Game night!

Are board games gender neutral?  We divied up a pack of trivia cards from a popular board game, and based on first impression of the question and answer, divided them into piles:  feminine, masculine, neither, need closer look.  We discussed the final category, and added these cards to the rest of the piles.  The masculine pile was the largest at the end of the evening.

Support for working Families

Imagine what you could do if you had 9 more weeks a year to do what you wanted/needed to do.   Take Back Your Time Day is  "a nationwide initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment."   The date is nine weeks before the end of the year, representing the 360 hours more each year that workers in the U.S. put in on average than Western Europeans do.  Nine weeks! This is part of campus Take Back your Time Day Teach-in.  Visit www.timeday.org to hear about the National effort. For more information,  read www.prospect.org/print/v12/1/gornick-j.html. 

Balancing work and family

Ironically, family issues kept a number of interested parties away last night, so I have summarized our discussion. and have provided a preview of the October program (Thurs. Oct. 23, 5-7 pm, Nifkin Lounge, family friendly potluck supper!)

So, what does it take to balance work and family?  Participants reported:  organization, flexible scheduling, a sense of humor, family planning, reliable child care, a supportive partner, and good friends or family with whom you can share some adult conversation while the kids play (which we witnessed first hand, as our three youngest participants alternately colored quietly and ran laps around the Lounge!).  We also noted the trend of parents waiting longer to start families, both here and abroad, and touched on the continuing trend of teen parents, and speculated on the class and educational differences between the two groups.

The discussion focused most heavily on social support of child-rearing, which is much advanced in Scandinavian countries, just starting in Korea where birth rates have been declining, and actually somewhat ahead of the US.  The Korean system permits a small stipend for parental leave during the first year (currently about 20% of the average salary); only 78 dads took advantage of the program last year while thousands of moms used their maternity leave.  The next version of this policy looks toward making the leave a percentage of income rather than a flat rate.  In the US, the leave permitted by the Family Leave Act is unpaid, and thus is only really available to those of higher income.  European models are far more family-friendly and either support parental (maternal or paternal, often the family's decision) care for children during their first year or longer or adequately funded daycare facilities until children reach school-age. 
 

We'd like to thank Heejae Kim, who took the time to look up the statistics of the new Korean programs and the Sadler Memorial Garden Committee for letting us scavenge for produce for the potluck.  As a result of your generosity and JoAnne Ellis's creativity, we enjoyed ratatouille and a platter of delicious sweet peppers and beans.  Cooperation in action--how fitting for a balancing themed semester!

The Dynamics of Cities as Ecosystems and Places: The Challenge of Integrating Ecological Knowledge into Urban River Corridor Design, Planning, and Policy

Shana Ederer

On February 25, 2003, Dr. Laura Musacchio discussed her research in urban planning and riparian-corridor restoration in the America’s Southwest with a crowd of SUNY-ESF students, faculty members, and community members.  She focused specifically on recent projects, including (1) an analysis of the Salt-Gila riparian corridor in Phoenix, Arizona, and (2) an ecological study and pilot restoration project of the Rio Alamar Riparian corridor in the Tijuana-San Diego metropolitan area.  The Phoenix metropolitan area, she explained, has undergone rapid expansion (at a rate of 0.5 to 1.0 miles per year!) since the 1970s. Her long-term study in Phoenix involves monitoring variables such as habitat and water quality, flood risk, and differences between channelized and unchannelized areas along an urban-rural gradient, as well as developing GIS-based models.  Phoenix city planners hope Dr. Musacchio’s work will help them cope with challenges such as limited ground water, high rates of evaporation, and the continued threat of extended drought, as well as plan for future efforts in development and conservation.

            In the rapidly-developing Tijuana River watershed similar planning efforts are being made.  However, this area differs from Phoenix in its relative lack of infrastructure and lack of a greenway system; also, management is complicated by the presence of temporary human settlements within the floodplain and by industrial effluents.  Some residents favor channelization of the river, which offers enhanced opportunities for development; others favor an approach that does not involve structural changes.  Given that the United States and Mexico have jurisdiction over different parts of the watershed, Dr. Musacchio noted, “Binational planning is a big challenge,” and stressed the need for a collaborative approach.  Her research in this area involves ecological analysis of the watershed, as well as a pilot project that will better define effective modes of ecological restoration along the river.  Dr. Musacchio suggested that such multidisciplinary research could enable scientists and planners to do “ecological forecasting,” noting that such research-based “. . . alternative scenarios . . . are actually [development] trajectories that communities can envision for themselves.” 

           

Unstable Oceans and the Long Memory of Coral Reefs.”

by Ryan Chatfield and Heather Whittier

On Tuesday April 16, 2002 Ellen Druffel spoke on “Unstable Oceans and the Long Memory of Coral Reefs.”

