In today's lecture, I'm going to describe trophic dynamics using examples from Eastern mixed forests. Depending on the ecosystem, bottom, middle, and/or top trophic levels may influence the species living in a specific place and actually structure the ecosystem. Changing the abundances of organisms with strong structuring power relays to changing trophic dynamics. As I hike around Allegany state park, I'll go over examples I find in greater detail. Together, we'll look at these patterns and hopefully be able to better understand forest ecology from the perspective of the forest floor.
Read moreLecture 15: Species interactions of eastern deciduous forests
In today's lecture, we are going to look at the species interactions of America's northeast deciduous forest. As I hike through Zoar Valley, I explain different organisms I encounter and discuss the species interactions they engage in. From mutualism, parasitism, and predation to commensalism, and amensalism we'll look at these patterns and hopefully be able to better understand forest ecology from the perspective of the forest floor.
Read moreLecture 14: Community classification and sampling techniques
In today's lecture, we are going to better understand how researchers study forests. We'll learn the difference between samples and surveys, and use Letchworth Woods on UB's campus as an example to go over three unbiased survey techniques. We will then learn about how different plant communities are classified. Western New York was surveyed back in the 1790s as well as in more modern times (1990s). We will end the lecture by comparing these different vegetation maps with each other, and start to recognize how our local forest ecosystems have significantly changed. We will look at these patterns and hopefully be able to better understand forest ecology from the perspective of the forest floor.
Read moreLecture 13: Spatial Variation in Vegetation Patterns
In today's lecture, we are going to at how topography, (elevation, slope aspect, latitude, rain-shadows, microtopography) soil properties, and disturbance helps describe the spatial patterns we see in vegetation. We will better understand the emergent landscape and how natural selection selects for plant communities that compete the least with each other. These spatial and temporal interactions are quite complex and are applied differently in every ecosystem on this planet, but hopefully, by the end of the lecture, we will be able to better understand forest ecology from the perspective of the forest floor.
Read more
3 North American examples of changing forest disturbance regimes
In today's lecture, we are going to look at three North American examples of forest disturbances. From the Giant Sequoias on the west coast to the boreal ecosystems stretching throughout Canada, to old-growth oak forests in my own backyard. Disturbance regimes are changing through direct and indirect human interactions. These interactions are altering the species composition of these forests as well as the way they function. We'll study how these researchers applied methods of dendrochronology and the underlying principles of forest ecology to answer these questions. We will look at these patterns and hopefully be able to better understand forest ecology from the perspective of the forest floor.
Read more