Best products from r/ecology

Going to the source: role of the invasion pathway in determining potential invaders (Wonham et al, 2001, Marine Ecology Progress Series). This paper looks at organisms transferred during a ship's ballast exchange

Trophic cascades triggered by over fishing reveal possible mechanisms of ecosystem regime shifts (Daskalov et al, 2007, PNAS).


Twenty years of zebra mussles: lessons from the mollusk that made headlines (David L. Strayer, 2008, Frontiers in Ecology). This is a review paper, but still pretty worthwhile. It gives a good overview of the invasion, ecological/economic impacts, and policy regarding the mussles.


You said you were interested in the genetic side of things as well, so you might enjoy these papers as well:

High genetic variance in life-history strategies within invasive populations by way of multiple introductions (Facon and Pointier et al, 2008, Current Biology)

Adaptive evolution in invasive species (Prentis and Wilson et al, 2008, Cell Press). This is also a review article, but I found it interesting, and if nothing else, use it for the references!

Sorry I'm too lazy to type up full citations for these... if you need help finding any of them I may also have pdfs that I could probably mace a Google doc of and send to you. Happy reading!

Edit: invasion ecology is also a pretty good book for lots of reviews, mecanisms, and other fundamental understandings

I used to work in these same conditions, summertime in the Mojave desert and the surrounding hills.


I had a light weight field shirt and very light weight field pants.

I really recommend both of these. The shirt has vents on at the shoulders, and a large vent horizontally along your back to help airflow, and is a a pretty nice light weight material. Mine was a bit too big for me, which I think actually helped with the airflow. My coworkers had basically the same shirt but long sleeved, I preferred the short sleeve personally. I tan easy so didn't have to worry much about burns (this applied sunscreen a couple times a day), and I thought the short sleeves helped with the wind-flow.

The pants are really thin and lightweight, could be a problem with rips if you're hiking through some thick brush. I hiked through a bit of brushy terrain throughout the summer, and only got one small rip after several months. They are really breathable and don't overheat you in the high temps out there. I've never had lightweight hiking pants before, so I don't have any other brands to compare to, but these were the shit. I also had to wear snake gaiters all day, and even with the extra layer of those things, my legs never got too bad. Wearing these pants and shirt together felt like I was wearing nothing at all.

A nice wide rimmed sun hat or light bandana or something to cover your/neck is also a plus. That sun is no joke.

I'd also recommend sunglasses, especially big ones with think walls on the side. Something like this rather than like this . Having the big walled edges helps block out all the light. If they are small and skinny you can get light contrast in the corner of your eyes all day and it gets annoying. It's not a huge issue, but I think it really helps, the sun is so bright out there.

Bring lots of water in your car, and a camelback if you are away from your car for often. Drink water often, even if you're not thirsty. Drink a lot of water before you even leave the house. I drink a lot of water in general, but when working that job I would easily drink 2 gallons a day, sometimes 3.

Keep in mind, my job had me walking/hiking around 5-10 miles a day, but I imagine you'll be moving around a lot too for whatever you're monitoring?

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions or anything.

My lab is currently making our way through Foundations in Macroecology, which was only published a couple of months ago. I haven't made it too far into it yet, but I think it's fantastic so far, and sounds like exactly what you're looking for. I would recommend this book quite highly.

http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Macroecology-Classic-Papers-Commentaries/dp/022611547X

