OPS 6 - New Directions in an Ancient Ecosystem: Syntheses, Mechanisms, Models, and Applications in Florida Scrub Research

Thursday, August 5, 2010: 4:30 PM-6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall A, David L Lawrence Convention Center
Organizer:
Eric S. Menges, Archbold Biological Station
Florida scrub is an ancient ecosystem, with fossil records showing its persistence in the landscape for millions of years. Florida scrub is dominated by shrubs despite occurring in areas with abundant rainfall. On a series of excessively drained sandy ridges, the biota has diversified into many unusual species, subspecies, and races. Many are restricted to Florida scrub and narrowly endemic to a small geographic range. Many are also well suited to periodic fire, which is ignited by frequent lightning strikes and fueled by flammable vegetation. Not surprisingly, Florida scrub has received a great deal of descriptive ecological study over the years. We now know quite a bit about patterns in this ecosystem. We understand the role of fire, the ways plants respond to fire, the biogeographic patterns of occurrence, the life history, demography, and behavior of some species, and the conservation status of the ecosystem and many of its component species. However, many modern approaches in ecology are just being applied to Florida scrub. Few (or no) studies exist in ecosystem ecology, herbivore/plant dynamics, dendroecology, soil nutrient dynamics, soil biota/plant interactions, belowground community structure, clonal growth, competition, or spatially explicit vegetation change. This is an exciting time for research on Florida scrub. Many new approaches are being applied for the first time in Florida scrub. These include investigations into the demographic mechanisms behind population change, the physiological basis of traits, and the ecosystem underpinnings of vegetation change. Long-term community and population datasets are bringing new synthetic insights. All these approaches are being applied to management and conservation questions. While there is a deep tradition integrating basic research and conservation in Florida scrub, new insights from studies of genetic patterns, metapopulation biology, and multiple disturbances have clear relevance for land managers, conservation planners, and agency personnel. This organized poster session includes syntheses based on datasets from physiological, demographic, and community studies. It includes studies investigating myriad mechanisms that will help explain well known patterns of change. We also have posters with new modeling and quantitative approaches. Finally, a set of posters considers how recent research is affecting land management and conservation.
 Species composition and spatiotemporal pattern of the seed bank and vegetation in native and degraded Florida rosemary scrub
Jennifer J. Navarra, University of Central Florida; Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, University of Central Florida
 Life history strategies of Florida scrub plants based on 22 years of demographic data
Eric S. Menges, Archbold Biological Station; Stacy A. Smith, Archbold Biological Station
 Fire, land management, and vegetation change: Have we got our fire-management plans right?
Warren G. Abrahamson, Bucknell University; Christy R. Abrahamson, Bucknell University; Matthew A. Keller, Bucknell University
 Leaf traits in Florida scrub ecosystem
Sonali Saha, Institute for Regional Conservation; Patrick Ellsworth, University of Miami
 Demographic results emphasize need for habitat manipulation and augmentation in a rare scrub plant
Sarah J. Haller, Archbold Biological Station; Eric S. Menges, Archbold Biological Station
 Do periodic hurricanes drive stand dynamics of sand pine (Pinus clausa)?
Paul B. Drewa, Case Western Reserve University; William J. Platt, Louisiana State University; Raelene M. Crandall, Washington University
 Clonal spread and estimated ages of palmettos in Florida's xeric uplands
Mizuki K. Takahashi, Bucknell University; Liana M. Horner, Bucknell University; Nathan A. Keller, Bucknell University; Leah M. Foltz, Bucknell University; Jeffrey D. Williams, Bucknell University; Warren G. Abrahamson, Bucknell University
 Effects of fire on nutrient availability and limitation in Florida scrub
Jennifer L. Schafer, North Carolina State University; Michelle C. Mack, University of Florida
 Intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence reproductive ecology in a Florida scrub plant hybrid complex
M. Leigh Nelson, New College; Julie Clifford, University of North Carolina at Asheville; Jennifer Rhode Ward, University of North Carolina at Asheville
 Effects of microbial legacies on soil nitrogen cycling and restoration success
Tzu Chao, University of Texas at Austin; Clare B. Glinka, University of Texas at Austin; Christine V. Hawkes, University of Texas at Austin
 Landscape characteristics influence spatial genetic variation of the Florida scrub lizard (Sceloporus woodi)
Grant Hokit, Carroll College; Marina Ascunce, University of Florida; Joel Ernst, University of Florida; Lyn Branch, University of Florida
 Recruitment limitation in the scrub: Determining the roles of seed availability and resource accessibility for two herb species
Elizabeth L. Stephens, University of Central Florida; Pedro Quintana-Ascencio, University of Central Florida
 Simulating effects of fire, competitive interactions and spatial structure on the persistence of Florida scrub plants
Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, University of Central Florida; Stephanie Melzer, Dept. of Mathematics, University of Central Florida; Andrew Nevai, Dept. of Mathematics, University of Central Florida; Eric S. Menges, Archbold Biological Station
 Correlation between climate and growth for Florida scrub oaks: a dendroecology study
Tammy E. Foster, Innovative Health Applications; Paul A. Schmalzer, Innovative Health Applications; G. A. Fox, University of South Florida
 Pre and post fire carbon dynamics in a Florida scrub oak
Rosvel Bracho, University of Florida; Cassondra Thomas, Cardno TBE; Jiahong Li, University of Centeral Florida; Thomas Powell, Harvard University; C. Ross Hinkle, University of Central Florida
 Responses of long-unburned oak-saw palmetto scrub to repeated cutting or burning
Paul A. Schmalzer, Innovative Health Applications; Tammy E. Foster, Innovative Health Applications
 The role of reintroductions to conservation of Florida scrub
Stacy A. Smith, Archbold Biological Station; Eric S. Menges, Archbold Biological Station; Carl W. Weekley, Archbold Biological Station; Suzanne Kennedy, Flora Vista, Inc.
 Microhabitat preference of non-native natal grass (Melinis repens) constrains invasive spread in Florida scrub
Aaron David, Washington University in St Louis; Eric S. Menges, Archbold Biological Station
 Florida sand skink response to periodic fire
Henry R. Mushinsky, University of South Florida; Earl D. McCoy, University of South Florida; Eric Britt, University of South Florida
 Genetic analysis of the Florida sand skink
Aaron Schrey, University of South Florida; Kyle Ashton, Archbold Biological Station; Stacy Heath, University of South Florida; Alicia Fox, University of South Florida; Henry R. Mushinsky, University of South Florida; Earl D. McCoy, University of South Florida
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