Productivity (ecology) Puns

Hi everyone, I hope that if you are in isolation in these crazy times that you're holding up well and that you and your friends and family are safe. Anyway, have a new open ecology article, and this one is from Ecology Letters

You can find the open access link here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.13481

Please feel free to discuss this article in the comments below if you like. Questions, comments, or anything remotely relevant is fair game!

Abstract: It has been suggested that biogeographic historical legacies in plant diversity may influence ecosystem functioning. This is expected because of known diversity effects on ecosystem functions, and impacts of historical events such as past climatic changes on plant diversity. However, empirical evidence for a link between biogeographic history and present‐day ecosystem functioning is still limited. Here, we explored the relationships between Late‐Quaternary climate instability, species‐pool size, local species and functional diversity, and the net primary productivity (NPP) of Northern Hemisphere forests using structural equation modelling. Our study confirms that past climate instability has negative effects on plant functional diversity and through that on NPP, after controlling for present‐day climate, soil conditions, stand biomass and age. We conclude that global models of terrestrial plant productivity need to consider the biogeographical context to improve predictions of plant productivity and feedbacks with the climate system.

Hi everyone, hope you and your loved ones are coping as well as can be during these times. Anyway, I have a new open ecology article, and this one is from the one and only Ecology journal.

You can find the open access link here: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecy.2988

Please feel free to discuss this article in the comments below if you like. Questions, comments, or anything remotely relevant is fair game!

Abstract: The eelgrass Zostera marina is an important foundation species of coastal areas in the Northern Hemisphere, but is continuing to decline, despite management actions. The development of new management tools is therefore urgent in order to prioritize limited resources for protecting meadows most vulnerable to local extinctions and identifying most valuable present and historic meadows to protect and restore, respectively. We assessed 377 eelgrass meadows along the complex coastlines of two fjord regions on the Swedish west coast —one is currently healthy and the other is substantially degraded. Shoot dispersal for all meadows was assessed with Lagrangian biophysical modelling (scale: 100‐1000 m) and used for barrier analysis and clustering; a subset (n=22) was also assessed with population genetic methods (20 microsatellites) including diversity, structure and network connectivity. Both approaches were in very good agreement, resulting in seven subpopulation groupings or management units (MUs). The MUs correspond to a spatial scale appropriate for coastal management of “waterbodies” used in the European Water Framework Directive. Adding demographic modelling based on the genetic and biophysical data as a third approach, we are able to assess past, present and future metapopulation dynamics to identify especially vulnerable and valuable meadows. In a further application, we show how the biophysical approach, using eigenvalue perturbation theory (EPT) and distribution records from the 1980s, can be used to identify lost meadows where restoration would best benefit the present metapopulation. The combination of methods, presented here as a toolbox, allows the assessment of different temporal and spatial scales at the same time, as well as ranking of specific meadows according to key genetic, demographic and ecological metrics. It could be applied to any species or region, and we exemplify its versatility as a management guide for eelgrass along the Swedish west coast.

So. I've recently fallen down the permaculture rabbit-hole, and I'm wondering if there are any stories that explores ecology in that way to at least some extent. That means stories which focuses on identifying local plant succession, and choosing plants from within these stages to move together with nature. But for something, I fantasise about terraforming entire planets following these systems - and not just off-hand mentions of 'robots did it'. The only thing I can think of is some parts of Dune, and Dune is not even a good example. Can anybody think of something else? Thanks.

In doing research for my job, I ran across this site which we may use as a resource. I'm sharing this here as these people appear to have Distributist principles.

From their 'Values Statement,' "Our core values revolve around open collaboration – which implies the vulnerability to share work in progress, without ego, power struggle, and insecurity. Our core values are efficiency, and the ethics and wisdom to understand what we should be efficient about. In practice, we strive to find effective ways to document our work – to create an open collaboration platform – where we can bring collaborators on boards rapidly. While it is difficult to document – the realtime, cloud collaborative tools of the information age make this easier – and we aim to tap these new tools to document and develop together.

