The Experts below are selected from a list of 38868 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Emmanuel Castella - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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functional trait based approaches as a common framework for aquatic Ecologists
Limnology and Oceanography, 2021Co-Authors: S Martini, Floriane Larras, Aurelien Boye, Emile Faure, Nicole Aberle, Philippe Archambault, Lise Bacouillard, Beatrix E Beisner, Lucie Bittner, Emmanuel CastellaAbstract:Aquatic Ecologists face challenges in identifying the general rules of the functioning of ecosystems. A common framework, including freshwater, marine, benthic, and pelagic Ecologists is needed to bridge communication gaps and foster knowledge sharing. This framework should transcend local specificities and taxonomy in order to provide a common ground and shareable tools to address common scientific challenges. Here, we advocate the use of functional trait-based approaches (FTBAs) for aquatic Ecologists, and propose concrete paths to go forward. Firstly, we propose to unify existing definitions in FTBAs to adopt a common language. Secondly, we list the numerous databases referencing functional traits for aquatic organisms. Thirdly, we present a synthesis on traditional as well as recent promising methods for the study of aquatic functional traits, including imaging and genomics. Finally, we conclude with a highlight on scientific challenges and promising venues for which FTBAs should foster opportunities for future research. By offering practical tools, our framework provides a clear path forward to the adoption of trait-based approaches in aquatic ecology.
N T Hobbs - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a guide to bayesian model selection for Ecologists
Ecological Monographs, 2015Co-Authors: Mevin B. Hooten, N T HobbsAbstract:The steady upward trend in the use of model selection and Bayesian methods in ecological research has made it clear that both approaches to inference are important for modern analysis of models and data. However, in teaching Bayesian methods and in working with our research colleagues, we have noticed a general dissatisfaction with the available literature on Bayesian model selection and multimodel inference. Students and researchers new to Bayesian methods quickly find that the published advice on model selection is often preferential in its treatment of options for analysis, frequently advocating one particular method above others. The recent appearance of many articles and textbooks on Bayesian modeling has provided welcome background on relevant approaches to model selection in the Bayesian framework, but most of these are either very narrowly focused in scope or inaccessible to Ecologists. Moreover, the methodological details of Bayesian model selection approaches are spread thinly throughout the literature, appearing in journals from many different fields. Our aim with this guide is to condense the large body of literature on Bayesian approaches to model selection and multimodel inference and present it specifically for quantitative Ecologists as neutrally as possible. We also bring to light a few important and fundamental concepts relating directly to model selection that seem to have gone unnoticed in the ecological literature. Throughout, we provide only a minimal discussion of philosophy, preferring instead to examine the breadth of approaches as well as their practical advantages and disadvantages. This guide serves as a reference for Ecologists using Bayesian methods, so that they can better understand their options and can make an informed choice that is best aligned with their goals for inference.
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ecological support for rural land use planning
Ecological Applications, 2005Co-Authors: David M. Theobald, N T Hobbs, Thomas A. Spies, Jeffrey D. Kline, Bruce D. Maxwell, Virginia H. DaleAbstract:How can Ecologists be more effective in supporting ecologically informed rural land-use planning and policy? Improved decision making about rural lands requires careful consideration of how ecological information and analyses can inform specific planning and policy needs. We provide a brief overview of rural land-use planning, including recently developed approaches to conservation. Effective participation in land-use planning requires Ecologists to understand trade-offs—for example, the need to balance a land owner's desire for a fair and predictable process with the “learn as you go” approach of adaptive management—and the importance of integrating local knowledge with landscape-level information. Four primary challenges require attention from Ecologists to improve rural land-use planning. First is the mismatch between the spatial and temporal scales in which ecological processes occur and the scales and tempos of land-use planning. Second, Ecologists must engage in interdisciplinary research to critica...
S Martini - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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functional trait based approaches as a common framework for aquatic Ecologists
Limnology and Oceanography, 2021Co-Authors: S Martini, Floriane Larras, Aurelien Boye, Emile Faure, Nicole Aberle, Philippe Archambault, Lise Bacouillard, Beatrix E Beisner, Lucie Bittner, Emmanuel CastellaAbstract:Aquatic Ecologists face challenges in identifying the general rules of the functioning of ecosystems. A common framework, including freshwater, marine, benthic, and pelagic Ecologists is needed to bridge communication gaps and foster knowledge sharing. This framework should transcend local specificities and taxonomy in order to provide a common ground and shareable tools to address common scientific challenges. Here, we advocate the use of functional trait-based approaches (FTBAs) for aquatic Ecologists, and propose concrete paths to go forward. Firstly, we propose to unify existing definitions in FTBAs to adopt a common language. Secondly, we list the numerous databases referencing functional traits for aquatic organisms. Thirdly, we present a synthesis on traditional as well as recent promising methods for the study of aquatic functional traits, including imaging and genomics. Finally, we conclude with a highlight on scientific challenges and promising venues for which FTBAs should foster opportunities for future research. By offering practical tools, our framework provides a clear path forward to the adoption of trait-based approaches in aquatic ecology.
Jian Peng - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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addressing the interplay of poverty and the ecology of landscapes a grand challenge topic for landscape Ecologists
Landscape Ecology, 2010Co-Authors: Bryan C Pijanowski, Louis R Iverson, Ashton C Drew, Henry N N Bulley, Jeanine M Rhemtulla, Michael C Wimberly, Annett Bartsch, Jian PengAbstract:We argue for the landscape ecology community to adopt the study of poverty and the ecology of landscapes as a Grand Challenge Topic. We present five areas of possible research foci that we believe that landscape Ecologists can join with other social and environmental scientists to increase scientific understanding of this pressing issue: (1) scale and poverty; (2) landscape structure and human well-being; (3) social and ecological processes linked to spatial patterns in landscapes; (4) conservation and poverty, and (5) applying the landscape ecologist’s toolkit. A brief set of recommendations for landscape Ecologists is also presented. These include the need to utilize broad frameworks that integrate social and ecological variables, build capacity to do this kind of work through the development of strong collaborations of researchers in developed and developing countries, create databases in international locations where extreme poverty exists, and create a new generation of researchers capable of addressing this pressing social and environmental issue.
Alecia J Carter - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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animal personality what are behavioural Ecologists measuring
Biological Reviews, 2013Co-Authors: Alecia J Carter, William E Feeney, Harry H Marshall, Guy Cowlishaw, Robert HeinsohnAbstract:The discovery that an individual may be constrained, and even behave sub-optimally, because of its personality type has fundamental implications for understanding individual- to group-level processes. Despite recent interest in the study of animal personalities within behavioural ecology, the field is fraught with conceptual and methodological difficulties inherent in any young discipline. We review the current agreement of definitions and methods used in personality studies across taxa and systems, and find that current methods risk misclassifying traits. Fortunately, these problems have been faced before by other similar fields during their infancy, affording important opportunities to learn from past mistakes. We review the tools that were developed to overcome similar methodological problems in psychology. These tools emphasise the importance of attempting to measure animal personality traits using multiple tests and the care that needs to be taken when interpreting correlations between personality traits or their tests. Accordingly, we suggest an integrative theoretical framework that incorporates these tools to facilitate a robust and unified approach in the study of animal personality.
