Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Effect Of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum Esculentum) On Soil Phosphorus Availability And Organic Acids, Angela R. Possinger, Loren B. Byrne, Nancy Breen E. Breen

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

As a cover crop, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) may increase soil-P availability. Buckwheat was grown in low-P and P-fertilized field plots, and organic anions were measured in rhizosphere soil. Soil-P availability was not affected by buckwheat, but the concentration of rhizosphere tartrate2– was significantly higher (p < 0.005) in low-P vs. P-fertilized plots. This suggests that organic-anion root exudation may have a role in buckwheat-rhizosphere P dynamics.

An In-Class Role-Playing Activity To Foster Discussion And Deeper Understanding Of Biodiversity And Ecological Webs, Loren B. Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

In a general sense, biodiversity is an intuitively simple concept, referring to the variety of Earth’s organisms. Ecologists, however, conceptualize biodiversity in a more nuanced, multidimensional way to reflect the enormous diversity of species, niches, and interspecific interactions that generate spatiotemporal complexity in communities. Students may not fully comprehend or appreciate this deeper meaning if they fail to recognize the full range of species in a community (e.g., the often-ignored microbes and small invertebrates) and how their varied interactions (e.g., mutualism, parasitism) and activities (e.g., ecosystem engineering) affect an ecosystem’s emergent structure (e.g., food webs) and function (e.g., decomposition). To …

Cryptic Species: A Mismatch Between Genetics And Morphology In Millepora, Craig Tepper, Benjamin J. Greenstein

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Millepore morphology is highly variable and shows signs of phenotypic plasticity. Two species of Millepora are present around the islands of the Bahamas: one exhibiting a strong, blade-like structure, Millepora complanata, and the other having a delicate branch-like structure, Millepora alcicornis. The phylogenetic relationship of these corals has been under considerable debate for many years. The existence of a range of intermediate growth forms exhibiting characteristics of both recognized species has led to the re-examination of this species complex. Several methods were employed to examine the taxonomic relationship including ecological abundance surveys, morphological thin-section analysis, and sequencing of …

Scratching The Surface And Digging Deeper: Exploring Ecological Theories In Urban Soils, Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman, Loren B. Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Ecological Landscaping: A Holistic Description And Framework To Guide The Study And Management Of Urban Landscape Parcels, Loren B. Byrne, Parwinder Grewal

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Urbanized ecosystems and urban human populations are expanding around the world causing many negative environmental effects. A challenge for achieving sustainable urban social ecological systems is understanding how urbanized landscapes can be designed and managed to minimize negative outcomes. To this end, an interdisciplinary Ecological Landscaping conference was organized to examine the interacting sociocultural and ecological causes and consequences of landscaping practices and products. This special issue of Cities and the Environment contains a diverse set of articles arising from that conference. In this introductory paper, we describe the meaning of ecological landscaping and a new conceptual framework that helps …

Ecosystem Properties Of Urban Land Covers At The Aboveground-Belowground Interface, Loren B. Byrne, Mary Ann Bruns, Ke Chung Kim

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Understanding of ecological differences among urban land covers can guide the sustainable management of urbanized landscapes for conservation of ecosystem services. The objective of our study was to compare ecosystem properties at the aboveground–belowground interface of three land cover types commonly found in residential landscapes: lawns, bark mulch, and gravel mulch. Using unmowed vegetation as a reference land cover, we measured surface soil variables (to 5 cm depth), CO2 fluxes, and ground temperatures in experimental field plots within 3 years after their creation. Each land cover had a distinctive set of ecosystem properties. Mulched plots had significantly warmer soil and …

Symposium: Effects Of Human Choices On Characteristics Of Urban Ecosystems, Loren Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Most urban ecology in cities remains an “ecology in cities” rather than an “ecology of cities.” Accomplishing the latter requires the inclusion of humans within the concept of “ecosystem,” both how humans alter the properties of urban ecosystems and how these alterations in turn influence human well-being. These influences are both direct (e.g., physiological and psychological influences on the human organism) and indirect, by influencing ecosystem sustainability.

For the 2007 ESA meeting, Larry Baker, Loren Byrne, Jason Walker, and Alex Felson organized a symposium to address the relationships among human choices and urban ecosystems. In the introductory talk of this …

Biodiversity Loss And The Taxonomic Bottleneck: Emerging Biodiversity Science, Ke Chung Kim, Loren B. Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Human domination of the Earth has resulted in dramatic changes to global and local patterns of biodiversity. Biodiversity is critical to human sustainability because it drives the ecosystem services that provide the core of our life-support system. As we, the human species, are the primary factor leading to the decline in biodiversity, we need detailed information about the biodiversity and species composition of specific locations in order to understand how different species contribute to ecosystem services and how humans can sustainably conserve and manage biodiversity. Taxonomy and ecology, two fundamental sciences that generate the knowledge about biodiversity, are associated with …

Of Looks, Laws And Lawns: How Human Aesthetic Preferences Influence Landscape Management, Public Policies And Urban Ecosystems, Loren B. Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Lawn Management On Soil Microarthropods, Loren B. Byrne, Mary Anne Bruns

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Scale Model Of A Soil Aggregate And Associated Organisms: A Teaching Tool For Soil Ecology, Mary Anne Bruns, Loren B. Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Soil is a complex habitat for diverse biota. A significant challenge in teaching soil ecology is our inability to observe organisms as they live and interact in the soil. The objective of this article is to describe an interactive class project to help students visualize the sizes of different groups of soil organisms and to relate these to soil structural components. This project was carried out by students in an upper-level undergraduate soil ecology class. It involved the design and construction of a 4000× scale model of a soil aggregate and its associated organisms. The body of the model was …