Ellen Druffel spoke about how we can use the ocean as an indicator of climate change.  Her primary research objectives are to be able to parameterize future climate change.  She began by discussing that the ocean fluctuates on interannual and interdecadal cycles. El Nino is an example of the interannual cycles that occur while the Pacific decadal oscillation is an example of the interdecadal oceanic fluctuations. Corals develop annual bands that contain varying concentrations of isotopes.  Her research involves sectioning corals and using radioisotopes and stable isotopes in the corals to determine fluctuations in ocean temperature and salinity.  Some of the questions are how has climate varied during the past few hundred years, how does this compare with recent climate change,and has cycling of CO2 between air and sea been affected as a result of changes in climate.  Druffel’s research findings from the Galapogos Islands reveal that over the last four centuries oceans have been becoming warmer.

Professor Ellen R. M. Druffel is Professor of Earth Systems Science, University of California, Irvine, CA with a joint position at  Scripps Institution of Oceanography.   Dr. Druffel is internationally known in the area of earth systems science. Her research interests include the cycling of organic carbon between the surface and deep ocean, and determination of past changes in circulation and ventilation in the upper ocean.

Dr. Druffel earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, San Diego in 1980. She has formerly served as a member of the National Academy of Science's Ocean Studies Board, as a participant of numerous scientific voyages, and as a scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is an Associate Editor of Oceanography, a Councillor of The Oceanography Society, and chair of the new Honors and Recognition Committee of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Dr. Druffel's visit was sponsored by SUNY ESF, the Faculty of Chemistry, and the ESF Women’s Caucus.

Facing the Future: Meeting the Information Challenges for Natural Resources Management.

As part of the course requirements for FOR 797 Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions, students share the responsibility for reporting on our speakers for distribution to ESFWOMEN listserv, co-sponsors, and the Knothole.

Farnsworth Memorial Lecture and Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Campus-Wide Seminar April 9, 2002 

Facing the Future:  Meeting the Information Challenges for Natural Resources Management.

Dr. Susan Stafford, Colorado State University

Summarized by Heather Engelman

In meeting the information challenges that face resource managers, one might consider Dr. Susan Stafford’s subtitle “Do unto data before it does unto you”.  The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network of 24 sites serves as an example of concurrent diligent data collection and management of ongoing studies coupled with exciting new research possibilities.  The network relies on continuous measurements of existing, long-term studies and analysis for the integration and synthesis of results, generalization of these results for broader use across disciplines, cultures and spatial and temporal scales.  LTER aims to better science that challenges technology.

Dr. Stafford discussed the H.J. Andrews Experimental Site (AND) and the Shortgrass Steppe (SGS) sites to demonstrate the goals of understanding, synthesizing, and disseminating information.  In particular, she talked about the change in focus of research projects over time from efficient management of AND in the 1940s to the interaction of its forests and streams to old-growth/spotted owl to its current focus of global change.   SGS research has also evolved from the sustainability of rangelands to ecosystem interactions and productivity to landscape issues and nutrient cycling to both global issues and local praire dogs.   Information technology has dramatically progressed during this period as well from field books to mainframe computers to personal computers with FTP, e-mail, LAN, and WWW capabilities, to a common ecological metadata language (EML) useful across all 24 research sites.

LTER sites must share date with the scientific community within 24 months (with some exceptions, such as thesis/dissertation completion or additional measurement required).  Two additional challenges are to determine how the limited available funds can be best spent, and to train the “next batch of scientists.”  LTER successes at site and network level are numerous: collaborations with other organizations, substantial databanks, dynamic web pages, school yard long term ecological research (SYLTER) programs for K-12, network information systems (NIS), the development of EML and increased access to data and cross-site transfer of such.  The network also has fostered an increased sense of community among and between the research sites.

Stafford earned a B.S. in Biology and Mathematics at Syracuse University in 1974, a M.S. in Quantitative Ecology at ESF in 1975, and a Ph.D. in Applied Statistics at ESF in 1979.   She was part of Oregon State University’s Quantitative Sciences Group for 19 years, with 1-year assignments as a Faculty Associate to the Provost (1987-1988) and as a Division Director of Biological Infrastructure for the National Science Foundation (1994).  Since 1998, she has been the Forest Sciences Department Head at Colorado State University. Dr. Stafford's research interests include research information management, applied statistics, multivariate analysis and experimental design, scientific databases, GIS applications, and other data management topics.

