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Curriculum in Ecology

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• Curriculum in Ecology
• 217 Miller Hall, CB#3275
• UNC-Chapel Hill
• Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3275

• Phone: 919-962-1270
• Fax: 919-966-9920
• Email: ecology@unc.edu
• Details and Maps

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Past Seminars

• Fall 2007, Spring 2007, Fall 2006, Spring 2006, Fall 2005, Spring 2005, Fall
2004, Spring 2004, Fall 2003

Fall 2007

• John Wiens
  Jenner Speaker
• "Is conservation science irrelevant to conservation practice?"
• September 13, 2007

Robert Dunn
• "Climate change and ant communities."
• September 20, 2007

Nora Bynum
“How can we improve teaching in conservation biology, and why should we care?”
• September 27, 2007

• Katia Koelle
  "Modeling the dynamics and phylogenetics of antigenic immune escape."
  October 4, 2007

• David Kidd
  "Geophylogenies, GIS and Google Earth: evolutionary biogeography joins the geospatial revolution."
  October 25, 2007

Mike Rosenmeier
"Environmental changes in Mongolia over the last~4000 years: evidence from lake sediment cores and horse tooth enamel."November 1, 2007

Craig Benkman
• "Specialization and coevolution in the adaptive radiation of crossbills."
• November 8, 2007

• Kevin Gross
• "The evolution of communication in a complex acoustic environment"
  
• November 15, 2007

Spring 2007

Erik Sotka
"Larval Dispersal and Local Adaptation of Nearshore Marine Invertebrates"
January 18, 2007

Anne Yoder
“Historical biogeography of Madagascar - Time is of the Essence”
January 25, 2007

Charles Mitchell
"Infectious Disease Dynamics in Communities of Wild Grasses?"
February 8, 2007

Scott Kirsch
"An Experimental Landscape: The Nature of Science at the US Department of Energy's Savannah River Site"
February 15, 2007

Wendy Wolford
"Fields of Green, Rivers of Red: A Political Ecology of Social Mobilization in Northeastern Brazil"
February 22, 2007

David Foster
Jenner Speaker
"Wildlands, Woodlands and Farmlands – Applying Historical Insights to Interpret and Conserve Modern Landscape"
March 1, 2007

Stuart Pimm
"Does the Variety of Life have a Future?"
March 8, 2007

Tom Crowley
"Modeling the Climate Change of the Last Ice Age"
March 22, 2007

Jeff Walters
"Fear of Flying: Avian Dispersal Behavior"
March 29, 2007

Norm Christensen
"Reconstructing Fire History in the Southern Appalachians Using Soil Charcoal"
April 12, 2007

Dov Sax
"Species Invasions: The Past, Present and Future of Biodiversity on Islands"
April 17, 2007

Marcelo Ardon
"Nutrient Loading and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Headwater Streams and Temperate Riverine Wetlands"
April 26, 2007

Fall 2006

• Ecology 199
• "Putting the Uwharrie National Forest into Landscape Context: Research Findings and Policy Recommendations from an Interdisciplinary Ecology Project"
• August 31, 2006

• Alexa McKerrow
• "Southeast Gap Analysis Project: Linking Datasets to Decisions to Keep Common Species Common"
• September 14, 2006

• Ross Meentemeyer
• "Spread of the Invasive Forest Pathogen Causing Sudden Oak Death in California: Intersection of Landscape Ecology and Epidemiology"
• September 21, 2006

• Peter Brosius
• "Global Conservation and the Politics of Scale"
• September 28, 2006

• Tim Profeta
• "Discussing Possible Areas of Collaboration Between the Nicholas Institute and UNC-Chapel Hill"
• sponsored by CEP
• September 29, 2006

• Mike Jenkins
• "Blights, Bugs, and Burns: Understanding Seventy Years of Human Impacts at
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park"
• October 5, 2006

• James Umbanhowar
• "Some Theoretical Forays into the Role of Resource Supply in Mediating the Mycorrhizal Symbiosis"
• October 12, 2006

• Wallace Broecker
• "Global Warming: What Should We Do About Fossil Fuel CO2?"
• sponsored by CEP
• October 17, 2006

