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OOS-41:
Ecological responses to precipitation: Scaling patterns and processes
from the genome to the ecosystem
Thursday,
August 11, 8 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Rooms 510b and 510d, Level 5, Palais
des congrès de Montréal
Organizers:
Michael Loik (mloik@ucsc.edu),
Stanley Smith
Description:
Precipitation
patterns drive ecological patterns and processes. Variation in the delivery of
water to an ecosystem affects fitness, population dynamics, ecosystem functions,
and vegetation patterns across regional scales. It is imperative to understand
how changes in the availability of water will impact ecological relationships in
order to better understand, manage, and restore biodiversity and ecological
integrity. Moreover, anthropogenic interference with the climate system will
likely result in increased importance of extremes and variation in precipitation
in the future. The goal of this organized oral session will be to highlight
cutting-edge research findings emerging from experimental manipulations of
precipitation, along with analysis of ecological patterns across natural
rainfall gradients, in order to integrate and challenge established paradigms,
and identify new research frontiers. The talks will encompass the range of
spatial scales from soil crusts to biomes, and temporal scales from diurnal
patterns of photosynthesis to patterns of tree growth and community change over
centuries.
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