• 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

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

Here are a few questions we’ll use to structure the discussion:

Do you agree with the author’s assertion that the drive to apportion credit is hurting the spirit of collaboration in science?

Even if you disagree with the author’s argument, can you see any ways in which more precise accounting for credit in scientific collaboration might impact the spirit of collaboration?

What approaches could be used to help someone on the other side of this issue see and appreciate your point of view?

Please read the article and come to discuss evidence and experience you might have on this interesting and very relevant topic.  Hope you can join us!

In the Early Career Researcher (ECR) discussion group, we’ve been talking about paths, directions, and reasons for considering doctoral programs (among other choices). Within the NCEAS community, there are lots of people who are thinking about their next steps. We know that there are many folks with sage advice, comments, and insights—and so we’re opening the discussion up on Wednesday, September 28^th. Please join us during the usual NCEAS roundtable time at 12:15 in the lounge to offer your thoughts, and hear those of others!

The community discussion will be generally framed by these questions:

-What are some of the affordances that you believe the PhD has given you, or gives to others, generally?

-For you, what were some of the opportunity costs of going for the PhD?

-What are the top one or two pieces of advice that you would share with someone who wants a career in science/research/data, but doesn’t necessarily know if they want to pursue the PhD?

Hope you can join the open discussion Wednesday!

1. Sociometric sensors promise to measure social interactions quantitatively, precisely, and unobtrusively. I’ll discuss a few findings from a pilot study of small group collaborations at two synthesis centers.

2. Path-breaking groups of artists and scientists that launch major artistic and intellectual movements share much in common, but also differ markedly along some social dimensions due to key differences between the fields of art and science. I’ll discuss some of these similarities and differences in relation to the specific character of these fields.

3. How theory groups die: I’ll discuss the social forces that cause the small groups that create new scientific paradigms to disintegrate, socially and creatively.

Dr. John N. Parker
Barrett, The Honors College
Arizona State University
john.parker at asu.edu

Using a novel technique to age and map vegetation we demonstrated that fire influences mallee vegetation for over a century, particularly key habitat resources (e.g. tree hollows). We found little evidence that bird diversity was related to the diversity of fire age classes in a landscape. Similarly, there was little evidence of the importance of pyrodiversity for individual species. Instead, a key driver for all groups was the spatial extent of ecologically important fire age classes; in particular, the spatial extent of long-unburned mallee vegetation.

We used models of species distributions to evaluate the consequences for threatened bird species of alternative management scenarios for fire for the next twenty years. We evaluated the likely effect of planned burning programs that burnt 1%, 3% or 5% of public land annually. The outcomes of this work have provided an assessment of the relative risk of extinction for these species. This research has transformed understanding of how fire affects these threatened species in the region and has been embraced by fire managers and contributed to significant change in fire management policy.

Prof. Mike Clarke
Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution
La Trobe University, Australia
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/ecology-environment-evolution/research/specialisations/fire-ecology

Science educators who recognize student misconceptions about fundamental scientific concepts can lead students to greater educational gains; science communicators who understand public misconceptions can lead their audience to deeper understanding of scientific issues.  Physics education research has long leveraged the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), a model-based assessment of student understanding of classical Newtonian mechanics.  The FCI has become a valuable tool for physics education, providing researchers with data to improve physics pedagogy and curricula.  Since the development of the FCI two decades ago, other concept inventories have been designed to inform chemistry, physical science, and biology curricula as well.

In this talk, I propose the development of a Ecosystem Concept Inventory to examine how students, and the general public, understand fundamental models of ecology.  I will make an argument for model-centered ecology education and how an Ecosystem Concept Inventory is a critical first step.  I will lay out a series of simple models that I believe provide the fundamental structure for a scientifically literate understanding of ecology, and ask the audience for input and insights into developing a model-based assessment to inform ecology education and communication.

Casey O’Hara
Project Scientist, Ocean Health Index
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
735 State Street, Suite 300, Santa Barbara  CA  93101
ohara@nceas.ucsb.edu

Scott Butterfield
Senior Scientist
The Nature Conservancy
scott_butterfield@tnc.org

 

Alex Filazzola
PhD Student
York University
Toronto, Canada
alex.filazzola@outlook.com