• Binka Le Breton
• "Rainforest: Use it Lose it: Atlantic Forest Notes from the Front Line"
• October 24, 2006

• Robert Jackson
• "Global Warming: Some Science and Solutions"
• October 26, 2006

• James Cronin
• "Explaining Variation in Insect Herbivore Control over Plant Communities"
• November 2, 2006

• Steve Wing
• "Public Health Impacts of Industrial Swine Production"
• November 9, 2006

• Mark Harmon
• "Woody Detritus and its Contribution to the Carbon Dynamics of Forests"
• November 16, 2006

• Jim Clark
• "Emerging Capacity to Synthesize Data and Process: Application to the Biodiversity Paradox"
• November 30, 2006

Spring 2006

• Dave Eggleston
• "Impact of Recreational Sport Divers on Spiny Lobster"
• January 19, 2006

• Shahid Naeem
• Jenner Speaker
• "Is a Sustainable Future Possible in the Face of Mass Extinction?
• The Ecosystem Consequences of Biodiversity Loss"
• January 26, 2006

• Steven Brewer
• "Limestone and Volcanic Rainforests of the Maya Mountains, Belize: Comparative Biogeography and Ecology"
• February 2, 2006

• Taylor Ricketts
• "Ecology and Economics of Tropical Biodiversity:
• Ecosystem Services and Forest Conservation"
• February 9, 2006

• John Drake
• "Biological Invasions in Aquatic Ecosystems: Local and Global Dynamics"
• February 13, 2006

• Heather Leslie
• "Sustaining Marine Systems"
• February 15, 2006

• Curt Richardson
• "Restoring the Garden of Eden: Ecological Status of the Marshes of Iraq"
• February 16, 2006

• Elizabeth Losos
• "Taking the Long View: Reconciling Long-Term
• Research with Short-Term Agendas"
• March 2, 2006

• Randy Fulk
• "Conservation and Captive Breeding: Managing Small Populations"
• March 9, 2006

• Elizabeth Lacey
• "Thermoregulation, Parental Effects, and Parental Care
• in Plants: an Examination of Plantago Lanceolata"
• March 23, 2006

• Bill Morris
• "Population Responses to Changing Climatic Variability"
• March 30, 2006

• Monica Turner at Duke
• "Disturbance, Heterogeneity and Ecosystem Function: Lessons from the 1988 Yellowstone Fires"
• April 6, 2006

• Robert Costanza sponsored by CEP
• " Ecological Economics: Creating a Sustainable and Desirable Future"
• April 11, 2006

• Paul Leslie
• "Warriors, Wages, and Wildebeest: The Ecology of Uncertainty on the East African Savannas"
• April 13, 2006
• Bastow Wilson
• "What Does a Plant Community Look Like When It Isn't There"
• April 20, 2006

• Dr. Judy Meyer
• Jenner Speaker "Forest-Stream Linkages in an Urbanizing Landscape"
• April 27, 2006

Fall 2005

• Dr. Larry Barden
• "Restoration of Piedmont Prairies and Helianthus Schweinitzii"
• September 8, 2005

• Dr. Jim Salzman
• "Creating Markets for Ecosystem Serices: Note from the Field "
• September 15, 2005

• Hunter Lovins
• "Implementing Natural Capitalism"
• September 21, 2005

• Carla Norwood and Gabriel Cumming
• " Little Tennessee Perspectives: Talking about Land Use Planning and Conservation in a Rural Mountain Community"
• September 29, 2005

• Dr. Elena Litchman
• "Physiological Trade-offs, Ecological Strategies and Selective Pressures in Phytoplankton"
• October 6, 2005

• Dr. Robbie Cox
• "Nature's 'Crisis Disciplines': What the Humanities
• Can Learn from Conservation Biology"
• October 12, 2005

• Kate Dixon
• "Putting Conservation Principles into Practice: Raising $1 Billion for NC's Land and Communities"
• October 27, 2005

• Dr. Richard Phillips
• "Tales from the Underground: Tree Species and Mycorrhizal Effects on Nutrient Cycling in a Northern Hardwood Forest"
• November 3, 2005

