to the Chair of the Nominating Committee:

Transcription

1 . ~ -. J.rII, ~ I, ' _ ~. ~ ;,."ci.--tt '..\. ',',"" ~.' ~ '..'.,J.-'... J ~.. lr.')r :...,VIJ'".. ~....".". \:......, ANNOUNCEMENTS...d\,.. '. ~ - ' Notices 1997 Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 1997 The Ecological Society of America will hold its 82nd Annual Meeting August 1997 at the downtown Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ESA will be joined by The Nature Conservancy. The meeting will in clude symposia, contributed-paper and poster sessions, workshops, field trips, social events, and business meetings. Abstracts for poster or contributed-paper sessions should be sent to the Program Chair, Fred Wagner, Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT USA; (801) ; edu. Abstracts should be submi tted electronically, either mailed on floppy disk (fully labeled) or sent via . Absolute deadline for receipt of abstracts is 31 January Nominations for Society Offices Requested The Nominating Committee of the Ecological Society of America invites ESA members to nominate talented, hardworking people for the following positions: President Elect, Vice President for Science, Members-at-Large of the Governing Board, and Members of the Board of Professional Certification. Send names and supporting documentation by 15 February 1997 to the Chair of the Nominating Committee: Gordon H. Orians Nominating Committee Chair Department of Zoology Box University of Washington Seattle, W A orians@zoology.washington.edu Applications for the Forrest Shreve Desert Research Fund One or two awards annually of $ are available to support research projects in the hot deserts of North America: Sonora, Mohave, Chihuahua, and Vizcaino. Proposals (four copies) not exceeding four double-spaced pages should include objective(s), justification, background, and methods. The names, mailing and addresses, and phone and fax numbers of three references should be included (do not send letters until requested). Send applications to the Executive Director, Ecological Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036; (202) ; fax (202) ; esahq@esa.org. Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged. Direct questions to Gary A. Polis, Box 93B, Department of Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235; (615) ; fax (615) ; polisga@macpost.vanderbilt. edu. The deadline for this year's competition is 1 May Request for Funds for the Forrest Shreve Desert Research Fund This fund was established in 1987 by Robert R. and Roberta 1. Humphreys, but has been inactive. The purpose of the award is to support research in the hot deserts of North America. Currently, an endowment sufficient to fund one or two awards annually of $ has accrued. We solicit donations from ESA members so that more awards can be given. Donations can be given either at any time by mail to the Executive Director, Ecological Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC or by specifying your donation at the time of payment of annual ESA dues. Gary A. Polis Department of Biology Vanderbilt University Box 93B Nashville, TN Visit the ESA Home Page on the World Wide Web The URL for ESA's home page as printed in the October ESA Bulletin had one incorrect punctuation mark. The mark following WWW should have been a dot, not a forward-slash, as experienced Web users probably realized. The correct address is: January

2 STUDENT AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN ECOLOGY Murray F. Buell Award E. Lucy Braun Award Murray F. Buell had a long and distinguished record of service and accomplishment in the Ecological Society of America. Among other things, he ascribed great importance to the participation of students in meetings and to excellence in the presentation of papers. To honor his selfless dedication to the younger generation of ecologists, the Murray F. Buell Award for Excellence in Ecology is given to a student for the outstanding oral paper presented at the ESA Annual Meeting. E. Lucy Braun, an eminent plant ecologist and one of the charter members of the Society, studied and mapped the deciduous forest regions of eastern North America and described them in her classic book, The Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America. To honor her, the E. Lucy Braun Award for Excellence in Ecology is given to a student for the outstanding poster presentation at the ESA Annual Meeting. A candidate for these awards must be an undergraduate, a graduate student, or a recent doctorate not more than 9 months past graduation at the time of the meeting. The paper or poster must be presented as part of the program sponsored by the Ecological Society of America, but the student need not be an ESA member. To be eligible for these awards the student must be the sole or senior author