Subject: ECOLOG-L Digest - 1 Jan 2002 to 2 Jan 2002 (#2002-3)
There are 8 messages totalling 463 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Secondary Data
2. Fisheries software for teaching - summary
3. fellowships available
4. Seeking Soil Science Ph.D. Assistantship Information
5. guide to trees, web-based
6. FW: USGS Job Opportunity
7. Environmental Job Openings from EnviroNetwork
8. wildlife technicians needed
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 07:58:57 -0500
From: Doug Karpa-Wilson <dkarpawi@INDIANA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Secondary Data
Funny, because you snipped the one bit that I thought most salient
here, that we should use in a precise way when it makes a difference.
The key is whether it leads to confusion. As an aside, I think
Jerrold's example's a bit forced in that it doesn't really reflect
how it's used. The big harrumph here isn't about what to call single
data points, but how to refer to collections of them. In that case,
I've not once encountered a single case where referring to a
collection of data as a single entity (as in "the data is highly
suggestive that wombats are inordinately fond of vanilla ice cream")
rather than a plural entity created any confusion in the slightest.
In the data-as-singular usage, the distinction about single items
that Jerrold raises would be handled with the two other terms
entirely, namely dataset and data point (or datapoint, I suppose ;-)
So, I'd read Jerrold's point that we should be precise "where it
conveys important meaning" to suggest that this debate is in fact
much ado about nothing. I know that's not what he meant, but I'd
love to see any example from any literature anywhere where using the
word "data" to refer to the collection rather than the individual
measurements lead to real confusion.
Since I've got my devil's advocate hat on, I'll go one step further,
but take it as being just a little tongue-in-cheek. I'd suggest that
language is a convention made by those who speak it. So any group
can essentially work out a convention, and often groups that wish to
set themselves apart from others do so by deriving different
conventions. The in-crowd slang phenomenon, if you will. Know the
slang and you're cool. If you don't then you clearly aren't part of
the group. So, I'll do a bit of the postmodern thing here and
suggest that what's going on here isn't so much people feeling
frustrated about many confusing instances, but is more a case of
trying to establish an in-house slang. So we insist (and yes, I will
sometimes correct students' usage of the singular data since it
grates on my ears) that it should be "the data are..." as an exercise
in power, rather than communication. In effect, we say "see? we're
educated and smart. We know about Latin. Neener, neener, neener!"
When we push for arcane usages that don't improve communication, or
establish useless jargon, we do so sometimes in an effort to create
our own little group.
Perhaps I'm alone in this, but it seems to me that the connection of
the scientific community to mainstream society is badly enough frayed
as it is, so insisting on things that don't do anything but set us
apart is dangerous. Therefore, we should all abandon this usage of
data as plural immediately! O.k., maybe not, but the point does come
up why are we *really* insisting on this?
humbly yours,
Doug
>Thanks, Jerrold. You make the point much better than I did regarding th
>need to be exact and clear in scientific writing, and that popular usage
of
>"data" as a singular noun does not meet that standard. Now we need to
>conquer some more misuses such as the ubiquitous and lazy use of
>"significant" to describe anything meaningful, regardless of whether the
>intent is to imply statistical rigor. Or the misuse of "ecological" to
ean
>environmental (yes, I just saw that in a professional journal).
>
>Warren Aney
>Senior Wildlife Ecologist and Curmudgeon
>
>In a message dated 01-Jan-2002 10:03:28 Pacific Standard Time,
>t80jhz1@WPO.CSO.NIU.EDU writes:
>
><< Yes, the word "data" has become used as a singular noun as a sy
onym for
> "information" (especially quantitative information). The popular pres
> began being sloppy about distinguishing between one "datum" and multip
e
> "data" many years ago, and Time magazine once bemoaned this fact by
> observing that "Data aren't any more, they is."
>
> Yes, common usage, even colloquial usage, can find its way into
> dictionaries, and language does, indeed, evolve. But, clarity can
> depend upon the differentiation between a singular and a plural meanin
> (e.g.,, "the first datum" can tell us that reference to the first
> measurement, whereas "the first data" can tel us that reference is to
> the first set of measurements),
> >>
--
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 12:41:16 -0000
From: David Griffiths <D.Griffiths@ULST.AC.UK>
Subject: Fisheries software for teaching - summary
Many thanks to all those who responded to my query about
software for teaching fisheries to mathphobes.
4 respondents mentioned Fish Banks, 3 FAST, 2 Ecobeaker and
there were single mentions for 4 other packages ^Ö I have compiled
some of the comments below.
No one mentioned FishSim - which looks interesting. Code for a
shortened version is given in
M King (1995) Fisheries Biology, assessment and management.
Fishing News Books, Oxford but I have been unable to trace the full
version.
"Robert Curry" { HYPERLINK "mailto:robert.curry@villanova.edu" }robert.curry
villanova.edu sent this
You want FishBanks. It's a simulation game: the students pillage
the fisheries resource while your computer keeps track of the
devastation. The result is nearly always extinction of the resource
... providing ample opportunity for discussion about the Tragedy of
the Commons, alternatives, and the underlying population biology.
