Introduction to Jupyter notebooks and quick dive into Python

Presenter: Julien Brun

Jupyter notebooks are a great way to share your data analysis and promote reproducible science.  These interactive notebooks mix executable computer code (e.g. Python, R, Julia, Bash, …) with rich text and data visualizations. Have a look here for some examples: https://nbviewer.jupyter.org. We will use this tool to do a quick dive into Python with specific tips for R users.

Note that the hands-on participation is space-limited and you need to register here. However, everybody is welcome to follow the session in person or remotely. The hands-on participants  will need to bring their laptop to connect to NCEAS’ server, but no specific installation is required.

Plant Community Responses to Global Change Drivers

Global change will alter resources, which are predicted to change the composition and functioning of plant communities. Here, I present the results of several projects studying plant community changes in response to resource manipulations. First, I present data from an experiment at Konza Prairie Biological Station in Manhattan Kansas. In this experiment, nutrient additions (nitrogen and phosphorus) turned the tallgrass prairie from being dominate by C4 grasses to C3 forbs. Next, I detail plant community responses to resource manipulations across ~100 experiments world-wide. This data synthesis found that when 5 factors are simultaneously manipulated, there are drastic changes in the plant community. Additionally, the greater number of factors that are manipulated, the greater the change in productivity. Lastly, I review my current postdoctoral work, focused on developing new ways to study patterns of community change using rank abundance curves.

plants

Photo of the phosphorus plots experiment at Konza Prairie Biological Station. Photo Credit: Melinda Smith

Carbon Neutrality at University California: The TomKat Project

Abstract

In 2013, University of California President Janet Napolitano announced the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative, which declares that all ten campuses in the University of California will have zero net emissions by the year 2025. Through a generous donation from the TomKat Foundation and supplemental funding from the University of California Office of the President, two groups of researchers have assembled to help address different facets of this multidimensional initiative. These two teams of the TomKat Project are hosted by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and supported by the Institute for Energy Efficiency at UCSB.

The Exit Strategies for Natural Gas working group is focusing on the challenge of eliminating natural gas emissions from the ten UC campuses and their medical centers. This is made difficult by the lock-in situation that exists at six campuses which rely on cogeneration power plants for heating and power. The Net-Zero Comm Strategy working group will work to develop and test best communication techniques for the University of California to achieve zero net emissions by 2025. This process will involve performing audience research on key stakeholders at the University of California, testing messages, and analyzing barriers to gaining support for the Carbon Neutrality Initiative.

 

Speakers

celine
Celine Mol is an undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara, where she is graduating this coming June with a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Applied Probability. In her future, Celine would like to be able to use her strengths in data science to find solutions that demand a more sustainable future. Through the Net-Zero Comm Strategy Working Group, Celine is excited to focus on approaches to leveraging influencers and developing outreach and engagement strategies to implement a successful carbon neutrality model at the UC.

charlie
Charlie Diamond is a second year MESM student at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. He has an undergraduate degree in environmental economics, and is specializing in water resources management at the Bren School. Charlie is interested in water and climate policy in California, and feels lucky to be part of an exciting research effort to evaluate decarbonization strategies at the University of California as a TomKat intern.

evan
Evan Ritzinger is serving as an Intern for the TomKat Project on strategies for natural gas removal. He is a Master’s candidate of Environmental Science and Management at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara, where he is pursuing a dual specialization in Conservation Planning and Energy & Climate. His research interests include energy efficiency and climate change mitigation. Previously, Evan worked for roughly two years as a Home Energy Advisor for a Boston based energy efficiency firm, where he was certified as a Building Analyst under the Building Performance Institute and performed hundreds of energy audits. Evan received his B.A. in Environmental Science with a minor in Economics from Boston University.

jay
Jay McConagha is a second year MESM student at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. He is specializing in Energy & Climate while completing a focus in Strategic Environmental Communication & Media. As an intern with the Net-Zero Comm Strategy working group, Jay is interested in identifying and overcoming barriers to the goals of the Carbon Neutrality Initiative, and fostering support through strategic communication.

 

TomKat Foundation
Established in 2009 by Tom Steyer and Kathryn Taylor, the TomKat Foundation partners with innovative organizations that envision a world with climate stability, a healthy and just food system, and broad prosperity. The Foundation embraces the inherent interconnectedness of these complex systems. Working at every level, the TomKat Foundation is committed to supporting organizations and initiatives across the country that will take bold action on climate change.

The Day After: Bird Conservation in [Insert President-elect’s name]’s America! [Wed. Nov. 9th]

Come take your mind off the aftermath of the 2016 election by talking about birds, citizen science, and habitat restoration instead. I will present on the work done by the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO), which is a nonprofit that works on bird conservation science and educational outreach projects. Although we work on many projects, I will primarily discuss our work with the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, a new urban biodiversity project with Google, burrowing owls conservation, and our citizen science projects. SFBBO and many of its partners are always looking for collaborators and new projects so I look forward to any ideas for partnerships and gaps in knowledge.

 

I welcome discussion during roundtable and the following are some of my thoughts, although I welcome other ideas!
  • How to promote more linkages among academics and non-profits (i.e., applied ecology and conservation research!)
  • Working with citizen science derived data and how to get our data into the hands of more people
  • Ways to reach more diverse audiences with indoor and outdoor activities
  • Increasing corporate participation in urban ecology as well as the conservation value of urban greening and restoration

yiwei-o

Dr. Yiwei Wang
Executive Director
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
http://sfbbo.org/