of the oral paper or poster. Papers and posters will be judged on the significance of ideas, creativity, quality of methodology, validity of conclusions drawn from results, and clarity of presentation. While all students are encouraged to participate, winning papers and posters typically describe fully completed projects. The students selected for these awards will be announced in the ESA Bulletin following the Annual Meeting. A certificate and a check for $250 will be presented to each recipient at the next Annual Meeting. If you wish to be considered for either of these awards at the 1997 Annual Meeting, send the application form below AND a copy of your abstract by mail, fax or to the Chair of the Student Awards Subcommittee: Dr. Samuel Scheiner, Department of Life Sciences, Arizona State University West, P.O. Box 37100, Phoenix, AZ If you have questions write, call (602) , fax (602) , or sam.scheiner@asu.edu. You will be provided with suggestions for preparing an excellent paper or poster. The deadline for submission of form and abstract is 31 January Name Current mailing address Current telephone June-July mailing address Summer telephone College/university affiliation Title of presentation Presentation: Paper (Buell Award) Poster (Braun A ward) At the time of presentation I will be (check one): an undergraduate student a graduate student a recent doctorate not more than 9 months past graduation I will be the sole /senior author (check one) of the paper/poster. S i g n e d = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America

3 REQUEST FOR STUDENT AWARD JUDGES Murray F. Buell Award E. Lucy Braun Award Judges are needed to evaluate candidates for the Murray F. Buell Award for the outstanding oral presentation by a student and the E. Lucy Braun Award for the outstanding poster presentation by a student at the Annual ESA Meeting at Albuquerque, New Mexico in We need to provide each candidate with at least four judges competent in the specific subject of the presentation. Each judge is asked to evaluate 3-5 papers and/or posters. Current graduate students are not eligible to judge. This is a great way to become involved in an important ESA activity. We desperately need your help! Please complete and send this form by mail, fax, or to: Samuel Scheiner Department of Life Sciences (2352) Arizona State University West P.O. Box Phoenix, AZ (602) ; Fax: (602) ; sam.scheiner@asu.edu Name ~ Current mailing address June/July mailing address Current telephone Year M.S. received Summer telephone Fax Year Ph.D. received Areas of expertise (check all that apply): Discinline Botany Zoology Microbiology Habitat Soil Terrestrial Freshwater Marine Research annroach Population ecology Community ecology Ecosystem ecology Applied ecology Physiological ecology Behavioral ecology Paleoecology Theoretical ecology Evolutionary ecology Organisms Vertebrates Invertebrates Plants Fungi Microbes Provide a few key words or phrases that describe your interests and expertise: January

4 STUDENT AWARD JUDGES The 1996 Student Awards Selection Committee, Samuel Scheiner (Chair), Paul Marino, and Patsy Miller, thank the following individuals for judging papers and posters at the Providence meeting. We also thank Judy Scheiner for many volunteer hours. Mary Arthur Nancy Huntley David Policansky Zdravko Baruch Douglas H. Johnson John Porter Katrin Bohning-Gaese Hyrum B. Johnson Richard Primack Richard L. Boyce Elaine Joyal Louis Provencher Denise L. Breitburg Michael L. Judge James A. Quinn Alison K. Brody Michael Kearsley RickRedak D. Gordon Brown Carol Kelly William J. Resetarits Jr. Michael C. Bull William K. Lauenroth Mark E. Ritchie David E. Busch Peter R. Leavitt James Runkle Walter P. Carson Martin J. Lechowicz Cynthia L. Sagers Gregory P. Cheplick Doug Levey Samuel M. Scheiner D. Liane Cochran-Stafira B. G. Lockaby Josh Schimel Sharon Collinge Paul C. Marino Paul A. Schmalzer Scott L. Collins Jeffrey D. May Oswald J Schmitz Helen Cyr Charles A. McClaugherty Daniel W. Schneider David Dow Richard McGarvey Christa R. Schwintzer Michael A. Farris Harry A. Meyer Owen D. Sholes Theodore H. Fleming Pat Micks Kimberly G. Smith Richard W. Fonda Thomas Miller Marian Smith Gordon A. Fox Patsy M. Miller Daniel A. Soluk Alexander L. Friend Kiyoko Miyanishi Patricia C. Swain John M. Fryxell Susan Mopper Swee May Tang Frank S. Gilliam Carolina Murcia James Thome Deborah Goldberg Shahid Naeem Mark J. Twery Charles Goodnight Robert Nakamura Michael J. Vanni Nicholas J. Gotelli Deborah A. Neher Liette Vasseur Lisa J. Graumlich Elizabeth Newell Marc-Andre Villard Kevin Griffin Sandra Newell Susan W. Vince Peter M Groffman Niki Stephanie Nicholas GaryL. Wade Jessica Gurevitch Gordon Orians Julie L. Whitbeck Julian L. Hadley Craig W. Osenberg Xinyuan Wu Stephen B. Heard Daniel M. Pavuk Bruce E. Young Elisabeth A. Holland David R. Peart Philip 0. Yund Bruce A. Hungate Diana Pilson.. ' Bulle#n Editor~in:.Chief..AII~I)>M. S91 mon....., '.:...,.... USEPA-ERL, 200 S~W; 35th Street,Coi-v~His, OR 97333, (503) '7'2 Fax: (503) E~mail: solomon@heart.cor.epa.gov. Section.Edito~, Technological Tools..... D. W.lnouye AssociateEditor bavicia.