I've been using it for 10 years for college-level Ecology and still
have fun with it.
More at
http://www.unh.edu/ipssr/Lab/FishBank.html
"Sandheinrich Mark B" { HYPERLINK "mailto:sandhein.mark@uwlax.edu" }sandhein
mark@uwlax.edu recommended
AbaSim:
It's been a while, but I've used AbaSim. Copyright 1991 by the
South Australian Department of Fisheries. This very user friendly
program simulates what happens to a population of abalone on a
reef fished by abalone divers. "The model uses information about
the growth,
reproduction, mortality, and movement patterns of abalone and the
behavior of divers" It allows the user to simulate different
management strategies and examine the resulting effect on the
abalone population.
An outline description of the program is available at
{ HYPERLINK http://www.fisheries.org/cus/library/cuslibm2.htm }http://www.fi
heries.org/cus/library/cuslibm2.htm
"Verreault, Guy" { HYPERLINK "mailto:guy.verreault@fapaq.gouv.qc.ca" }guy.ve
reault@fapaq.gouv.qc.ca:
I had the same problem with some of my students and I use the
Fishery Analyses and Simulation Tools (FAST) software. It works
great and enhances student skills to investigate fishing strategies
and population dynamics. You can find more on FAST at:
{ HYPERLINK http://www.fisheries.org/cus/Reviews/FAST-review.htm }http://www
fisheries.org/cus/Reviews/FAST-review.htm
Jason Drake { HYPERLINK "mailto:jasdrak@Glue.umd.edu" }jasdrak@Glue.umd.edu:
I would recommend that you try EcoBeaker (www.ecobeaker.com)
and more specifically the "Fish Harvesting Strategies" laboratory
(http://www.ecobeaker.com/LaboratoriesCollege.html).
This is one of the "college-level" labs, but there are also labs at the
high school level
that might also be appropriate for a freshman-level non-majors
ecology class. I used EcoBeaker several years ago for a class,
and I found it very user friendly (even back then!). I've heard that the
latest versions are much improved.
"Scott Meyer" { HYPERLINK "mailto:scott_meyer@fishgame.state.ak.us" }scott_m
yer@fishgame.state.ak.us suggested
The recently published book by Malcolm Haddon 2001. Modelling
and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries. Chapman and Hall/CRC
(www.crcpress.com). The book contains spreadsheets and
excellent descriptions of each concept, but I have found minor
errors in the spreadsheets. All spreadsheets are downloadable at
http://www.utas.edu.au/docs/tafi/TAFI_Homepage.html.
Also check out the software MOCPOP, a "flexible system for
simulation of age-structured populations and stock-related
functions". It was written by Ray Beamesdorfer of Oregon Dept. of
Fish and Wildlife, and is available from the American Fisheries
Society at
http://www.fisheries.org/cus/library/cuslib30.htmrecent.
"Mike Conroy" { HYPERLINK "mailto:conroy@smokey.forestry.uga.edu" }conroy@sm
key.forestry.uga.edu wrote
Not specifically fisheries but maybe helpful:
http://fisher.forestry.uga.edu/popdyn/
also
http://fisher.forestry.uga.edu/FORS5770/adaptive.html
for some modeling in a (harvest) decision making context
David Griffiths
School of Biological & Environmental Studies
University of Ulster
Coleraine
UK
BT52 1SA
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 11:39:33 -0500
From: "Scott D. Bridgham" <scott.d.bridgham.1@ND.EDU>
Subject: fellowships available
<html>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica"><b><u>Ph.D. Positions Availa
le at the
University of Notre Dame<br>
<br>
</b></u>The departments of Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineeri
g &
Geological Sciences, and Biological Sciences at the University of Notre
Dame are recruiting Ph.D. students for a new Interdisciplinary Training
Grant on <u>Interfaces of Ecology, Geology, and Engineering</u>.
This
training grant is designed to bring together ecologists, geologists, and
engineers to study the impacts of new chemicals in the environment on
ecological and geological processes. Competitive stipend, full tuition
waiver, research and travel support, and opportunities for international
research are provided. Application deadline is February 1, 2002. Details
of the training grant, faculty involved, and application procedure are
available at the following web site:
</font><a href="http://www.nd.edu/~novelchm" eudora="autourl"><
font face="Arial, Helvetica" color="#0000FF"><u>http://www.nd.edu/~
ovelchm</a><br>
<br>
</font></u><br>
<br>
<br>
<div>Scott D. Bridgham, Ph.D.</div>
<div>Associate Professor</div>
<div>Department of Biological Sciences</div>
<div>P.O. Box 369</div>
<div>University of Notre Dame</div>
<div>Notre Dame, IN 46556-0369</div>
<div>phone: (219) 631-4921 fax: (219)
631-7413</div>
<div>bridgham.1@nd.edu</div>
<div><a href="http://www.science.nd.edu/biology/faculty/bridgham.ht
l" EUDORA=AUTOURL>www.science.nd.edu/biology/faculty/bridgham.html</a>
</div>
<a href="http://www.nd.edu/~soilwarm" EUDORA=AUTOURL>www.nd.edu/~soilw
rm</a>
</html>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 08:58:20 -0800
From: Alicia Wick <alleywick@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Seeking Soil Science Ph.D. Assistantship Information
Hello colleagues
I am seeking information on available Soil Science
Ph.D. assistantships for an overseas colleague with a
(U.S) Masters' degree in soil science who is
interested in pursuing a doctorate in the States.
