On Saturday 21 October 2017, 62 people attended the 14th Annual RISE (Research Insights in Semi-Arid Environments) Symposium in the Marley Building on the University of Arizona campus. You can find the program at http://www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/rise/index.htm
The objectives of the symposium are to share recent results of scientific research in semiarid environments, with an emphasis on work conducted at the USDA-ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) and the University of Arizona Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER), and to encourage future research and outreach activities.
Matt Roby (top left) Best Grad Poster, Lilian Engle (top right) Best Undergrad Poster, Jeff Gillan (bottom left) Honorable Grad Poster, and Erika Ackerman (bottom right) Honorable Undergrad poster.
This year, five of the nine invited speakers came from outside Tucson, and provided regional and international themes to the program. Similarly, two of the 17 posters were from authors visiting from Mexico, and one from a Polish visitor.
These presentations and posters will be archived at http://www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/rise/index.htm, where we also provide presentations and poster from the previous 13 symposia.
The highlight was the 1.5-hour poster session where 17 presenters led a cacophony of discussion in the Marley Building foyer. Through a generous contribution from long-time supporter Mr. Malcolm McGregor, there were monetary awards for the Best and Honorable Mention posters reporting research performed by graduate and undergraduate students working at WGEW or SRER, or using data collected at those facilities.
Best Undergraduate Poster and $300 was awarded to Lilian Engle from the Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Department, University of Arizona with the poster title “Objects Detection from Drone Images”. The Honorable Mention Poster and $100 was awarded to Erika Ackerman Engle from the Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Department, University of Arizona with the poster title “Accuracy of SfM Tools for Different Land Surface Compositions”. Both undergraduate winners are mentored by Dr. Kamel Didan from the Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Department, University of Arizona.
Best Graduate Poster and $500 was awarded to Matt Roby from School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona with the poster title “Controls on Soil Respiration in a Semi-Arid Grassland”. Matt is advised by Dr. Dave Moore from School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona. The Honorable Mention Poster and $300 was awarded to Jeff Gillan from School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona with the title “Estimating Forage Biomass and Utilization in a Desert Grassland with Small Unmanned Aerial System Imagery”. Jeff is advised by Dr. Wim van Leeuwen from School of Natural Resources and the Environment.
Members of the Tierra Seca Club, which is the student chapter of the Society for Range Management provided coffee, juice, fruit, cheese and baked goodies for attendees before the talks began at 9 am. The
Club will use donations for these goodies to help cover travel expenses to the national meeting of the Society for Range Management this January 2017 in Sparks, Nevada.
Mitch McClaran
The Blankinship Laboratory of Biogeochemistry in the Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science at the University of Arizona is seeking an exceptional PhD student. The student will tackle grand challenges related to soil carbon © storage and soil health. The student will be expected to: 1) play a leadership role in a global data synthesis to unravel mechanisms of soil C stabilization and destabilization, and 2) develop strategies and a scientific basis for field projects aiming to accelerate soil C sequestration and enhance soil health. The ideal student will have a strong passion for and a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in soil science, biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology, or a related field. The student should have strong data analysis skills, laboratory and/or field experience collecting environmental data, and excitement for connecting science to societal challenges.
The University of Arizona is located in beautiful Tucson near abundant field sites including the Catalina-Jemez Critical Zone Observatory, Santa Rita Experimental Range, Maricopa Agricultural Center, and Biosphere II. Recreational opportunities also abound. To apply, please send a: 1) letter of interest, 2) curriculum vitae, and 3) contact information for three references to jblankinship@email.arizona.edu. Please type “Soil Carbon PhD Opportunity” in the subject line. The deadline for applications is May 5 with a preferred start date on or before August 1. For more information, please contact Dr. Joseph Blankinship at the email address above.
Assoc./Full Professor of Geography & Development in Integrated Land Use Science/Human-Environment Systems Posting
Department
The School of Geography & Development at the University of
Arizona seeks to fill a tenured Associate or Full Professor position in
the area of integrated land use or human-environment systems. We seek a
senior physical or human-environmental scholar with a very strong
track record of grants and publications who can contribute to
interdisciplinary environmental research at the University of Arizona. We
are especially interested in scholars whose research combines (a) the
collection, use, and analysis of biophysical and social data, such as
remotely sensed, census, survey, and ethnographic data, with (b) GIS,
modeling, or other methods, with applications to environmental
monitoring, assessment and management, policy, and/or international development.
Substantive areas of research could include, but are not limited to: earth
system modeling; biogeography; integrated food/energy/water systems;
environmental health; smart cities; land use and conservation; forests and
natural resources, environmental risk, and vulnerability. We expect the
candidate to contribute to the UA tradition of collaborative integration
across physical and social sciences. We seek someone whose research
interests complement existing departmental and university strengths in
environmental and earth science that include water resources and
hydrology, paleoenvironments, climate and meteorology, forest and
ecosystem processes, climate-disease dynamics, political ecology
and development, and urban systems. We are especially interested
in individuals whose research addresses broader impacts and
societal relevance. Ph.D. in geography or appropriate field of
environmental science is required.