(;()(.)ding Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, Colleg~ E$A Publications Office, 118 flrospectstree~~ Suite 212,... ::oe:::~~:~~~u~ii.wndodu. I-NYI~5616. EI~N,E~drer. Department of Biology, University of South Ca\cilina--Aiken, ESAPubhcati~ns Offi.ce, lis Pr()spect Strl:)et, Suit~ 2q; SC 2980L haroldo@aiken.sc.edu. lthaca~n'( Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America

5 Ecological Resource Monitoring: Change and Trend Detection Workshop Report The Sustainable Biosphere Initiative, a project of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), hosted a workshop, "Ecological Resource Monitoring: Change and Trend Detection," at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, 1-3 May This joint effort of the Statistical Ecology Section of ESA, the Section on Statistics and the Environment of the American Statistical Association (ASA), and the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), provided a forum for interaction between the statistical and ecological communities. The workshop sought to assess the current scientific knowledge and science gaps in change and trend detection methodology used in ecological resource monitoring. Monitoring is a multidisciplinary activity common to all environments, but activities must be tailored to each habitat. The workshop drew upon experience from different scientific disciplines, monitoring methods and habitats. Twelve invited papers covered four types of monitoring programs: intensive or sentinel sites, networks of sites, surveys, and complete coverage, as well as two environments: aquatic and terrestrial. These presentations provided stimulus for the lively and extended discussions of the 35 scientists in attendance. The general themes that emerged from this workshop comprise a set of findings and policy recommendations for EMAP and the National Environmental Monitoring Framework (Committee on Environment and Natural Resources), an effort to increase cooperation, coordination, and our understanding of the state of environmental resources. This set of succinct workshop recommendations has been submitted to (1) the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) part of the National Science and Technology Council, (2) the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), (3) Robert Huggett at EPA, (4) Mark Shaeffer at DOl (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science) and D. James Baker at DOC (Under Secretary and Administrator, NOAA). Additionally, a Special Feature for Ecological Applications is also under development. Revisions are being directed to our guest editors, Philip Dixon of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and Tony Olsen of EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory. Findings and recommendations Recommendations from the workshop are particularly timely, as federal environmental monitoring programs such as those of EMAP, CENR, National Research Council, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, currently are being evaluated. I. Environmental monitoring guidelines An environmental monitoring framework must recognize the different roles of intensive (sentinel) sites, networks of sites, surveys, and complete coverage in assessing trends in ecological resources. Each type of monitoring program yields unique or specific information. Intensive sites provide process understanding (e.g., nutrient fluxes, recruitment) but are not applicable at the regional or national level; networks are generally used for monitoring of large-scale resources such as air or soil and may (e.g., atmospheric deposition) or may not (e.g., lake acidification) be useful for characterizing regional scale phenomena; and surveys, which are often more policy oriented, provide information that can be statistically generalized to regional or national scales. Intensive sites are often ecologically unique, may not be representative of subsets of populations, and should not be treated like statistical samples from a region. For continental or regional scales, networks of sites and surveys (such as EMAP) are generally more effective in detecting trends than intensive sites because they provide information on causeand-effect relationships. Trends detected at intensive sites within an area may be different than trends revealed through survey monitoring. Networks of sites provide data about the functioning of a regional ecosystem and the impacts of large-scale