If your program has opportunities in this capacity,
please contact me with information to pass along.
Many thanks,
A. Wick
alleywick@yahoo.com
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send your FREE holiday greetings online!
http://greetings.yahoo.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 11:41:49 -0700
From: David Inouye <di5@umail.umd.edu>
Subject: guide to trees, web-based
The NetWatch column in the 21 Dec. issue of Science recommends
www.treeguide.com for its accounts of more than 800 species, including
range maps.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 15:51:40 -0500
From: Jennifer Fontes <jfontes@ECO.ORG>
Subject: FW: USGS Job Opportunity
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jaina D'Ambra
> Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 3:38 PM
> To: Jennifer Fontes
> Subject: USGS Job Opportunity
>
> Please circulate this USGS job opportunity to qualified candidates. Oth
r
> ECO positions can be found on our website at www.eco.org. Thanks!
>
>
>
> Energy Resources Team
> YOUR ID - Reston, VA #1142
> Sponsored by US Geological Survey
> Description:
> The Energy Resources Team conducts research on the identification and
> assessment of nonrenewable resources (petroleum, natural gas and coal)
f
> the United States as well as the environmental effects of resource
> recovery, including acid mine drainage and hazardous air pollutants. Th
> Program requires Geographic Information system expertise that will aid
n
> two multi-year projects dealing with the assessment of coal reserves in
> the US. This information will also be used in science briefings to
> Congress, the Department of Interior, other Federal agencies, State
> governments, private industry, scientific audiences, and internal
> audiences. Longer-term projects include print media such as fact sheets
> brochures, maps, CD ROM products, and books, as well as on-line media s
ch
> as WEB pages.
>
> Objectives of Internship:
>
> To provide support in the areas of Arc/Info application and data base
> development. Associate will receive direction from Program Coordinators
> and (or) Program Scientists who will assign tasks and prioritize worklo
d.
>
> Specific Tasks:
>
> The Associate will be independently developing and designing Arc/Info d
ta
> bases and applications, seeking assistance from the Project Chief on mo
e
> advanced technical issues. These applications were designed utilizing
> ArcView code (avenue) and AMLs for Arc/Info. The Associate will have
> knowledge of cartographic principles and procedures so that the output
> generated from the applications are able to meet USGS standards. The li
t
> of products the Associate will be generating are, hard copy maps, digit
l
> maps, slides, data bases, applications, display information for CD-ROMS
> briefing sheets, poster boards, and WWW pages. Associates may assist Te
m
> employees and contractors in using ArcInfo databases and applications,
nd
> may participate in making presentations to USGS personnel and others on
> the GEO Data Explorer program. Training as needed may be provided on-si
e
> or off-site in a formal classroom setting or on the job.
>
> Work Experience Benefit to Intern:
>
> The Associate will gain experience in the development of Arc/Info tools
> for scientists and end users. The Associate will be dealing with all th
> Arc/Info modules (GRID, SCAN, TIN etc.) and will become adept at a vari
ty
> of tools and methods used to effectively communicate scientific data.
> Contact with earth-science researchers will develop a broad knowledge a
d
> understanding of USGS research and its relation to other Federal and
> International science activities.
> Qualifications:
> Bachelor's degree with at least a 2.9 or higher GPA, and at least 30 ho
rs
> of post graduate training.
>
> Ability to conduct research via the internet
>
> Familiarity with modern desktop operating systems and networks.
>
>
> Additional Qualifications desirable:
>
> Familiarity with GIS concepts and applications, especially Arc VIew or
> ARC/Info
>
> Familiarity with UNIX operating systems and TCP/IP networks
>
> Ability to script interactive multimedia applications for WWW (JavaScri
t,
> Perl, VBScript), CD ROM (Macromedia Director, DemoShield), or GIS
> (Avenue).
>
> Familiarity with desktop office products such as word processors,
> spreadsheets, and databases, especially Microsoft Office.
>
> Familiarity with Adobe Photoshop
>
> Familiarity with Adobe Illustrator or Micrographics Designer
>
> Ability to communicate orally with team scientists and other government
> officials and guests.
> Terms:
> Full-time; 1 year with the possibility of extending to two years; $13.2
6
> per hour; $27, 593 per year; Start Date: ASAP; Deadline to Apply: Janua
y
> 18, 2002
> Contact:
> Send Resume to Jaina D'Ambra, Internship Program Coordinator at
> jdambra@eco.org or 179 South Street Boston, MA 02111 or fax: 617.426.81
9.