• Dr. Maury Valett
• "Nutrient Influences on Stream Ecosystems: Nitrogen Spiraling Across a Gradient of Chronic Nitrogen Loading"
• November 10, 2005

• Dr. Larry Band
• "A Tale of Three Catchments: Coupling Water and Nitrogen Cycling in Forest and Suburban Ecosystems"
• November 17, 2005

• Dr. Nessa O'Connor
• "Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning and Habitat Structure: Direct and Indirect Effects in Intertidal Assemblages"
• December 1, 2005

• Dr. Ron Pulliam
• "Niche Theory and the Distribution of Forest Understory Herbs"
• December 8, 2005

Spring 2005

• Sunny Snider (w/ Dr. George Hess and Graduate Students)
• Effectiveness of Indicator Taxa for Biodiversity Conservation Varies with Extent, Grain, and Region.
• January 13, 2005

• Dr. Zac Long
• Species diversity and allometric scaling jointly determine biomass in aquatic food webs.
• January 27, 2005

• Dr. Steven Seagle
• Predicting Forest and Avian Productivity in Heterogeneous Landscapes.
• February 3, 2005

• Dr. Toddi Steelman
• Adaptive Governance: Integrating Science, Policy and Decision Making.
• February 10, 2005

• Dr. Thomas Stohlgren
• The Invasion of Plants, Birds, and Fishes in the US: Why the Rich are Getting Richer.
• February 24, 2005

• Lawrence S. Earley
• Looking for longleaf: the fall and rise of an American forest.
• March 3, 2005

• Dr. Michael Balick
• Plants, people and culture: The science of ethnobotany.
• March 8, 2005 (Cosponsored with Biology, NCBG)

• Dr. Justin Wright
• Causes and consequences of biodiversity loss: a functional perspective.
• March 24, 2005

• Dr. Steven D. Gaines, 2005 Charles Jenner Lecture
• Large scale issues in ecology.
• March 31, 2005

• Dr. Theodore R. Simons
• The importance of estimating detection probabilities in animal sampling.
• April 14, 2005

• Dr. Michael F. Piehler
• Nitrogen fixation in coastal ecosystems: Implications for restoration and environmental management.
• April 21, 2005

• Dr. Robert Holt
• Niche conservatism, evolution, and applied ecology: Challenges and opportunities.
• April 26, 2005 (Cosponsored with Biology)

Fall 2004

• Dr. Hans Paerl
• Human and Climatically-induced Ecological Change of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems: What's Manageable and What's Not.
• September 9, 2004.

• Dr. Jonathan Losos
• Ecological and evolutionary determinants of species diversity in Caribbean Anolis lizards.
• September 14, 2004. (Cosponsored with Biology)

• Dr. Cecil Frost
• Landscape Fire Ecology - a New Field of Ecological Research.
• September 16, 2004.

• Dr. Cliff Cunningham
• Using population persistence to reconstruct patterns of ecological community assembly.
• September 21, 2004 (Cosponsored with Biology)

• Dr. Seth Reice
• A First-Hand Perspective on the World's Environmental Problems.
• September 23, 2004.

• Dr. Peter Edmunds
• Long-term Coral Community Dynamics and the Mechanistic Basis of Change on Coral Reefs in the US Virgin Islands.
• September 30, 2004.

• Dr. Donna Surge
• Pre-industrial Skeletal Recordings: Implications for Human-Climate Interactions.
• October 7, 2004. 4:00 pm.

• Dr. Norman Myers
• Our Environmental Prospect: Time of Breakdown or Breakthrough.
• October 22, 2004.

• Dr. Emily Bernhardt
• Can't see the Forest for the Stream? The Role of Streams in Modifying Watershed Nutrient Exports.
• October 28, 2004.

• Dr. Johnny Randall
• The North Carolina Botanical Garden: Research Past, Present, and Future.
• November 4, 2004.

• Dr. Dolph Schluter
• Ecology and the Origin of Species.
• November 9, 2004. (Cosponsored with Biology)

• Dr. Phil Berke
• Integrating Ecological Protection and Land Use Planning.
• November 11, 2004.