environmental stressors. Intensive sites collect more information per site than monitoring networks, which collect more information per site than surveys. Monitoring networks are often most successful in following stressors per se than responses to stressors. Monitoring sites mayor may not be representative of regional phenomena (depending on siting criteria and what is measured). Survey sites are generally designed to be representative of habitats. Because ecological and statistical significance are not the same, it is better to report confidence intervals for measured attributes rather than simply stating that a result was (or was not) statistically significant. It is important to clearly state assumptions made in data analysis so that the limitations of inferences can be determined. The term "trend" has many uses. Researchers must clearly identify what is meant by "trend." "Trend" usually infers general tendency or unidirectional change. However, the design and analysis of data from a sampling or monitoring program may be jeopardized by an unclear definition of trend. For example, different designs are required to obtain information on changes in the ambient mean level of an attribute, versus changes in the mean level of that attribute as a response to anthropogenic stressors. Using the correct design has implications for all aspects of a program. Choice of sampling methodology for detecting trends also depends upon the question being asked. From a statistical standpoint, it is important to formulate the question, and determine an appropriate statistical method or approach, sampling frequency, and duration. January

6 Intensive measurements at a few sites may provide detailed mechanistic information for those sites, but this information may not be generally applicable to the region. Annual indexperiod measurements at survey sites provide regional trend information that cannot be obtained from intensive sites, but the trend information at anyone survey site is less precise than the types of data collected at an intensive site. Survey designs need to include protocols for long-term estimation of net change, descriptions of components of change, and indicators of trends. Monitoring designs must be inherently flexible to accommodate changes in objectives over time. A process should be established to determine how to add new monitoring schemes, maintain existing ones of continued importance, and drop obsolete ones. Wherever possible, changes in sampling methodology should be accompanied by periods of collecting data using both methods so that the consistency of long-term databases is preserved. II. Environmental stressors and effects Early detection of changes in ecological resources through stressororiented monitoring is more effective than effects-oriented monitoring. If possible, it is better to detect the cause of an effect than to detect the resulting multivariate effects. However, effects-oriented monitoring is essential to assess trends in the state of natural resources. Empirical information relating stressors to effects must be available to predict probable changes in the biotic components of the system. Interaction of anthropogenic and natural disturbances may be a major driver of change. Look for interactions and synergistic effects. There may be no pristine areas available to establish baseline data. We must recognize that observed changes may actually reflect or be superimposed on larger or longer term responses to previous disturbances. III. Spatial and temporal scales Choosing an appropriate spatial and temporal scale for measurement depends on the level of understanding of the ecological processes to be monitored and the indicators or responses to be measured. Reporting monitoring results at multiple spatial and temporal scales of aggregation is also necessary to detect trends at regional or continental scales. Ecologists and statisticians must work together on methods for extending findings from intensive sites to surveys. Trend studies should focus on the description of trends with associated estimates of uncertainty rather than hypothesis testing. Data must be evaluated carefully, particularly if models are postulated: sometimes models are misspecified. The change of interest could be in the variance, not just the means. Issues such as observer bias, interaction between anthropogenic and natural disturbances, and scale of aggregation may need to be addressed. Interpretation of observed trends is often based on process understanding. It is important to ensure that such understanding' is used to determine what attribute of the system is monitored, where monitoring sites are located, and how often sites are sampled. Such temporal and spatial scale considerations may not be independent. For example, multiple stressors affect the