>
>
> Jaina D'Ambra
> USGS Internship Program Coordinator
> Environmental Careers Organization
> Phone: 617.426.4375 x 134
> Fax: 617.426.8159
> www.eco.org
>
>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 16:00:33 -0500
From: EnviroNetwork@NATURALIST.COM
Subject: Environmental Job Openings from EnviroNetwork
Title: Inorganic Manager
Company: recruiter for environmental and water testing service - Connecticut
Location: southeast, Connecticut
For more information click below:
http://www.naturalist.com/eco-jobs/index.cfm?temp=job&job=5027
Title: Summer Teacher Naturalist
Company: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
Location: Townsend, Tennessee
For more information click below:
http://www.naturalist.com/eco-jobs/index.cfm?temp=job&job=5026
Title: Recycling Coordinator
Company: Newberg Garbage and Recycling
Location: Newberg, Oregon
For more information click below:
http://www.naturalist.com/eco-jobs/index.cfm?temp=job&job=5024
Title: Webmaster
Company: Environmental Working Group
Location: Washington, DC
For more information click below:
http://www.naturalist.com/eco-jobs/index.cfm?temp=job&job=5023
Title: Technical Advisor
Company: Mothers for Clean Air / Environmental Institute of Houston
Location: Houston, Texas
For more information click below:
http://www.naturalist.com/eco-jobs/index.cfm?temp=job&job=4969
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 14:18:18 -0800
From: "Murden, Blake" <BMurden@PORTBLAKELY.COM>
Subject: wildlife technicians needed
Job Announcement
Port Blakely Tree Farms, L.P., a privately owned timber company in
western Washington is currently seeking seasonal wildlife technicians
for the 2002 field season.
Job Description: duties will consist primarily of conducting stream
surveys using electro-shocking and visual survey techniques to determine
fish distributions, aquatic habitat inventories, riparian habitat
assessment, and amphibian surveys in Oregon and western Washington.
Position will also entail assisting wildlife staff with research
projects and other duties as assigned.
Successful applicants must: 1) be able to hike for extended periods in
rough terrain, pack moderate loads, wade in streams, often in inclement
weather conditions; 2) be able to work independently or in groups; 3) be
enthusiastic, responsible and self motivated; 4) possess a valid
driver's license; Preference will be given to candidates with prior
experience in field work.
Dates of employment: March - August 2002 (term of employment not to
exceed 1000 hours).
Salary: competitive and commensurate with experience and education.
To apply: submit a letter of interest, resume, and the names and phone
numbers of 3 references to:
Blake Murden
Port Blakely Tree Farms
7515-A Terminal Street SW
Tumwater, WA 98501
bmurden@portblakely.com
(360) 570-7127
Deadline for application: February 10, 2002
------------------------------
Subject: ECOLOG-L Digest - 26 Dec 2001 to 27 Dec 2001 (#2001-43)
There are 4 messages totalling 225 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Missouri Dept Conservation Spring Temp Job Announcement
2. Position Announcement - Amphibian/Aquatic Invertebrate Ecologist
3. Looking for San Diego Sub-Contractors
4. canopy analysis
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 08:48:30 -0600
From: "Warren K. Moser" <The4ester@CS.COM>
Subject: Missouri Dept Conservation Spring Temp Job Announcement
SPRING JOB ANNOUNCEMENT:
FORESTRY TECHNICIANS
MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
Two (2) field technicians are needed to work on a regeneration and stand
structure survey conducted on selected Department of Conservation
properties throughout the State of Missouri.
This project will examine two themes:
a. Bottomland hardwood regeneration in relation to overstory
composition (34% of time) and
b. Comparison of stand structure and regeneration in a
chronosequence of burned or harvested upland hardwood stands (66% of
time).
Employment Dates: February 15 through May 15, 2002 (12 weeks).
Pay: $8.29/hour, 40 hours/week. Work transportation is provided.
Housing is available during times technicians are within driving
distance of Ellington, Missouri (located in the southeast part of the
state). Occasional overnight travel will be required.
Job Duties: Technicians will be responsible for field identification of
understory and overstory arboreal woody species (trees). Specific
responsibilities will include:
1) Identifying target areas of specific age class and species
distribution to sample;
2) Locating and measuring overstory and understory vegetation
measurement plots;
3) Using GPS receiver to reference plot locations; and
4) Entering data into database and/or spreadsheet programs.
Additional responsibilities may include assisting other biologists on
community insect study.
Minimum Qualifications: Successful applicants should have the following
credentials: 1) completed coursework in dendrology and/or plant taxonomy
or related fields, 2) willingness to travel extensively throughout the
work week, 3) ability to work well in small groups and alone, with
minimal supervision, 4) ability to record and maintain data in an
accurate, consistent, and organized fashion, 5) ability to communicate
well with work partner and with supervisor, and 6) possession of valid
driver's license. Applicants with strong juvenile and mature tree
identification skills, previous field experience, and experience
operating 4x4 vehicles in muddy conditions will be preferred.
Application Deadline: January 15, 2002.
For more information, and to apply: Please send a cover letter,
resume/CV (including list of 3 references), and unofficial copies of
transcripts to:
Dr. W. Keith Moser
Silviculturist
Missouri Department of Conservation
Forestry Research
1110 S. College Ave.
Columbia, MO 65201
Phone: (573) 882-9880 (ext. 3320)
E-mail: the4ester@cs.com OR moserw@mail.conservation.state.mo.us
FAX: (573) 882-4517
Successful applicants must submit to a drug screen prior to employment.