> Macroecology is an approach to science that emphasizes the description and explanation of patterns and processes at large spatial and temporal scales. Some scientists liken it to seeing the forest through the trees, giving the proverbial phrase an ecological twist. The term itself was first introduced to the modern literature by James H. Brown and Brian A. Maurer in a 1989 paper, and it is Brown’s classic 1995 study, Macroecology, that is credited with inspiring the broad-scale subfield of ecology. But as with all subfields, many modern-day elements of macroecology are implicit in earlier works dating back decades, even centuries.
>
> Foundations of Macroecology charts the evolutionary trajectory of these concepts—from the species-area relationship and the latitudinal gradient of species richness to the relationship between body size and metabolic rate—through forty-six landmark papers originally published between 1920 and 1998. Divided into two parts—“Macroecology before Macroecology” and “Dimensions of Macroecology”—the collection also takes the long view, with each paper accompanied by an original commentary from a contemporary expert in the field that places it in a broader context and explains its foundational role. Providing a solid, coherent assessment of the history, current state, and potential future of the field, Foundations of Macroecology will be an essential text for students and teachers of ecology alike.

There's an ok-ish textbook, Energy and the Wealth of Nations by Hall and Klitgard in BioPhysical Economics that's a good starting point.

Robert Ayres also has a thermodynamical based approach that is very consistent with what you probably know from ecology. The Economic Growth Engine is also a pretty good general introduction to economic concepts that are thermodynamically correct.

Steve Keen's Debunking Economics is a good general critique of current neoclassical thinking from a scientific standpoint. It's sometimes good to read an insider's critique of the paradigm so you know what is problematic.

Doyne Farmer does more complexity stuff but he's involved in a similar space.

Elenor Ostrum is also another great place to start. Her work on sustainability and common pool resources is hugely important in the area.

There is also a huge amount of work being done in complexity economics using ecological models that I've only just started scratching the surface of.

There is a huge amount of work being generated in this area. Sadly very little of it is getting through to the economists.

Maybe this one The biology of polar regions. I am not sure though, I have been planning to buy it soon, but I don't know if there's a lot about permafrost soils. Which is a really interesting topic! I would recommend reading articles about it!

Also, if you like biogeochemistry of permafrost soils, you are probably also interested in biogeochemistry of peat soils. As a lot of permafrost soils are frozen peat soils. For this I can recommend the biology of peatlands. This one I do have and it has some interesting biogeochemistry things in it. It includes much more than that though.

If you are interested in scientific articles pm me, I can probably get you a list of articles (I am writing a review study about anaerobic decomposition in peat soils right now). A lot of the biogeochemistry is the same (the obvious difference is off course temperature and the fact that in permafrost soil there is not a lot of activity because of temperature and the unavailability of liquid water).

Hi, I have a bachelors in Social Ecology from UC Irvine.

What are you asking? Whether or not the political philosophies of Bookchin are grounded in some kind of empirical science?

I'll look at it this way - Bookchin is a communalist, which emphasizes that land, economy, policies be owned/managed by indigenous communities (not just Natives - indigenous, meaning, locally placed communities). He says that an increase in the power of municipal governance would be the stepping stone to bring us to this state. Local communities in cities exercise their power - changing the structure of their town through their political agency. We are currently moving in this direction with a Metropolitan Revolution. Under Trump, whose administration will likely be removing federal programs, will increase the need for local political programs. Personally I'm excited to see what localities do given these circumstances.

At UC Irvine they have 3 departments composing the 'school' of Social Ecology - Criminology, Planning, Policy, and Design, and Social-Behavioral Psychology.

Each of these departments have various lenses through which they explore the human existence and our Social Ecology. Being apart of one, bigger school the faculty have access to one another and, in my experience, often find overlap between issues.

• Criminology, Law, and Society: Department of Criminology, Law and Society (CLS) study three related topics: (1) law making—the social, political, economic and cultural factors that lead to the development of law and explain the structure of our legal system; (2) law breaking—the causes and consequences of crime; and (3) the justice system—how (and how well) our system of justice is working and how it might be improved.
  
  
• Planning, Policy, and Design: Department of Planning, Policy and Design’s (PPD) unique mission at UC Irvine is to teach and undertake scholarship and community service at the intersection of three distinct areas: the natural environment, the built environment (including community design), and public policy implementation. This mission allows the department to creatively explore practical solutions to problems at the interstices of environmental protection, social justice, and community health, well-being, and security.
  