composition of kelp bed communities: El Nino events which are global and interannual; storms, which are regional and episodic; and herbivory, which is local and possibly continuous. IV. Ecology and statistics The usefulness of information on changes and trends in the condition of an ecological resource increases when accompanied by information on changes and trends in one or more stressors. Patterns of change in a measured attribute may appear to be noise, but may actually be the signal of a stressor acting on a different temporal or spatial scale. Statistical means are not always indicative of trends, and statistical variance may be a better indicator of change. V. Policy implications Data from diverse sources gathered at several scales must be synthesized to provide an overall assessment of ecological change. There should be a balance of effort expended on data collection and data analysis and a commitment to a structure for long-term data archiving and curation. Incompatibility of historical data, changes in design, and retirement of investigators are problematic to maintenance of long-term databases. If the framework is to succeed, it is recommended that roughly 20% EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION. Average number of copies of each issue published during the preceding twelve months: (a) total number of copies printed, 7467; (b.1) sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales, 0; (b.2) paid mail subscriptions, 5228; (c) total paid circulation, 5228; (d) free distribution by mail, 23; (e) free distribution outside the mail, 2: (f) total free distribution, 25; (g) total distribution, 5253; (h. 1) office use, leftovers, spoiled, 2214; (h.2) returns from news agents, 0; (i) total, Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: (a) total number of copies printed, 7000; (b. 1 ) sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales, 0; (b.2) paid mail subscriptions, 6906; (c) total paid circulation, 6906; (d) free distribution by mail, 24; (e) free distribution outside the mail, 2: (f) total free distribution, 26; (g) total distribution, 6932; (h.i) office use, leftovers, spoiled, 68; (h.2) returns from news agents, 0; (i) total, Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America

7 of resources be allotted to archiving collected data, and a process for data sharing should be established. Survey studies address policy questions requiring descriptions of the state of natural resources, while intensive sites address policy questions requiring scientific understanding of ecological processes. A process should be established to decide how to add new monitoring schemes, maintain existing ones of continued importance, and drop obsolete ones. Statistical and ecological experts can aid in bringing agencies together to deal with diverse interests in a network of monitoring schemes. Joint research should be encouraged between ecologists and statisticians on integration of findings from intensive sites and surveys. This is a formidable challenge. Improved collaboration of ecologists and statisticians can contribute an interdisciplinary focus to the National Monitoring Framework, thus providing reliable detection of change in ecological resources, and ultimately, increasing our understanding of novel and complex ecological phenomena. Submitted by: ESA Statistical Ecology Section Chair: Tony Olsen, US EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory 200 SW 35th St. Corvallis, OR Bruce P. Hayden University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences Charlottesville, VA Aaron M. Ellison Department of Biological Sciences Mount Holyoke College 50 College St. South Hadley, MA American Statistical Association Section on Statistics and the Environment Gary W. Oehlert Department of Applied Statistics University of Minnesota 1994 Buford Ave. St. Paul, MN Sylvia R. Esterby Aquatic Ecosystem Protection Branch National Water Research Institute 867 Lakeshore Road P.O. Box 5050 Burlington, Ontario Canada L 7R 4A6 ESA Sustainable Biosphere Initiative Staff For more information contact Bruce M. Kahn, (202) Other Notices National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis Call for Nominations for the Science Advisory Board The Science Advisory Board of NCEAS ( is filling five vacancies on the 19- member Board beginning in October 1997, with terms running 3 years. Nominations for candidates from ecological and allied disciplines, representing colleges, universities, agencies, or the private sector should be submitted by 31 January Nominations may be sent electronically to nominations@nceas. ucsb.edu, or to NCEAS, 735 State Street, Suite 300, Santa Barbara, CA Please include the nominee's name, affiliation, discipline, and several sentences explaining the person's qualifications. January