The Missouri Department of Conservation is an Equal Opportunity Employer
M/F.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 16:16:20 -0600
From: Mark Hilton <mark_hilton@USGS.GOV>
Subject: Position Announcement - Amphibian/Aquatic Invertebrate Ecologist
Hello Everyone:
Please disseminate this position announcement as you see fit.
Regards,
Mark
***************************************************
Mark D. Hilton
NWRC Program Manager
Johnson Controls Inc.
USGS National Wetlands Research Center
700 Cajundome Blvd.
Lafayette, LA 70506
***************************************************
Position Announcement
Posting Date: 21 Dec 01
Closing Date: Until Filled
General Biologist II
Johnson Controls World Services Inc. has an excellent opportunity for a
full-time General Biologist II to perform contract work with the National
Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. Qualified individuals
must have an M.S. (or equivalent experience) in a discipline related to
amphibian and/or aquatic invertebrate ecology. The individual shall have
the ability to work independently within established guidelines and
operational procedures to ensure uniform data collection between field
personnel and succeeding years of data collection and sampling. One-year
experience in data entry and knowledge of PC-based computer systems is
required. Supervisory experience is required. The candidate will be
assisting the Task Order Manager, Dr. Susan Walls, with amphibian and
aquatic invertebrate studies in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Basin.
Research tasks will include the following:
ˇ Acquire biological and environmental data in the field (chorusing male
frog counts, tadpole counts, aquatic invertebrate collections, plant
collections, vegetation sampling or measurements, water and soil sampling,
locating existing study plots, searching and identifying seedlings from
newly germinated to mature trees), as well as assist in checking and
maintaining data loggers.
ˇ Prepare, identify and measure tadpole, insect and plant specimens.
ˇ Perform field and laboratory data entry, proofing, uploading,
downloading, archiving, converting and transferring data files within and
between different computer systems using available software guides.
ˇ Execute simple computer programs designed to analyze biological and
environmental data, produce statistical output, generate graphs, and
produce summary reports of the field and laboratory data.
ˇ Prepare reports on non-scientific data tasks including vehicle and
equipment maintenance, laboratory operations, and bibliographic searches
and archiving.
Johnson Controls offers an excellent benefits package including healthcare,
dental, vision, 401(k), and other employee selected options.
Individuals with the above experience are requested to submit resumes
(including name, address, and phone numbers) for consideration to:
Johnson Controls World Services Inc.
National Wetland Research Center
700 Cajundome Blvd.
Lafayette, LA 70506
Fax: (337)266-8595
E-mail: Mark_Hilton@usgs.gov
Please send letters, faxes, or e-mail messages only
Johnson Controls Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, minorities,
and the disabled are encouraged to apply.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 05:22:10 +0800
From: John Leong <john98@MAIL.COM>
Subject: Looking for San Diego Sub-Contractors
Happy Holidays! I am with a conservation land management company called Pon
Pacific Land Management. We are looking for possible sub-contractors who a
e DBE/BVBE certified in the San Diego area. We are looking for a sub-contra
tor that has experience in part or all of the following areas:
-Identifying non-native/exotic plants to the San Diego/California area.
-Mapping and assessment of existing mitigation sites
-Removal and herbiciding of non-native/exotic plants
-Experience working with databases and GIS
Interested sub-consultants should send their resumes/portfolios to me, John
eong at john@ponopacific.com. You can also reach me via phone at (808) 595-
095. We are in a time sensitive situation and would appreciate a quick resp
nse by those interested.
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
John Leong
Founder
Pono Pacific Land Management
--
_______________________________________________
Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup
1 cent a minute calls anywhere in the U.S.!
http://www.getpennytalk.com/cgi-bin/adforward.cgi?p_key=RG9853KJ&url=http://
ww.getpennytalk.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 15:14:27 -0700
From: Karen Vitkay <kvitkay@BIO2.EDU>
Subject: canopy analysis
I am seeking recommendations for a canopy analysis system. Can anyone offer
advice on self-leveling mounts, fish eye lenses, and/or software to
interpret the images? It will be used with a Nikon digital camera.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
*******************
Karen Vitkay
Research Specialist
Columbia University
Biosphere 2 Center
32540 S. Biosphere Rd.
Oracle, AZ 85623
(520) 896-5120
www.bio2.edu
------------------------------
Subject: ECOLOG-L Digest - 27 Dec 2001 to 28 Dec 2001 (#2001-44)
There are 4 messages totalling 420 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. News: Herbicide Taints Composting Efforts
2. News: Photographing Changes in the Sierra
3. Motivation for Phragmites australis removal
4. SPOTTED OWL RESEARCH ASSISTANTS NEEDED
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 20:52:48 -0800
From: Ashwani Vasishth <vasishth@USC.EDU>
Subject: News: Herbicide Taints Composting Efforts
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000102506dec27.story
Los Angeles Times:
December 27, 2001
Potent Toxin Taints Efforts at Composting
Recycling: Long-lasting herbicide deadly to popular vegetables is
found in compost made from grass and straw. Threat to waste disposal
projects is seen.