• Dr. Maria Servedio
• Evaluating the Potential of Local Adaptation and Reinforcement in Speciation.
• November 18, 2004.

• Dr. Nicholas J. Gotelli
• The Assembly of Communities: From Small to Large Spatial Scales.
• December 2, 2004.

• Dr. Carole Crumley
• Historical Ecology: Integrated Thinking at Multiple Temporal and Spatial Scales.
• December 9, 2004.

Spring 2004

• Dr. Steven Handel
• In Vitro Plant Ecology: Constraints to Restoring Native Habitats.
• January 8, 2004

• Dr. Charles Konrad.
• Heavy Rainfall Associated with Tropical Cyclones in the Southern U.S.
• January 15, 2004

• Gabriel Cumming
• Perspectives on Land: Rural North Carolinians Explore Their Changing Communities and Environments.
• January 29, 2004

• Dr. Bradley J. Cardinale
• Effects of Species Diversity on Ecosystem Functioning: When, Why, and Who Cares?
• February 2, 2004 (co-sponsored with Biology, CEP)

• Dr. James Byers
• How Native Ecological Communities and Conservation Practices Affect the Success of Nonindigenous Species.
• February 5, 2004 (co-sponsored with Biology, CEP)

• Brian Silliman
• Why Community Ecology Matters to Conservation Biology.
• February 12, 2004 (co-sponsored with Biology, CEP)

• Dr. Rebecca Lewison
• Measuring the Human Footprint: The Impact of Resource and Land Use on Vulnerable Wildlife Populations.
• February 16, 2004 (co-sponsored with Biology, CEP)

• Dr. Kerry D. Woods
• Between gap-phase and catastrophe: intermediate disturbance and old-growth forest dynamics.
• February 19, 2004

• Dr. Charles Mitchell
• Microbial Plant Pathogens as Mediators of Global Change.
• February 23, 2004 (co-sponsored with Biology, CEP)

• Dr. Kirsten Silvius
• Spatial Pattern in Plant-Animal Interactions: Implications for Community Structure and Conservation in Tropical Forests.
• February 26, 2004 (co-sponsored with Biology, CEP)

• Dr. Sam Pearsall
• Adaptive Riparian Ecosystem Management on NC's Roanoke River.
• March 4, 2004

• Dr. John W. Terborgh
• Maintenance of Diversity in a Tropical Tree Community.
• March 24, 2004

• Dr. George R. Hess
• Inventories, Focal Species, and Simple Plans: Evaluating Conservation Planning Tools.
• April 1, 2004

• Dr. Kevin J Gaston, 2004 Jenner Lecture
• Abundance, Occupancy and Conservation.
• April 6, 2004

• Dr. William A. Hoffmann
• Comparative Plant Ecology as a Basis for Understanding the Dynamics of Tropical Savanna-Forest Boundaries.
• April 15, 2004

• Dr. Stephen P. Hubbell
• Is Nature Symmetric? New and Old Results of the Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography.
• April 23, 2004

Fall 2003

• Prof. David Wilcove
• Endangered Species in the USA: How Many Are There and How Can We Save Them?
• September 4, 2003

• Dr. William Cronon,
• Saving Nature in Time: The Past and the Future of Environmentalism.
• September 25, 2003 (co-sponsored with Carolina Environmental Program)

• Dr. Douglas Crawford-Brown
• Disease Ecology Program on the Coast.
• October 9, 2003

• G. Cumming, D. Luther, M. McKnight, M. McKown, and B. Wheeler
• Rare Species Conservation in Complex Landscapes: Reflections on Creating a Graduate Seminar.
• October 16, 2003

• Dr. Robert Bieregaard
• Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on an Amazonian Forest Ecosystem.
• November 6, 2003

• Dr. Terry McCabe
• Conservation and Development in Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
• November 13, 2003

• Dr. Larry K. Benninger
• Before and After: Sediment Redistribution in the Neuse River Estuary and Pamlico Sound following Hurricane-Induced Flooding in 1999.
• December 4, 2003