The end point of our practical development is Distributive Enterprise – an open, collaborative enterprise that publishes all of its strategic, business, organizational, enterprise information – so that others could learn and thereby truly accelerate innovation by annihilating all forms of competitive waste. We see this as the only way to solve wicked problems faster than they are created – a struggle worth the effort. In the age where companies spend more on patent protectionism than on research and development – we feel that unleashing the power of collaborative innovation is an idea whose time has come."

From the 'Vision Statement,' "This work of distributing raw productive power to people is not only a means to solving wicked problems – but a means for humans themselves to evolve. The creation of a new world depends on expansion of human consciousness and personal evolution – as individuals tap their autonomy, mastery, and purpose – bo Build Themselves – and to become responsible for the world around them. One outcome is a world beyond artificial material scarcity – where no longer do material constraints and resource conflicts dictate most of human interactions – personal and political. We see a future world where we can say – “Resource conflicts? That was back in the stone age.”

Lastly: "What is Open Source Economics? Our mission is to extend the Open Source model to the provision any goods and services- Open Source Economics. This means opening access to the information and technology which enables a different economic system to be realized, one based on the integration of natural ecology, social ecology, and industrial ecology. This economic sy

Hello comrades,
I am part of anarchist organization which plans to create ecological/anti capitalist campaign which as a goal has to show the issue with current way of solving ecological disaster that looms on all of us, namely the capitalism, inertia of electoral democracy and lack of systemic solution to the issue. We got some materials in mind which we will be getting all around the territory we operate in, however we lack the content to keep the interested newcomers occupied enough to keep their attention and contribute to the movement. So I ask of you, all organizations and individuals, to give us a hand with task at hand, if you have some content to interact better with interested people, please share it with us. Or if you are interested about organizing parallel campaign let us know :)

I'm continuing my attempt at stimulating some discussion here, since people have asked for more discussion on /r/Conservation and /r/ecology. Everyone is welcome and strongly encouraged to participate in the recent threads. Click here for this same thread on /r/Conservation.

Who inspired you to want to get into ecology? Was it a family member or person at school? Was it someone famous or who we're unlikely to have heard of? Share who inspired you to want to make the world a better place. Who are your current inspirations?

On 25 December, 2021 we lost Tom Lovejoy whose Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project since 1979 has helped us understand biodiversity and ecological integrity of rainforests. He worked to raise awareness for the deforestation of the Amazon and used his expertise to guide policy decisions at national and international levels. The linked Mongabay article is worth a read.

A day later E. O. Wilson passed away. He is "is renowned for his work on evolution, biogeography, sociobiology and myrmecology—the study of ants." He's proposed setting aside half the land and oceans to aid in preserving the health of the planet and its inhabitants. His foundation has a website on the subject.

On 2 January 2022, Richard Leakey passed away. He is known for a number of things and in the conservation world for his work in raising awareness for the devastating effects of the (then-legal) East African ivory trade and later the illegal ivory trade. He was the head of the Kenyan Wildlife Service and helped to create anti-poaching services to counter subsistence and militant poachers. He survived several suspected assassination attempts for his efforts.

After Vicki and Magnitude give their presentation, Professor Kane says to Magnitude "You know they're laughing at you, right? At least that's my theory." and Magnitude looks super upset.

Is it just me, or was that just an extremely crappy thing for Kane to say? Everyone at Greendale loves Magnitude, and Kane came in and just destroys his student without having any knowledge of how the school actually cares about him.

I wanted to hug Magnitude so bad.

https://preview.redd.it/z6im2dv0q9a81.png?width=362&format=png&auto=webp&s=eadbf36b46e4901d07465412826e1e3c32d5d906

I'm 17 and Ecology looks to be where I want to pursue in university. I'd like to read more and explore Ecology, so please recommend me some good books to read.