By EMILY GREEN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Residue from a herbicide deadly to several common vegetables has turned up
in compost from San Diego to Seattle, threatening the rapidly growing
composting industry and the urban waste disposal projects that depend on
it.
Traces of Clopyralid, manufactured by Dow AgroSciences and toxic to
vegetables such as potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and beans, have been found
in compost made from recycled grass, straw and manure in California,
Washington state, Pennsylvania and New Zealand.
The herbicide, most commonly used to kill backyard dandelions and field
thistles, is not toxic to humans or other mammals. But it causes garden
vegetables to wither and die. Widely used on lawns and wheat crops, the
chemical has found its way into compost through grass clippings, stable
sweepings and manure.
Compost companies and recycling officials say that if the contamination
persists, it could bankrupt the industry. That, in turn, could divert more
than a quarter of California's waste stream back to landfills, busting
landfill quotas and triggering fines for cities and county governments.
In California, which has the most ambitious green-waste recycling
standards in the country, composting projects have diverted nearly
one-third of the waste bound for landfills.
Around the country, compost companies accept about 28 million tons of yard
trimmings each year. The material comes from more than 9,700 curbside
collection programs run by city and county sanitation departments in 37
states.
In Washington, sample testing around the state is finding Clopyralid
residues at rates from 50 to 1,500 parts per billion, five to 300 times
higher than the amount needed to kill sensitive plants.
The chemical was first detected in the soil around dying plants in
Spokane, Wash., in 1999 and a year later in Pullman. In the first sign of
it in California, San Diego's Environmental Services Department, which
recycles 85,000 tons of garden clippings a year, got a positive test in
June from compost it produced.
City sanitation officials in San Diego and Seattle, along with the U.S.
Composting Council, an industry group, are calling for the removal of
Clopyralid from lawn care products. "We feel that potentially all of our
[landfill] diversion is at risk because of this product," said Stephen
Grealy, the recycling program supervisor for San Diego.
"You cannot have a system that mandates recycling of green waste, and
license a garden chemical that makes the waste unrecyclable," said
Gabriella Uhlar-Heffner, solid waste manager for Seattle's public utility
company.
Dow officials say the company did not study the chemical's behavior in
compost when it originally sought permission to market it in 1987. In
1994, the company began putting warnings on the labels of Clopyralid
products saying consumers should not compost materials treated with the
herbicide, a company spokesman said.
The current problems arose because Dow's label warnings were ignored, said
Dow spokesman Garry Hamlin. Material treated with the herbicide should
have been disposed of another way but was recycled, he said.
But San Diego officials responded that the warning "is obscure enough to
confuse any reasonable applicator."
The modern garden-waste recycling industry arose after a 1988 federal
clampdown on landfill standards forced states to substantially reduce the
amount of waste sent to landfills.
California led the way. In 1989, the state passed legislation requiring
every city and county to divert 50% of its waste from landfills by 2000 or
face penalties as high as $10,000 a day.
Los Angeles has exceeded the quota with "about 55%" diversion from
landfills, said Stephen Fortune, principal sanitary engineer with the
Bureau of Sanitation.
Fortune attributed the program's success to a curbside collection system
that picks up about 2,000 tons of yard trimmings a day.
Once collected, the garden clippings are broken down into compost. The
process mimics natural decay on a forest floor, but at temperatures
between 100 and 150 degrees and on an industrial scale of tens of
thousands of tons a year. Unlike Clopyralid, which survives the heat, most
chemicals used in lawn care and agriculture break down completely enough
to satisfy organic farmers.
In California, almost half the compost made from recycled garden clippings
goes to agriculture and 37% to horticulture. A contaminated product,
composters fear, would bring these sales to a standstill.
The launch of Clopyralid preceded the composting movement. Formulations
involving it were first registered in 1987 as products to control
broadleaf weeds such as dandelions and thistles. It was then approved for
use on barley, oats, wheat, sugar beets, Christmas trees, corn, mint and
asparagus, as well as for treatment of range land, pasture, highway aprons
and lawns.
Commercial use of Clopyralid in California began in 1997 and rose to a
peak of 23,718 pounds in 1999. The Department of Pesticide Regulation says
most of it goes for control of yellow thistle on range land and therefore
shouldn't threaten recycling.
But in San Diego, officials suspect that the problems came from grass
clippings.
Clopyralid Controls Thistle in Wheatfields
Dozens of products contain Clopyralid. Dow products that use it include
Lontrel, Transline, Stinger, Reclaim and Confront, Hornet, Scorpion and
Redeem. Pesticides made by other companies but using Clopyralid bought
from Dow include Millennium, Momentum, Chaser Ultra, Battleship, Strike
Three and TruPower.
Clopyralid kills and stunts target plants by imitating hormones called
auxins and causing abnormal growth.
Washington was one of the first markets. The fourth-largest
wheat-producing state in the United States, its farmers have been using
the chemical since 1987. Gretchen Borck, director of issues for the
Washington Assn. of Wheat Growers, defends Clopyralid as an essential tool
for control of Canadian thistle in a crop worth $458 million a year.
