Tifft Nature Preserve: From Rags To Riches

June 4, 2020 Emily Volker

When one visits Tifft Nature Preserve, the succession of different forest species can easily be seen.

Learn about how the remnants of Buffalo's industrious past have been transformed into a rich urban ecosystem. Set into motion by the Greenway Ecological Fund and the Buffalo Museum of Science, if you're in the area and are interested in restoration ecology, Tifft Nature Preserve is a must-see. In this article, my former student Emily Volker delves into forest succession and many other ecological interactions taking place in this urban habitat.

Hydnora africana: The real life “Piranha Plant” and Queen of Species Interactions

June 3, 2020 Courtney Parrilla

Hydnora africana and the notorious Piranha plant. — *Hydnora africana* and the notorious Piranha plant.

Contrary to the fantasy world of videogames, some of these in-game species have real-life doppelgangers. Given the millions of years of fine-tuned species adaptations, these doppelgangers happen to be even cooler than their digital counterparts. Find out more about the parasitic Hydnora africana by reading this article written by my former student Courtney Parrilla!

Lecture 18: Multi-cohort stand development

April 30, 2020 Philip Pinzone

By making spatial and temporal observations, we can begin to see what a forest is, was, and may become.

Lecture 15: Species interactions of eastern deciduous forests

April 14, 2020 Philip Pinzone

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.

Tree ring and old growth forest characteristics as a function of ecosystem type

January 17, 2020 Philip Pinzone

I was truly inspired after my experiences hiking in the cloud forests of Costa Rica. My travels, preparation for the upcoming semester, and curiosity about tree rings all coincided this week, which inspired me to put these underlying themes on paper. The goal of this article is to compare old growth forests in temperate vs. neotropical ecosystems and to better understand the interactions of tree growth rings and habitat.

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