Public Affairs Committee

The Public Affairs Committee works to advance the Society’s mission and goals by guiding and helping to implement the public affairs program of the Society. The Public Affairs Committee is responsible for these duties:

Advising staff on policy and communications
Providing input to ESA’s policy priority guidelines
Facilitating selection of the Annual Meeting Opening Plenary speaker, Regional Policy Award winner, and the Rapid Response Team luncheon speaker

Composition

Chair: This committee may not be chaired by a Governing Board
Members: 1 Governing Board member and others as appointed

Committee Members

Time Male, Chair (2022 – 2023)
Astrid Caldas (2020 – 2023)
Ann Bartuska (2022 – 2025)
James Rattling Leaf (2020 – 2023)
Karen Lips (2020 – 2023)
Ayo Deas (2021 – 2024)
Laura Petes (2022 – 2023)

Ex-officio

Sharon Collinge (2022 – 2023)

News

ESA Selects 2022 EEE Scholars

The Ecological Society of America is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 cohort of the ESA Excellence in Ecology Scholars.. The scholarship program seeks to support and elevate diverse scientists in the ecological community.

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MEDIA ADVISORY: Ecological experts available during COP27 for comment on climate change and biodiversity

(November 4, 2022) – Ahead of the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, ESA has compiled a list of ecologists and biologists to provide technical expertise to the media about climate change and biodiversity.

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Video footage provides first detailed observation of orcas hunting white sharks in South Africa

A new paper published in Ecology presents the first direct evidence of orcas killing white sharks in South Africa, with video footage captured by both a helicopter and drone pilot.

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Where the Red Fox Dens: Fox dens foster tree growth, according to new study

(September 13, 2022) – A study published in Ecosphere reveals that trees growing on and around the sites of fox dens, especially long-established fox dens, grow faster than trees without vulpine intervention.

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Journals and Publications

Coastal foredunes, such as the ones pictured here from Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina, USA, form via biophysical feedbacks between sand and vegetation and are vulnerable to sea level rise and increased storm intensity. In their study published in the October issue of Ecosphere, Jay et al. used regression models and hierarchical partitioning to assess the relative roles of sand supply, vegetation, and beach morphology in shaping foredune morphology along a 300-km stretch of the US Central Atlantic coast. The authors found that sand supply and beach width explained the most variation in foredune height and width, while grass density and changes in grass density contributed significantly to foredune morphology change.

Ecosphere