NIE ACTIVITY

Science
MATTERS! … IN CONNECTICUT

Disturbance Ecology
Science Matters! is a series presented in
collaboration with the Connecticut Academy of
Science and Engineering.

– The Tempo and Mode of Biodiversity in the 21st Century

Michael R. Willig, Ph.D., CASE Member, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Director of the Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering, University of Connecticut

Most of the goods (e.g. food, fiber) and services (carbon sequestration, water patches of native habitat, thereby reducing local population sizes of native species,
purification) that are provided by nature (ecosystem services) – for free – are directly enhancing rates of extinction in the native biota, and increasing rates of invasion
or indirectly related to biodiversity. Nonetheless, human activities, especially land and establishment by introduced species. In general, climate change and land use
use change and climate change, increasingly threaten the world’s biodiversity. In change can and do affect the abundances and distributions of species throughout
fact, the extent and severity the world, and consequently the kinds of species that live together and interact in
of change associated ecological communities that provide vital ecosystem services.
with humans has become My research and that of my students explores how climate change and land use
so great that scientists change affect populations and communities, especially those in the tropics, which
and the public alike now harbor a disproportionately large number of species. Our research on bats in Brazil,
recognize that the earth Costa Rica, Paraguay and Peru has shown that some species benefit from land use
has entered a new epoch, change while others suffer from it, and that the composition and configuration of
the Anthropocene, and landscapes surrounding sites can significantly affect population densities, community
that it may be heralding composition, and biodiversity. Our work in the lowland Amazonian rainforest of
the sixth mass extinction of Brazil has highlighted that reduced impact logging represents an emerging forestry
species on the planet. practice that can be sustainable in maintaining the biodiversity of birds and bats while
providing economic value to local economies. Conserving the biodiversity of these
Most people think of two groups of flying vertebrates is critically important because of their roles in seed
climate change in the dissemination and flower pollination.
context of global warming arising from greenhouse gas emissions, or if you live
on the coast, in the context of sea level rise. Nonetheless, climate change also Our research in Puerto Rico over the past 35 years has been continually supported by
influences the frequency, intensity, and severity of various disturbances such the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program.
as hurricanes and storms, floods, droughts, and wild fires. In contrast, land use We have documented the responses of populations and communities of vertebrates
change originates from the conversion of native habitat (e.g., forests or grasslands) (bats) and invertebrates (insects and snails) to natural disturbances (e.g., tree fall
into habitats associated with human endeavors (e.g., croplands, cattle ranches, gaps, tropical storms, and hurricanes) and have shown the persistent effects of land
urban areas). Habitat conversion effectively reduces the area and creates isolated use practices that date to before the 1950s and appear even today as legacies. We
use a combination of long-term monitoring, large-scale experiments (e.g., canopy
trimming experiment that mimics hurricanes, rain reduction experiment that mimics
SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE droughts), and quantitative modeling to try to understand how gradual environmental
change such as warming, interacts with the increased intensity and frequency of
Ecologists and Biodiversity Scientists are as diverse as the organisms and processes that cyclonic storms and affects the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of the flora,
they study. In general, good communication skills – written and oral – are critical, as are fauna, and microbiota in one of the premier tropical research sites in the world (El
good quantitative skills. A passion for nature and an inquisitive mind are essential. In Yunque National Forest).
addition, flexible approaches and a willingness to work with others in collaborative ventures
is increasingly important. Finally, a background in or appreciation for other disciplines
(biological sciences, chemical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences), and a
desire to continually learn are the attributes that lead to a successful career and to a
Meet the Scientist
fulfilling and fun-filled life.
I have wanted to be a scientist since grade school, when my best friend and I set up a
“science” laboratory in his parents’ basement, and equipped it with a microscope and

WORDS to know chemistry set. I was always attracted to biology, but was not the kid on the block with a
bug or rock collection under my bed. Every course in college from genetics to cell biology
captured my interest. Nonetheless, I had a hard time deciding on a focus and never
Anthropocene—The current geological (press events), such as global warming
age in which human activities have a or ocean acidification. The frequency, really thought much about a career. Two things changed that: a class trip to a forested
dominant and pervasive influence on intensity, and spatial scale over which field station in an undergraduate course in Mycology (Fungal Biology) and subsequent
climate and environmental processes. disturbances manifest affect the severity enrollment as a first-year graduate student in three ecology courses at that same field
of effects to biological communities and station (Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology) that included a course in “statistics”. In
Biodiversity—The variety and the services that they provide to humans.
retrospect, these were the essential experiences that provided the inspiration for looking
complexity of life represented by
Ecosystem Services—Benefits to at ecological patterns and trying to find order in what seemed to be overly complex and
species at local (e.g., your backyard)
to continental (e.g., South America) to humans that arise from ecosystem sometimes unrelated observations. The most pivotal experience in my career was getting
global spatial scales. Most simply, it processes and structure. They include to spend two years in the hinterland of Brazil (without any communication with friends or
represents by the number of different provisioning services (e.g., production family – other than mail – during the entire period), where I learned to speak Portuguese,
species in an area, but should also reflect of food and water), regulating services experienced life as a “minority” for the first time, became totally immersed in another
differences among those species in their (e.g., control of climate and pollination),
supporting services (e.g., nutrient cycles culture, and learned the meaning of “self-reliance.”
abundances, functional characteristics,
genetic constitutions, or evolutionary and oxygen production) and cultural
histories. services (e.g., spiritual and recreational For Students and Teachers Making
benefits).
Biota — The plant, animal, or microbial Curriculum Connections, see the following:
species of a particular region, habitat, or Ecological Community—A group of
species (plants, animals, and microbes)
geological period. Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) -
that occur together in an area, and through
their interactions with matter, energy, and Common Core State Standards (CCSS): Mathematics
Climate Change—The long-term each other, provide essential ecosystem • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
alteration in the distribution of weather functions related to the transformation of • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
patterns that arise from natural or energy and the cycling of nutrients.
anthropogenic processes. Global • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically
warming, ocean acidification, sea level Land Use Change—The conversion of CSDE - Next Generation Science Standards: Scientific and Engineering Practices
rise and the increased frequency of natural habitats (e.g., deciduous forest) • Asking questions and defining problems; developing and using models; planning and carrying
extreme events, all associated with to land uses associated with human out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; using Mathematics and computational
greenhouse gas emissions, are among activities (farmland, urban area) gives thinking; constructing explanations and designing solutions; engaging in argument from
the most critical threats to planetary rise to fragmentation and heterogeneity in evidence; and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
biodiversity and ecosystem services. a landscape. Such heterogeneity can be
represented by landscape composition,
Disturbance—An event that alters the
structure or functioning of an ecosystem.
the number and identity of land use types
in a landscape, or configuration, the size,
hyperlinks
These events can be relatively discrete https://today.uconn.edu/2017/11/living-edge-not-species/
shape, and arrangement of patches of https://luq.lter.network/
(pulse events), such as hurricanes, floods, various land uses in a landscape.
and wild fires, or more or less continuous https://www.elsevier.com/books/encyclopedia-of-biodiversity/levin/978-0-12-384719-5
https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780128135761/encyclopedia-of-the-anthropocene