections from indigenous people of the region. Representatives of all three nations have been invited to provide an introduction to a sense of place through an indigenous perspective. Drawing on experiences with the region's mighty rivers and floodplains, plateaus and mountains, speakers will share their multi-faceted understanding of the region from the perspective of people shaped by landscape. Presenters incorporate traditional ecological knowledge as a foundation for addressing traditional land management practices and current ecological pressures.

Improv 101: public speaking and improv theater
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Annie Drinkard, Nadine Lymn

Nervous about your presentation? In this session participants will watch a short presentation about public speaking and organizing presentations. We will follow up this lesson with hands on activities utilizing the art of improv comedy, and have a bit of fun. This session is equal parts learning and stress relief. Handouts will be provided.

Passengers versus drivers of ecosystem change: current debate on Tamarix and riparian invasion
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Anna Sher, Juliet Stromberg

Debates are currently raging about the significance of invasive species as agents of ecological destruction. One dramatic American case study is invasion of western watersheds by Eurasian tamarisk (saltcedar); it may cover as much as 500,000 hectares, yet many now argue that this tree is more symptom than cause of ecosystem change. The degree to which this is true has important political ramifications, including how federal dollars will be spent. The goal of this session is to begin a unifying dialogue among ecologists to identify points of agreement about ecosystem processes in Tamarix invasion and information gaps that prevent us from reaching consensus. This session will be of interest to scientists and managers concerned about invasion and restoration of riparian ecosystems, as well as any ecologist who has struggled with the need to clarify the intricacies of an eco-political problem while communicating a clear message to the public.

An ecologists' community discussion of funding agency initiatives
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Nancy Grimm, Clifford Duke, Alan Covich

Join us for a discussion of research initiatives affecting the community of ecologists – we will invite federal agency program officers and ecology community leaders to update attendees about 1) ongoing and new ecology-related initiatives at federal agencies and 2) developing initiatives in the ecological research community.

Scientists engaging the media: how we can make a difference communicating science to society
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30 pm
Organizers: Alice Levine

Communicating science to society is an obligation shared by scientists and the media alike. Naturally, both must work together to achieve this common goal. This has not proved to be easy, though, partly due to negative stereotypes. Is the media only interested in sensationalism? Are scientists truly bigheaded and unable to communicate without jargon? Not so, and these typecasts can be disregarded with a little effort from both sides so that the communication divide may be bridged. If you would like to discuss these and other problems between scientists and the media and learn how they can be overcome, then come to this special session. Dynamic speakers with backgrounds in news, radio, and environmental journalism, public relations and leadership training, and academia will be present. Come hear these individuals share their experiences and address how scientists and the media can work together to create a better-informed, more scientifically literate society.

Trading places, saving spaces? Ecosystem services, ecology, and economy
Monday, August 7, 1-2:30pm
Organizers: Kheryn Klubnikin, Douglas Causey

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was the first scientific, international review of the state of the world's ecosystems, the “engines” of life on earth. The study found that about 60 percent of all ecosystems are rapidly degrading or are used unsustainably. Ecosystems are moving toward a critical point where ecosystem services are increasingly rare or nearing collapse and cannot be restored. Increasing discussion is taking place in many circles about ways to stimulate markets for environmental services that may also achieve restoration and/or conservation of important natural resources across scales, property boundaries, and geographies. Credit trading and related techniques have the potential to rearrange geographies and species distributions. The concept can only be viable if economic drivers are shaped by sound science and if the public good is kept in mind when paying the private purveyors. Issues that need to be addressed include the roles of multiple jurisdictions, multiple credits, tracking trades and conditions, sound science and biological integrity, timeframes, the rise of ecocurrency, longitudinal monitoring of conditions, and brokerages. The experts in this special session will address what is known and what is not known about the emerging issue of Ecosystem Services. Moreover, the monetization of environmental components as expressed in markets and credits may challenge long-held beliefs in the management of natural resources.