Stafford was the keynote speaker of the Annual C. Eugene Farnsworth Memorial Lecture and Fellowship Ceremony, sponsored by the Faculty of Forest and Natural Resources Management.   Stafford’s lecture was also part of the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Seminar Series organized by the ESF Women’s Caucus. The prestigious Farnsworth fellowships honor the memory of Dr. “Gene” Farnsworth and his many contributions to professional forestry nationally and internationally, and in particular to his contributions to forestry education.   By modest count, he influenced the lives of 1500 forest technicians and 4000 professional forestry students in the 52 years he was affiliated with ESF and its forest technology program at the NYS Ranger School.  The fellows for 2002 are John Munsell, a MS student in Forest Resources Management, policy and administration, and Eric Greenfield, a PhD candidate in the Forest Resources Management area.

Alternative Economies in a Forested Landscape: Non-Timber Forest Products.

Karis McFarlane and Emera Bridger

On Tuesday February 19, 2002, Dr. Marla Emery, a research geographer for the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Research Station, spoke on “Alternative Economies in a Forested Landscape: Non-Timber Forest Products.”  Dr. Emery was thoroughly excited to share her work with students and faculty at ESF.   Her belief in the importance of her work was immediately evident.

For the purposes of her studies, Dr. Emery defined non-timber forest products as any plant or fungal product other than wooden boards or paper.  Her scope did not include wildlife or timber harvested on any scale for any use.  She described four categories of use for NTFPs including: sale in raw form, sale in processed form, personal consumption, and gift giving.  She went on to describe the role of NTFPs in human-forest interactions including the economic and the ecological.

Dr. Emery explained that the majority of NTFPs harvested are not used for market-based sale.  In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, for example, NTFPs are only used for sale 40% of the time.  This means that traditional Neoclassical economics acknowledges the contribution of NTFPs to harvesters livelihoods less than half of the time.  Alternative economic uses of NTFPs include personal consumption of edibles and medicinals by a harvester’s household, ceremonials, and decoratives not sold for a profit. The use of NTFPs is especially important on the household economy level.  They supplement other earnings, bridge income gaps, and provide a flexible commodity for times of special need.  NTFP harvesting allows people to maintain their livelihood in areas where traditional employment opportunities are scarce.  Individuals’ needs change over their lifespan as do their dependence and use of NTFPs.  Non-timber forest products also support local microenterprises such as a monastery-based jam and jelly business that Dr. Emery provided as an example.

NTFPs also provide people with a detailed and localized knowledge about the forest and it’s plant and fungal species.  They contribute to community and household values.  Provide for the intergenerational relationships and knowledge transfer.  They also allow households an alternative to government assistance and help people to stay in areas where employment opportunities are few.

The common assumption in popular ecology is that productive human activity degrades ecosystems.  Dr. Emery argued that different types of human activity effect the environment in different ways and at different levels.  Most harvesters of NTFPs are aligned with conservation efforts.  They are very concerned with management practices, as these practices have an immediate impact on non-timber species and their ability to harvest them.  NTFPs provide alternative economic development opportunities as well as alternative human-environment interactions.

During the questions that followed Dr. Emery’s talk, she expressed concern over the increasing commercialization of the floral and herbal medicinal industries.  Another source of concern is the trend of the closing of the commons.   As land continues to be transferred into private hands and regulations over the use of public land increase, NTFP harvesters may find it more difficult to harvest and use NTFPs as they have used them in the past.  This could have large impacts on the ability of NTFP harvesters to support themselves, eliminate this aspect of the human-nature relationship, and lead to the loss of vast amounts of local knowledge.

Conserving Biodiversity in Vietnam and Bolivia: The Need for Adaptive Managemen

by Nancy Harris and Emily Cloyd

As the first speaker in the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions series, Dr. Eleanor Sterling gave a presentation on January 29, 2002 in 139 Baker entitled “Conserving Biodiversity in Vietnam and Bolivia: The Need for Adaptive Management” that attracted a crowd of over 70 attendees.  Dr. Sterling currently acts as Director for the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where she manages biodiversity projects in various locations including Madagascar, Bolivia, Vietnam, and Guatemala.  Dr. James Gibbs, Sterling’s long-time friend and colleague, gave a short but effective introduction, stating that Eleanor “has what it takes to make conservation biology work all around the world.”

                The focus of Eleanor’s hour-long presentation was split between the seemingly disparate nations of Vietnam and Bolivia.  In fact, Eleanor emphasized the differences between the two areas from a biodiversity perspective: while the majority of Vietnam is vastly populated and “built out” leaving protected areas as small and scattered plots of land, Bolivia has plenty of ‘protectable’ land but no people to protect it.  Population density is low, and thus there are few domestic scientists to collect biological information.  The goal in both countries is to set aside reserves that harbor biodiversity.  In Bolivia, however, better biological data must first be obtained.  In both countries, conservation biologists are forced to make key decisions in the face of uncertainty.   