Candidates should submit their statements of research and
teaching interests, curriculum vitae, list of publications, and contact
information for three referees, following the instructions at https://uacareers.com/ (Posting #
F20821). Other questions may be directed to Dr. Connie Woodhouse (conniew1@email.arizona.edu), Chair
of the Search Committee. The position will remain open until filled, but
review of applications (and requests for letters of reference) will begin
February 15, 2017, with interviews anticipated before mid-May.
The School of Natural Resources and the Environment is hiring a Postdoctoral Research Associate I to work in the The Ecoclimate Dynamics Laboratory. The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher interested in studying the sensitivity of North American ecosystems to climate variability utilizing a combination of novel field-, modeling-, and remote sensing-based approaches. The postdoc’s primary mentor will be Assistant Professor, Bill Smith, and funding will be available for up to 3-years based on satisfactory performance. Funds will also be available to cover travel costs for select workshops and national meetings.
An initial focus will be semiarid ecosystems. Recent global analyses suggest that semiarid ecosystems have played a major role in driving increasing interannual variability of the global land carbon sink. The candidate will have the opportunity to explore these trends in depth by evaluating the ability of different satellite indicators to detect interannual variability of gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) measured at 25 eddy covariance sites distributed across gradients in temperature (2 – 25 °C) and precipitation (100 – 1000 mm) for southwestern North America. Remote sensing indicators of interest include normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhance vegetation index (EVI), photosynthetic reflectivity index (PRI), and solar-induced fluorescence (SIF). There will also be opportunities for the selected postdoctoral researcher to develop and explore their own research questions within the scope of the project.
The postdoc will have the opportunity to work closely with a diversity of top research labs at the University of Arizona, including the Arizona Remote Sensing Center, Terrestrial Vegetation and Climate Lab, Terrestrial Ecology Lab, and Laboratory of Tree Ring Research. In addition, the candidate will have the chance to collaborate with and learn from scientists at the USDA – Agricultural Research Service and the US Geological Survey. Finally, there will be opportunities to contribute to research focused on improving satellite-based estimates of disturbance, land use change, vegetation productivity, and evapotranspiration underway at the University of Montana (NTSG).
Required Qualifications: Candidates must have earned their Ph.D. by 01/01/2017. Demonstrated experience in ecosystem science and a broad perspective on ecosystem processes and climate feedbacks.
Desired Qualifications:
Candidates should exhibit a strong ability to collaborate with an interdisciplinary team.
Strong organizational and communication skills (both oral and written).
Prior experience with spatiotemporal data and geospatial analysis using R, Python, and/or other computer programming languages is highly desired.
A proven publication record in peer-reviewed scientific journals and a demonstrated high level of productivity.
The postdoc will be housed in the state-of-the-art Environment and Natural Resources 2 building at the University of Arizona. The University of Arizona has been recognized on Forbes 2015 America’s Best Employers in the United States and has been awarded the 2015 Work-Life Seal of Distinction by the Alliance for Work-Life Progress.
If you are interested in applying for this position, please 1) contact Bill Smith (wksmith(at)email.arizona.edu); and 2) apply through the University of Arizona UACAREERS web portal: https://uacareers.com/postings/13707 . Applications should consist of a full curriculum vitae, a 1-page statement of research interest, a pdf-file of one publication, and the contact information for three references. We will start reviewing applications on 11/01/2016.
Visit with Rachel Gallery’s microbial ecology lab as they go about an average day in the field
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015
SPEAKER: Bill Matter, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona
DATE: Wednesday, March 11 2015
TIME: 3:00-4:00 pm
LOCATION: Marley Building, Room 230
ABSTRACT:
Most ecologists think of themselves as evolutionary ecologists, rightly so, given that the interactions of organisms with each other and the physical environment have been strongly influenced by natural selection. However, ecologists often use the term fitness in both an evolutionary context and an ecological context without acknowledging that the concepts, measures, and outcomes associated with the two “types” of fitness are almost wholly different. Low levels of survival of all progeny produced in populations in nature lead me to the conclusion that nearly all individuals who do survive to maturity and leave young are fit, evolutionarily. Nearly all young produced by these parents also must be fit, but most will not survive and leave young of their own. These conclusions are incompatible with the practice of defining and quantifying fitness of individual animals (or plants) by recording their production of young. I will show how concepts about fitness are confused in ecological literature, and how data on survival in fish and small mammals can help clarify the two types of fitness. Changes in phenotype of the peppered moth in industrial England in the 1950’s provide an example for understanding fitness, a concept of great importance to ecologists and conservationists.
David Quanrud is investigating the fate of emerging trace organic contaminants in water and sediments in the effluent-dependent Santa Cruz River in Tucson, Arizona. Some trace organic contaminants, including contributors to estrogenic activity, have been found to be rapidly attenuated with distance of travel in the river by a combination of natural attenuation mechanisms, including biodegradation, photolysis, and sorption. Here are some field work photos.