Friday, August 10, 2007: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
B3&4, San Jose McEnery Convention Center
OOS 51 - Mechanistic underpinnings of ecological processes: Scaling from genes to ecosystems
Terrestrial ecosystem function is the result of integrated biotic responses to multiple environmental factors. While control of the biotic response ultimately results from genomic control of the organism’s physiology, multiple levels of biological organization and integration are involved. Significant progress has been made in understanding how biotic and abiotic factors influence biological systems at discrete levels of organization (e.g. cellular, organismal, ecosystem). However, there are knowledge gaps in our understanding of the biological integration that underlies how ecosystems function and change in response to their environment. This organized oral session will examine how measures of cellular function, species fitness and biotic interactions can be linked to mechanistically understand how ecosystem structure and function change in response to perturbations and shifts in resource availability. To effectively scale across levels of biological organization will require an integration of expertise, experimental design and techniques across the disciplinary boundaries of ecology, physiology and molecular biology. Session presentations and discussion will emphasize experimental design strategies, data analysis and modeling approaches and technological advances that are likely to lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of the mechanistic underpinnings of ecological processes. While there is reason to be optimistic that important discoveries can be made by integrating molecular tools into ecological research it is also important to recognize that there are significant technical challenges when attempting to characterize ecosystem complexity at finer mechanistic scales. The session will consider the most formidable challenges and pitfalls when using molecular technologies in ecological studies.
Organizer:Sam B. St.Clair, University of Califfornia Berkeley
Co-organizer:David J. Weston, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Moderator:Sam B. St.Clair, University of California Berkeley
8:00 AMOOS 51-1A demographic framework for mapping genes to communities
Per Lundberg, Lund University, Tim Coulson, Imperial College, London, Tim G. Benton, University of Leeds, Bruce E. Kendall, University of California, Santa Barbara, Sasha R. X. Dall, University of Exeter in Cornwall
8:20 AMOOS 51-2Comparison of soil CO2 efflux for different phenotypic assemblages of Bouteloua gracilis
Tulio Arredondo, Instituto Potosino de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Instituto Potosino de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica
8:40 AMOOS 51-3Integrated analysis of the genomic, biochemical, and physiological responses of a model ecosystem to global change
Kelly M. Gillespie, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Fangxiu Xu, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Alistair Rogers, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Andrew DB Leakey, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Don R Ort, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Elizabeth A Ainsworth, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
9:00 AMOOS 51-4The impact of a single gene change in nitrogen metabolism on the structure and function of a model ecosystem grown at current and elevated CO2
Alistair Rogers, Brookhaven National Laboratory, David J. Weston, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tim J. Tschaplinski, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lindsey E. Heady, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Chris W. Schadt, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Stan D. Wullschleger, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
9:20 AMOOS 51-5Microarray technology as an exploratory tool for identifying cellular mechanisms underlying grassland responses to climate change
Sue Thayer, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Samuel B. St. Clair, University of California, Berkeley, Shauna Somerville, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Christopher B. Field, Carnegie Institution of Washington
9:40 AM Break
9:50 AMOOS 51-6A molecular analysis of plant response to global climate change in an annual grassland
Stephanie M. Bernard, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sam StClair, UC Berkeley, Sarah Placella, UC Berkeley, Rohit Salve, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Eoin L. Brodie, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Mary K. Firestone, UC Berkeley, Margaret S. Torn, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, David D. Ackerly, UC Berkeley, Gary L. Andersen, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
10:10 AMOOS 51-716S rRNA microarray analysis of shifts in microbial community composition in response to altered soil moisture and its implications for changes in nutrient cycling
Eoin L. Brodie, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Stephanie M. Bernard, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Samuel B. St Clair, University of California, Berkeley, Sarah A. Placella, University of California, Berkeley, Donald J. Herman, University of California, Berkeley, Rohit Salve, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Margaret S. Torn, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, David D. Ackerly, University of California, Berkeley, Mary K. Firestone, University of California, Berkeley, Gary L. Andersen, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
10:30 AMOOS 51-8Connecting soil microbial N transformations to plant N processing
Mary K. Firestone, University of California, Sarah A. Placella, University of California, Stephanie M. Bernard, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Donald J Herman, University of California, Gary L. Andersen, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
10:50 AMOOS 51-9Toward approaches for disentangling root from microbial contributions to total soil respiration measurements using molecular genetic approaches
Hector F. Castro-Gonzalez, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Emily E. Austin, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Kerri M. Crawford, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Aimee T. Classen, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Richard J. Norby, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Christopher W. Schadt, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
11:10 AMOOS 51-10Species on the edge: Genetic diversity and local climatic adaptation in butterflies with contrasting ecological traits
Evgueni V. Zakharov, University of Notre Dame, Shannon Pelini, University of Notre Dame, Jessica J. Hellmann, University of Notre Dame

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