community dynamics

Personal Background

  • Speaker's origin
    • From Texas
    • Lived in other places such as New Mexico
  • Career trajectory
    • Curator role until the previous year
    • Transitioned to a teaching professor position
    • Previous teaching experience in related fields

Research Focus

  • Primary subject of research
    • Repositive amphibians
  • Examples of species studied
    • Barking Gecko
    • Origin: Adelaari
    • Focus during PhD study
    • Known for their unique burrowing behavior
    • Houston Toad
    • Local species
    • Research emphasis on conservation
    • Sagebrush Lizard
    • Habitat: Mescalero Monahan sand dunes
    • Characteristics: Small species with limited range; impacted by habitat fragmentation due to oil and gas activities in the Permian Basin
    • Spot-tailed Eelos Lizard
    • Involvement in genetic research leading to the identification of three subspecies
    • Current status: Populations being monitored
    • New Mexico Rattlesnake
    • The only threatened venomous snake in the US
    • Habitat: Found in three mountain ranges globally, two in the US
    • Concern: Limited population and marginal habitat

Current Course Focus

  • Overview of class structure and upcoming inquiries
    • Transition to community dynamics as a primary topic of discussion
    • Connection to previous assignments on community dynamics
    • Importance of staying organized with assignments
    • Reminder to engage and communicate with instructors during office hours for support

Learning Goals

  • Emphasis on the following concepts
    • Data and Knowledge
    • Understanding expression and retention methods
    • Structure and Function
    • Key concepts in understanding ecological and biological processes
    • Systems Thinking
    • Environmental systems versus systems in other fields
  • Importance of science literacy
    • Navigating misinformation and understanding the scientific process
    • Relevance of knowledge in personal, professional, and community life
    • Necessity for scientific advancements in society

Inquiry Project Overview

  • Project Description: Prairie Project on Zooniverse
    • Utilizes citizen science to analyze large datasets from images
    • Focus on analyzing wildlife interactions in burned and unburned prairies
  • Methodology
    • Complete an initial Zooniverse assignment involving the scoring of images
    • Participate in discussions and peer engagement
    • Create hypothesis based on patterns observed
    • Conduct research using collected data, culminating in a report
  • Importance of collaboration and feedback in research settings
  • Grading criteria clarified
    • Inquiry project contributes to 15% of overall grade
    • Specific rubric provided for assignments, focusing on clarity and methodology

Community Dynamics

  • Definition and importance
    • Community structure refers to species diversity and abundance within ecological communities
    • Diversity indices used to mathematically assess species diversity based on their relative abundances
  • Types of concepts discussed
    • Holistic vs. individualistic approaches in ecology
    • Gradient analysis and species distribution patterns

Illustration of Key Ecological Concepts

  • Rank Abundance Curves
    • Graphical representation of species richness and evenness
    • Each dot represents a species; different colors indicate different communities
    • Analysis of curves to determine species richness and evenness
    • Evenness: how similar the abundances of species are within a community
  • Shannon Index
    • Mathematical approach to quantify species diversity based on abundance
  • Scenario Analysis
    • Determination of suitable communities for specific tree species (e.g., Red Oak, White Oak, Beach)
    • Discussed requirements for habitat elevation and dryness affecting species occurrence.