  
• Psychology and Social Behavior: Department of Psychology and Social Behavior (PSB)includes the developmental, social, personality, health, and legal aspects of psychology as well as biological, clinical, cultural, community, environmental, and ecological psychology. The faculty has an overarching interest in understanding the origins of human behavior as it develops across the life course and in diverse socio-cultural contexts.
  
  Social Ecology is one of many different disciplines through which the world is organized. It's a worldview, certainly, and I believe a grounded one at that.
  
  
  tl;dr: all knowledge is socially constructed and 'truth' is dependent on the community you are apart of. That said, there are empirical patterns to all processes, but the meaning behind those processes is determined by the meaning-constructing Human Being. Truth is relative, all things are relative, everything is relative, the Earth is alive, animals are conscious, the wind is driven by the moving currents of the Rivers in the Sky, the water we drink has been here since the dinosaurs, fossil fuels are the fossilized remains of ancient sunlight, humans have never been so far removed from nature in the history of mankind; and here we are, talking about it, through a technological device constructed through manipulated physical processes.

It's not ecology-centric but David Lay's "Linear Algebra" is a great text at an intro level that's great for developing intuition. I remember one example that uses demography of owl populations as a way to use matrix projection models. Overall a great book to teach yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Linear-Algebra-Its-Applications-5th/dp/032198238X

This is the most common used book for large moths in the UK Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland (Field Guides) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472930304/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Dc1JAb1TNK1Q7
And for micro moths Field Guide to the Micro-Moths of Great Britain and Ireland https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0956490212/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Ed1JAbY92VYJ7

As for butterflies there is not quite the same golden standard but this should cover everything and help with identification
Britain's Butterflies: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Ireland, Fully Revised and Updated Third Edition (WILDGuides) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0691166439/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_lf1JAbX8FC3RC

Hope this helps a bit

I just bought these Caddis waders, and I've been super happy with them. They keep me snuggly warm in Upstate NY region (close to Ontario!), they fit pretty well for women's waders. I am also very short so I sympathize. My one complaint is that the chest pocket is not very big, but that's it. Good tread on the boots (never buy felt!).

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B078VJ7MMX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I personally feel that "weeds" are one way that land communicates with humans. Are thistles and himalayan blackberries growing all over your fallow pasture? The land is saying "Keep out...I'm doing some soil restoration and creating useful and protective habitat for birds, insects and rodents!" It's what the land wants to do.

They tell us what stage of reforestation our land is in. They are wonderfully useful. I hesitate to use the term "weed", even. Some plants are opportunistic, some are dispersive. Here's a book on the subject. IMO the term "weed" ignores the role that humans have played in their propagation. It implies the plant is a nuisance, rather than an aid; that they have "invaded" rather than moved in as vulnerary plants.

Very interesting.

I've got a book on the shelf about the changes that we've seen to the Northeast/New England area ecology since Europeans first set foot there. Changes in the Land. Still gotta give that one a read. But if anyones interested, it looks pretty good.

In the same vein, too, putting out a list such as this suggests that doing a few of these things will make you green. Really, it is the "big" choices a person makes, such as how big their home is and where it's located relative to where they work, what kind of car they drive, etc. that basically determine one's ecological footprint and "greenness." Everything else is just variance around that. (For someone concerned about green living, The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices is a great resource. The first chapter is available free as a pdf.)

If you want a book, here's an idea: Where the wild things were. It's a great read and describes a bunch of case studies that highlight the importance of top predators in ecosystems.

Scala Outback 4-season crushable felt hat

It's a great hat plus felt is super quiet and absorbs sound.

My two favorites, for understanding the general ideas of ecology without memorizing the nitrogen cycle, are Reading the Forested Landscape and Tracking and the Art of Seeing. Those are the books that convinced me that I wanted to study ecology in graduate school.

FWIW, I also enjoy memorizing the nitrogen cycle.