1. Isaiah 13:21 - Wild animals will rest there, the ruined houses will be full of hyenas. Ostriches will live there, wild goats will skip among the ruins.
2. Isaiah 13:22 - Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,and jackals, in the luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is almost up;her days are almost over.
3. Jer 50:39 - Therefore the desert creatures along with hyenas will live there. They'll live in it with ostriches, but people won't live in it again. They won't inhabit it from generation to generation.
4. 4. Jer 12:9 - The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. But other birds of prey are all around them. Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts. Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.
5. Isa 34:14 - The desert creatures will meet hyenas,and one wild goat will call to another.Indeed, the screech owl will stay there and will find a resting place for herself.
6. Jeremiah 5:6 - Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them, a wolf of the deserts will destroy them, a leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their apostasies are numerous.
7. John 10:12 - He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
8. Songs 4:8 - Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens
   and the mountain haunts of leopards.
9. 1 Samuel 17:34 - But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock."
10. Proverbs 17:12 - Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly.
11. Numbers 23:22 - God bringeth them forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox (Aurochs).
12. Job 39:9 - Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee? Or will he abide by thy crib?
13. Job 39:10 - Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
14. Isaiah 51:20 - Thy sons have been wrapped up, they have lain down, At the head of all out places, as a wild ox in a net, They are full of the fury of Jehovah, The rebuke of Thy God.
15. Amos 3:12 - Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of

Hi everyone, I hope all is well! I have a new open ecology article, and this is one we haven't featured in a very long time, if ever, from Freshwater Biology.

You can find the open access link here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/fwb.13679

As always, please feel free to discuss this article in the comments below if you like. Questions, comments, or anything remotely relevant is fair game!

Abstract:

Climate changes are predicted to influence gross primary production (GPP) of lakes directly through warming and indirectly through increased loads of allochthonous coloured dissolved organic matter (cDOM) from surrounding landscapes. However, few studies have investigated this combined effect.

Here we tested the effects of warming (elevated 3℃) and cDOM input (three levels of humic river water addition) on GPP in autumn (2 months including open water and ice‐covered periods) in experimental pond ecosystems.

The cDOM input decreased whole‐ecosystem GPP at natural temperature conditions mainly as a result of lower benthic GPP not fully counteracted by an increase in pelagic GPP, while warming increased whole‐ecosystem GPP due to a positive response of mainly pelagic GPP at all levels of cDOM input.

Warming delayed autumn ice cover formation by 2 weeks but did not affect light availability in the water column compared to ambient ice‐covered treatments. Gross primary production during this period was still affected by warming and cDOM.

The results stress the importance of accounting for multiple climate drivers and habitats when predicting lake GPP responses to climate change. We conclude that climate change may shift whole‐ecosystem GPP through different responses of habitat‐specific GPP to increasing cDOM inputs and warming.

Hello all, sorry if this has been asked before but I am a community college student who took a bunch of classes to see what I would like and the only one that stuck was ecology. Ideally I would like to work for the NPS. I’ve heard this is a dying field and that the job market is dead so that’s great. What do my prospects look like with a bachelors in ecology?

Been building a world that was created by a divine being, whose creations begat creations of their own. However, this happened in a very short period of time compared to our world's proliferation of life.

Evolution was the product of natural selection, with survivable traits being passed on, and species diverging to fill ecological niches (a vast oversimplification, but I digress). On a much shorter time scale, what does this look like? Have you done something similar in your worlds?

The root of the topic, really, is how to go about building ecosystems that were, in a sense, artificially constructed. Would love to hear some thoughts from the community!

Hi, I am currently world building my DnD campaign and am planning to use to use real world examples to build my world. In this process I am having difficulties finding information about Wiltshire, UK. Is there anywhere where I can find detailed info about the geography, wildlife and fauna, and how all these interact in Wiltshire?

I love the machines and I love fake biology. If anyone made a field guide of the machines about their diet, behaviour & stuff It would be awesome if knew where I could find this. Thank you

Lizardfolk, Reptilian, Draconian, Sethrak. We have all seen these types of creatures but how would they actually work?