The common objective of conservation biologists in developing countries, Sterling stated, should be to strive towards ‘adaptive management’ when making conservation decisions.  One specific example cited was the need to develop material, such as textbooks in the country’s native language, which developing countries can use for education and awareness.  Sterling also stressed the need to be wary of the spiritual, cultural, political and economic interactions that native people have with the landscape, and was quick to point out that what works on paper may not necessarily work in application.  Interaction between scientists and natives is an important and necessary component for the program’s success.

Among the colorful pictures and innovative ideas of Sterling’s presentation, the increased contribution of technology to the field of conservation biology was made clear.  GIS maps, camera traps, remote sensing data and GPS data were all displayed and/or mentioned as being advantageous tools that facilitate the decision-making process.

A common problem in both Vietnam and Bolivia, Sterling noted, is the view that once a decision has been made, the program must continue along the preplanned course of action.  Through her continued efforts, Sterling hopes to turn this notion on its head; if an action fails, it becomes necessary to take a step back and come up with an alternative management strategy that works.  For the most part, the route taken from point A to point B is not as important as getting to point B.  This approach seems logical, yet perhaps it took a woman like Eleanor Sterling to make it work.   

Finding Evidence of Life in the Solar System

by Maryann Ashworth and Amanda O’Connor

Why would we want to build an instrument that can detect traces of life on other planets? An “in situ” instrument has numerous advantages. The most important being that we know we can analyze a sample that is brought back from outer space.  This extremely cautious procedure presents many problems.  The most important being whether or not the sample will actually be in good condition to analyze. There have been two major crashes of Mars explorations in the last five years leading to the belief that “in situ” would pose no difficulty.  We are guaranteed that the sample can at least be analyzed by stabilizing its condition from the first impact. Since it is more feasible to analyze the sample “in situ,” Dr. Fogel began to think about how to build such an instrument.
Obviously, the first step in building an instrument that can determine if there is life on another planet begins right here on Earth. Earth environments such as hydrothermal springs and vents are homes for Archae. It has been hypothesized that the creation of Archae and Eubacteria were most likely how life started on Earth.  This is also a clue as to how life could have been started or is started on other planets.  Scientists can also use current-day landscapes to scientifically work backwards. Dr Fogel discussed taking a modern environment and analyzing the relationships within that environment that have survived geologic time to indicate the time period when there were first signs of life.
Scientific data such as chemical clues that exist as biochemical remains and inorganic remains were discussed. Biochemical remains range from large molecules (living cells) to isotopic patterns formed by living organisms.  One important fact was that organic remains are present as biominerals (calcium carbonate, for example) or gases such as oxygen and methane that are produced in quantity solely by living organisms.
The next question that was posed was if biosignatures survive the geologic record. If they do not, then what does and how would we recognize it? Dr. Fogel performed a number of experiments observing the rate of carbon and nitrogen decay and concluded that bacterial signatures overprinted plant signatures. Fortunately, the microbial record will survive.

The Toxic Pfiesteria Complex: A Story of Water Pollution, Fish Kills and Human Health at the Science/Policy Border

Dr. Burkholder presented her work to an audience of approximately 130 members of the campus community in Illick 5.  She began her talk outlining the many people with whom she has worked and expressed gratitude to her co-workers and graduate students for their help and expertise.  After her introduction, she chronologically traced her work, from investigating the causes of several large estuarine fish kills in the Mid-Atlantic states to the identification of Pfiesteria as the causative agent.  She also discussed the impacts of Pfiesteria on human health and how it can compromise the immune system of humans. While Dr. Burkholder’s lab has done many studies on Pfiesteria, they are still working to understand what triggers the organism to become toxic in the presence of fresh fish.  She outlined the numerous safety measures they use in their laboratory, the difficulty of working with an organism that has a 27-stage lifecycle and how the timing of her analyses is critical to her work.

Dr Burkholder also spoke of the controversy surrounding her research.  She related receiving personal threats from swine industries when she discovered that effluent from their operations was linked to toxic Pfiesteria blooms.  She also described attempts by other scientists and interests to discredit and suppress her research.  Only when a large fish kill occurred in Chesapeake Bay and the governor of Maryland publicly called for further investigation, was Pfiesteria identified as the causative agent.  As a result of the controversy surrounding her research, Dr. Burkholder uses an extremely conservative approach when trying to determine the cause of a fish kill.  She outlined her methodology used to determine whether Pfiesteria is the causative agent, and described how all her lab results are verified by another independent laboratory.

Overall, Dr. Burkholder’s talk was quite fascinating the way science and policy became inextricably linked while studying an organism that no one can see.  Her slides contained an appropriate amount of text and contained numerous electrographs of microbes.  She also had slides containing newspaper text that outlined the relevance of her research.  Dr. Burkholder also interjected her personal experiences into the talk making the lecture filled with science, policy and interesting stories.