Scientific Plenary and Awards Ceremony
Monday, August 7, 2:40-5 pm, Ballroom A, Cook Convention Center

2:40 pm: Welcome, Introduction, and Acknowledgements, Katherine McCarter, ESA Executive Director
2:50 pm: State of the Society: ESA 2020, Nancy B.Grimm, ESA President
3:05 pm: Presentation of the 2006 ESA Awards, Judith Bronstein, Chair, ESA Awards Committee
4:00 pm: Keynote Speaker: Upstarts and icons: pushing the boundaries in the new millennium, Simon Levin

Project NEON at undergraduate institutions: an invitation for discussion and input
Monday, August 7, 8-10 pm
Organizers: Laurel Anderson, Kerry Woods

The National Ecological Observatory Network ( NEON ) will establish a continental network of intensively instrumented research sites for monitoring ecological change and will address a range of ecological questions. Plans call for training and participation of teachers, students, policy-makers, and citizens, as well as researchers. While NEON was intended to be broadly inclusive, ecologists from undergraduate institutions have been under-represented in planning discussions. This session is an opportunity for scientists from these institutions to learn about NEON and engage in an open discussion of how and if small institutions could be involved with this initiative. NEON is a multi-year, evolving project. Through active participation, ecologists from undergraduate institutions can help define NEON 's future and ensure that it serves institutions with diverse missions and resources.

Scientific assessments as upstarts in ecology: ethical considerations for ecologists
Monday, August 7, 8-10 pm
Organizers: Diane Wickland, William Michener

Recent demand for high-quality scientific information on issues relating to environmental policy and resource management is driving a proliferation of scientific assessments. Assessments typically summarize and document the state of scientific understanding on a topic, characterize uncertainties associated with this knowledge, and distill the findings into an Executive Summary for decision makers. Controversies related to undue political influences, personal biases, or characterization of uncertainty have arisen in some assessment processes. Participants may find themselves confronting new issues or more intense pressures than encountered in other scientific activities. This evening session will focus on conveying a sense of what to expect when participating in a scientific assessment, describing how an ecologist can prepare to participate, and sharing some real-life experiences of ecologists who have participated in recent assessments. Ethical issues, including the applicability of new concepts toward an ecological ethics, will be discussed. 

How to succeed in ecology: advice from professionals in the field
Monday, August 7, 8-10 pm
Organizers: Abraham Miller-Rushing, Kristine Hopfensperger

Ecology is a competitive field and the path to success is not always clear. In this session, successful ecologists from several disciplines will discuss specific strategies for success in academic and non-academic careers with current and former students. Invited guests will offer first-hand advice on career tracks at research universities, liberal arts colleges, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. After a brief introduction to the session, rotating small groups will discuss topics including: interviewing and negotiating, developing a research program, finding funding, publishing productively, networking effectively, dealing with “two-bodies” (i.e., finding positions for married/partnered pairs), and balancing work and family. The small groups will provide an intimate and informal setting to speak with professionals in the field of ecology and learn about many different strategies to achieve success. This session should appeal to all ecologists, particularly students, who we expect to motivate the discussions.

Adult environmental education—teaching not preaching
Monday, August 7, 8-10 pm
Organizers: Lyn Hoffmann , Chad Truxall

Educating adults about ecological concepts plays an important role in raising awareness about local, regional, and global environmental issues. Educated adults are informed decision makers who make environmental choices in both their personal lives and in their communities. Adults bring personal experiences, beliefs, and, quite often, skepticism to environmental science or ecology classes. We will discuss best practices to teach environmental science and ecological concepts to adults in two settings. The first is an accelerated, online, General Education class in a career-oriented degree program; the second comes from educational outreach workshops and ecotours conducted by a non-profit, marine ecology center in Florida . The session will include overviews and examples taken from teaching in both adult education venues. Topics include choosing materials, course structure, establishing outcomes, facilitation techniques, and assessment to incorporate both sound ecological science and adult learning theory. We will exchange ideas and experiences throughout the session.

Towards sustainable coexistence and ecosystem-based governance of fisheries

Monday, August 7, 8-10 pm
Organizer: Mimi Lam

The audience is invited to dialogue with the panel in a marine science, culture, and policy research and educational initiative: “Towards Ecosystem-based Governance of Sustainable Pacific Northwest Fisheries.” Salmon are eco-cultural keystone species, co-evolving for millennia with the bioregion’s people, who celebrated salmon cycles and practiced subsistence harvesting, culturally perpetuated in traditional ecological knowledge. Industrial fisheries and aquaculture have shifted this balance, depleting wild ‘icons’ and introducing farmed ‘upstarts’. Potential colonization, genetic hybridization, and disease transfers of farmed salmon competing with indigenous species exemplify market-driven, evolutionary niche construction. Salmon migrating across international boundaries and regional territories have ignited ‘turf wars’, as salmon have become ‘mobile icons’ in a widening cultural and economic divide. We extend the concept of a ‘footprint’ analysis to the marine environment as a potential integrative tool to research the impact of aboriginal and industrial fisheries and aquaculture towards the design of ecosystem-based governance of sustainable fisheries.