"If we didn't have the Clopyralid, we'd have to use less effective
herbicides and that would increase the poundage of herbicide introduced
into the environment," she said.
The chemical is also popular with commercial lawn care companies. Dan
Warehime, vice president of Senske Lawn and Tree Care in Kennewick, Wash.,
said his company started using Confront about 11 years ago on home lawns
and in schools, parks and commercial properties. "We like the product
because it's very safe to use around homes and residences," he said. "It
has a very low toxicity to my employees and to children and pets."
Its staying power--the chemical can remain potent up to 18 months after
spraying--spares him repeat applications, Warehime said. Although this
sturdiness is a boon for wheat farmers and lawn care companies, it has
made Clopyralid a persistent pollutant.
In 1999, Spokane officials learned from a nursery using city compost that
vegetables cultivated in their compost had been dying. In June 2000, the
problem was encountered again, this time by tenants of a community garden
in Pullman who used compost produced from recycled straw livestock bedding
and manure on the campus of Washington State University.
"The potato plants tried to grow, but turned in on themselves. They were
just mangled and mutilated," said gardener Susan Lutzenhiser.
Investigators, including the university's soil scientist David Bezdicek,
discovered residues of both Clopyralid and a sister chemical, Picloram.
Spokane officials pressed Dow to remove Clopyralid lawn products from
their market, which the company says it did. But the chemical kept
entering the system, Dow suspects through reformulations produced by other
companies.
At Washington State University, compost manager Dan Caldwell said that in
spite of all efforts to keep it out, the Clopyralid level just keeps
rising in his compost unit.
"We have contamination through everything," he said. "We're really in a
quandary about how we're ever going to get clean again."
* * *
Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times
==========
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes. **
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 20:46:37 -0800
From: Ashwani Vasishth <vasishth@USC.EDU>
Subject: News: Photographing Changes in the Sierra
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-000102217dec26.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2
science
Los Angeles Times:
December 26, 2001
THE STATE
Photos Reveal Changes in Sierra
Mountains: 'Repeat photography' based on images 100 or so years old
shows forest is far denser. Fire suppression harms ecology, biologist
says.
By BETTINA BOXALL, TIMES STAFF WRITER
CARSON CITY, Nev. -- A drive into the Sierra Nevada can seem like a
retreat from time, a return to landscapes unmolested by the 20th century.
But though California's signature mountain range remains largely
undeveloped, it is far from unaltered. George E. Gruell has the
photographs to prove it.
The 74-year-old retired federal wildlife biologist hiked, bushwhacked and
occasionally helicoptered his way to dozens of mountain spots recorded in
photographs taken in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He hunted for the
same peaks and boulders, the same vantage points. And when he found them,
he took another photo. In a just-published book, Gruell matches the new
and old images, showing how much the landscapes have changed. In scene
after scene, the contemporary photographs document dense forest and lush
growth. Their historical twins show leaner country in which the trees were
fewer, the ground more open, the meadows more abundant.
The face of the Sierra has filled in--and that, Gruell says, is not a good
thing: not for wildlife, not for the forest and not for the future of the
range's ecosystems.
It has filled in, he suggests, because of a number of factors. Heavy
livestock grazing a century ago bared soil for tree seedlings to take
root. Logging cleared the way for new growth. A comparatively wet climate
cycle in the 1900s promoted tree growth.
Most of all, decades of anti-fire policies banished flames, nature's
gardener, from the woods. Fire needs to be brought back, Gruell argues, to
return the Sierra to what it was.
Gruell's work, partly reimbursed by logging interests, touches on an
impassioned debate about the Sierra Nevada's vast forest land. Logging
levels, the role of fire and the decline in wildlife have been the subject
of fierce political and environmental battles for years.
Both sides may be able to pluck support from Gruell's work. He advocates
prescribed burns--controlled, deliberate fires that many environmentalists
favor as a way of clearing dense undergrowth.
But Gruell also says that logging limits imposed on federal land in the
last decade are too restrictive and that in many places, stands need to be
thinned before a regimen of periodic prescribed burns can be started.
Gruell is well aware that his work, "Fire in Sierra Nevada Forests: A
Photographic Interpretation of Ecological Change Since 1849," is more than
just a picture book.
Sitting last week in the study of his Carson City, Nev., home, he said it
took him a while to find a publisher because of the work's implications.
"This publicly advocates [forest] management, which involves disturbing
the landscape. And there are a great many people out there who don't want
any disturbance in the landscape," he said.
It is not the first time Gruell has said things not everyone wanted to
hear. He started using repeat photography--taking photos of the same sites
chronicled in historical photographs--early in his career.
By documenting changes in the landscape, he could trace changes in
wildlife habitat and thus influences on wildlife populations. Sometimes
his findings didn't reflect the common wisdom, but Gruell says he was
never told to shut up.
After retiring from the U.S. Forest Service in 1987, he started lecturing
and consulting on fire ecology and fire's effect on wildlife habitat.
