Monday, August 2, 2010: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
Blrm A, David L Lawrence Convention Center
SYMP 1 - All You Need to Know is... : Advice from Theorists on Managing Ecosystems in a Changing Climate
Major advances in ecological theory can often have little impact on management policy; however given the novel environmental conditions predicted with global climate change, this disconnection between theory and application cannot be allowed to persist. In fact, management cannot be done without prediction, and prediction cannot be done without theory. It seems likely a rapprochement between managers and theorists is one of the few ways in which we can hope to mitigate approaching impacts. Our goal is to provide a forum which demonstrates the benefits that theoretical approaches may have for current and upcoming management problems related to global climate change. To achieve our objective of demonstrating how theory can and will play a role in managing ecosystems in the face of climate change we have invited a group of outstanding ecologists across a range of subfields (e.g., epidemiology, population biology and ecosystem ecology) to describe the essential management recommendations that have emerged from a theoretical approach. Each speaker will provide a single pithy message that mangers can easily understand and apply. The talks will include a balance of more synthetic work focusing on broad themes (statistical issues or conservation in general) and presentations focusing on particular management issues such as control of invasive species, and will be organized from the most general topics to more particular concerns that have immediate policy implications. More generally, this distillation will underline the importance of theory for all ecologists, and the value of producing a message that can be easily communicated to practitioners on the ground. Speakers and participants will also have the opportunity to discuss the role of theory in their sub-discipline, barriers to communication, and recommendations. The symposium will appeal to the broad membership of ESA for three major reasons. First, it will include presentations that range across the entire range of sub-disciplines in ecology. from the global scale to landscape ecology to population ecology, with all levels in between considered. Second, the areas of application will range across different habitats and questions. Additionally, different kinds of theory ranging from statistical to computational to mathematical to synthetic will all be considered. Thus the symposium would help unify many different approaches. Finally, speakers will address an issue of general interest: the importance of theory in managing the impacts of global climate change. We will use the insights developed here as the basis for publication or publications in appropriate forums.
Organizer:	Alan Hastings, University of California, Davis
Co-organizer:	K. Cuddington, University of Waterloo
Moderator:	K. Cuddington, University of Waterloo
Endorsement:	ESA Theoretical Ecology Section
1:30 PM	SYMP 1 -1		Introduction: Advice from theorists on managing ecosystems in a changing climate A. Hastings, University of California, Davis, K. Cuddington, University of Waterloo
1:50 PM	SYMP 1 -2		Global consequences of competition for light, water, and nitrogen among individual plants Stephen W. Pacala, Princeton University, Ray Dybzinski, Princeton University, Caroline E. Farrior, Princeton University, Elena Shevliakova, Princeton University
2:10 PM	SYMP 1 -3		Conservation depends on theory Jordi Bascompte, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC
2:30 PM	SYMP 1 -4		Climate-mediated relations between biodiversity and disease: Answers on the horizon Chris Ray, University of Colorado
2:50 PM	SYMP 1 -5		Controlling invasive species under changing conditions Andrew M. Liebhold, USDA Forest Service
3:10 PM			Break
3:20 PM	SYMP 1 -6		Valuing nature in a changing world Steve Polasky, University of Minnesota
3:40 PM	SYMP 1 -7		Watershed management and restoration in a changing world Margaret Palmer, University of Maryland
4:00 PM	SYMP 1 -8		Marine conservation planning in a changing world Leah R. Gerber, Arizona State University, Eddie Game, The Nature Conservancy, Mary I. O'Connor, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Elizabeth R. Selig, Conservation International, Steven D. Gaines, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara,
4:20 PM	SYMP 1 -9		Statistics needed to study global change: Which ones to use? Marie-Josee Fortin, University of Toronto, Josie Hughes, University of Toronto
4:40 PM	SYMP 1 -10		Ecologists must predict the future… or else. Discuss K. Cuddington, University of Waterloo, A. Hastings, University of California, Davis

See more of Symposium

See more of The 95th ESA Annual Meeting (August 1 -- 6, 2010)