First, let's talk about lifestyles. Being a cold blooded creature they would need to spend most of their time thermoregulating giving their bodies enough heat to stay alive and to function. Not needing to eat nearly as often, means they try to conserve energy but that also means when they do exert themselves they wouldn't be able to push themselves as hard and long as humans do. Most of their actions would rely on trying to conserve the energy they have.

Food consumption. A lot of reptiles are opportunistic eaters, and can eat once a day whereas adult snakes eat twice a month. Does this mean they can be pickier about their diets or maybe they can live in places much more difficult to habitat due to available food sources?

Tell me about your lizardfolk in your world? What do they look like, what are their behaviors and habits. Don't have lizards in your world? What do you think they would look like?

Years ago, I worked for a small (30 employee) emergency telecommunications company in Western Michigan for $80,000/yr. This company hired me to help make a new embedded Linux product with an IP camera. For a year or so, all was going well until a co-worker's dad had a stroke, and he had to resign during the middle of the project. The co-worker also happens to be my longest-lasting friend.

Upper management's first reaction when they heard about my friend's dad's stroke wasn't, "Is his dad OK?" It was: "Can you finish the project without him?"

Mistake 1: I should have quit right then and there, but I was young and naive. Instead of quitting, I asked for a $40,000 raise to cover the added responsibility of being the sole engineer on an entire project that could have made the company millions.

Mistake 2: The CEO (David) told me he would give me the raise once the product was released. (I did not get this in writing. Good god, I was dumb.)

Mistake 3: I continued to work longer and longer hours. For over six months, I worked 80+ hours a week. I was there at 04:30, and I left at or later than 20:00. My marriage suffered, and I became a zombie and depressed, but I was naive enough to try and "climb the corporate ladder."

I had enough at the 6~ month mark, and I went to the CEO and demanded my raise right then and there. He looked at me and said, "what raise? I never promised you a raise. We are trying to cut costs to increase their EBITDA! I could replace you in 2 weeks." (I'm not too fond of the very sound of that acronym now.)

I immediately started to look for new jobs and found one within three days that was fully remote and paid $120,000 a year. I put in my two-week notice, and in my resignation email, I specifically stated that this is more than enough time as David said he could replace me in 2 weeks. The panic that ensued was fantastic. Immediately they had to hire a 3rd party engineering company to finish the project, which ran around $500,000. After that, it took them over a year to find a replacement for me, and he left within a year. I later messaged him on LinkedIn, and he said the company had gone to shit, and they continually blamed me for the failure of the product. The company hasn't made a single post on social media in almost a year, and they haven't pushed any updates to any of their products in about the same amount of time.

Bonus things about my insane time at the company:

• The CEO looked at me once and said, "The owner understands

This is just something I noticed and wanted to discuss and share. Have you ever wondered how Monsters swim through sand and dirt? Is this even possible?

The answer is yes and we see it on our own world. Recently the series dune has inspired me to think more about monster hunter, specifically the ecology of desert diggers. The Giant worms actually use the same methods to burrow as Diablos and Monoblos and Cephalos.

What do all those monsters and even basarios have in common?

What do they have in common with giant Dune worms?

What do they have in common with real life snakes that dig?

Gas. They all release gasses. Scientists can even replicate this. By releasing gases into the sand, the grainy texture becomes almost the same as liquid. By releasing gases into the ground they can easily submerge themselves and reemerge. Likewise it would look like quicksand when the monster re emerges.

I just thought this was so clever of the devs and wanted to share :)

Hi Everyone,

I'm having trouble finding work that pays more than 40k a year, even if I'm willing to move. I gained a masters in Ecology a year ago. I've done several years of fieldwork and a couple as a lab instructor. I'm competent in R and know the basics of Arcgis.

Has anyone taken a similar skillset to a different field and found more success than in ecology?

Thanks!

So far, the best one I have is,

"The only person whose job it is to make you happy is you." But it just doesn't hit me in the feels.