In 1992, the California Forestry Assn., a timber industry group, offered
him a contract to conduct a repeat photographic study of the Sierra
Nevada. He produced a brochure of about 20 photographs and wanted to do
more. So he pursued the work on his own, poring over thousands of old
photographs in historical libraries.
When he came across scenes that were well identified or had distinguishing
features, he made a copy and set out for the area with a camera, asking
locals for guidance. Sometimes he found the spot from a road. Sometimes he
hiked for hours off trails, clambering through bushes and scouring the
ridgelines for vistas that matched the old ones.
He couldn't always find them the first time and had to return to some
sites. For three photographs in which the view was blocked by trees, he
used a helicopter to get the shot.
A Ventura County native who smiles easily and played minor league baseball
as a young man, Gruell is fit and lanky. He hunts, hikes and bicycles, so
he was well-prepared for his back-country treks for the book.
Gruell said he had been rejected by several publishers and was waiting to
hear from another when he showed his manuscript to the Forest Foundation,
a nonprofit group affiliated with the California Forest Products
Commission, funded by industry companies.
The foundation was interested in his work and paid him a fee that covered
his expenses in developing the book. Gruell said the foundation also
arranged to get copies of his book at cost from Mountain Press Publishing
Co. in Montana, which issued it last month.
Gruell said he that had no reservations about taking a fee from the
foundation and that it exerted no influence on his work. "It's an
objective look at the landscape and what has happened," Gruell said.
He snapped his first repeat photographs with a 35-millimeter camera
borrowed from his aunt while working for the Nevada fish and game
department in the 1950s. When he joined the U.S. Forest Service in 1962,
he started using large-format cameras belonging to the service.
Over the years, he produced series of repeat photographs from national
forests in Nevada, Wyoming and parts of the northern Rockies. In the late
1970s, he went to work at the forest service's fire research laboratory in
Missoula, Mont.
Again and again, his photographs showed that the landscape had been more
open a century ago. Along with others, Gruell began to question the forest
service policy of fighting fires and suppressing the natural fire cycle.
Federal forest managers have in the last couple of decades retreated
somewhat from that stance, undertaking some prescribed burns and allowing
some wild-land fires to go unextinguished. But Gruell says the anti-fire
mentality remains too entrenched, contributing to a number of problems.
Without nature's cycle of frequent fire to clean out undergrowth, the
forest has become so dense that when fire does strike, it can reach
catastrophic intensity. The relatively open "edge" areas that offer food
for many kinds of wildlife have diminished. The tree canopy has become so
thick that desirable plants beneath have declined.
In places, he said, the Sierra resembles a jungle.
* * *
Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times
==========
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes. **
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 21:36:46 -0500
From: Fiske and Holt <nfiske@RCN.COM>
Subject: Motivation for Phragmites australis removal
Dear Listers,
Does anyone have any figures on the amount of money spent on Phragmites
australis removal any time in the last 10 or 20 years, by any federal,
state, municipal or private agency, or on the acreage or hectares affected?
I am especially interested in examples in which the motivation for the
removal was in order to improve habitat for any "wildlife" taxa.
Please respond directly to me.
Eric Holt
e-mail: nfiske@rcn.com
Thank you.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 17:11:36 CST
From: David Pavlacky <pavla003@UMN.EDU>
Subject: SPOTTED OWL RESEARCH ASSISTANTS NEEDED
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS (7-16) needed 1 Apr.-late Aug. 2002 for long-term
population and habitat ecology studies of the Northern Spotted Owl in NW
CA; California Spotted Owl in the Sierra Nevada, CA; and the Mexican
Spotted Owl in AZ and NM. The pay rate is $1300- 1700/mo depending on
experience. Successful applicants will assist in monitoring, banding,
and
re-sighting spotted owls, and conduct vegetation surveys for ongoing
research projects. Must be physically fit (i.e., able to walk long
distances in extremely steep terrain), take detailed field notes, be
able
to work at night off trail, and be able to identify birds by color band.
Applicants with a BS (or in progress) in wildlife, biology, or related
fields are preferred. Must be able to start early Apr. (a few positions
may be available in May). Any questions can be directed to David
Pavlacky
at pavla003@umn.edu. Submit a letter of interest, CV, and the names,
addresses, and phone numbers of three references by 1 Feb. 2002 to: Dr.
R.
J. Gutiérrez, Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife, 200 Hodson Hall,
University
of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108.
David C. Pavlacky Jr.
Research Fellow
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
University of Minnesota
St. Paul, MN 55108
Present Address:
2613 Stanford Road Apt. A26
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Home: 970 266 1806
Office: 970 491 5038
pavla003@umn.edu
dpavlacky@hotmail.com
------------------------------
End of ECOLOG-L Digest - 27 Dec 2001 to 28 Dec 2001 (#2001-44)
**************************************************************
˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙
Thanks to discussion with TVR, I have decided to put a link to back files of the discussion group. This months back files.
The link to complete archives is available elsewhere.
This text was originally an e-mail. It was converted using a program
RUPANTAR- a simple e-mail-to-html converter.
(c)Kolatkar Milind. kmilind@ces.iisc.ernet.in