NRE Seminar Series

• 9/1 - Matt Sturchio (Cornell Ashley School, Natural Resources and the Environment) | Using ecological principles to inform a sustainable energy transition | Hybrid seminar: Zoom registration
• 9/8 - Daniel Anstett (Cornell School of Integrative Plant Sciences) | Using spatiotemporal genomics to explain resilience to climate change | Hybrid seminar: Zoom registration
• 9/15 - Olivia Sanderfoot (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
• 9/22 - Jefferson Hall (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)
• 9/29 - Amandine Gamble (Cornell Department of Public & Ecosystem Health)
• 10/6 - Amy Fraenkel (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals)
• 10/20 - Yuqing Chen (Cornell Ashley School, Natural Resources and the Environment)
• 10/27 - Matt Williamson (Boise State University)
• 11/3 - Carol Colfer (The Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry)
• 11/10 - Caleb McClennen (Rare Conservation)
• 11/17 - Meredith Holgerson (Cornell Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)
• 12/1 - John Benning (Cornell Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)

Using ecological principles to inform a sustainable energy transition

Speaker: Matt Sturchio, Cornell Ashley School, Natural Resources and the Environment

Abstract: The global transition to solar energy is occurring at a rate faster than expected. Although this rapid expansion has altered landscapes of high agricultural and ecological significance, new approaches to solar development offer several synergistic opportunities for solar energy co-location. Here, we demonstrate how fundamental ecological concepts can be leveraged to improve a sustainable transition to solar energy. More specifically, we will explore the ecophysiological realities underpinning tradeoffs between agriculture and energy in New York State, plant-water relations benefits in rangelands of the semi-arid west, and opportunities to reduce biological homogenization, enhance ecosystem services, and ensure energy security in the midwest.

Bio: Matt Sturchio's research is focused on quantifying the ecological impact of ground mounted solar development in natural and agriculturally managed lands. At Colorado State University, Matt earned his PhD studying the ecophysiological response of grasslands to dynamic microclimates created by solar arrays. At Cornell, he explores synergies for solar land use in New York State and beyond.

Host: Steve Grodsky

Hybrid seminar: Zoom registration

Using spatiotemporal genomics to explain resilience to climate change

Speaker: Daniel Anstett Cornell School of Integrated Plant Sciences, Plant Biology Section

Abstract: A key question in evolutionary ecology and conservation is whether populations can rapidly evolve in response to climate change such that the declining population undergoes evolutionary rescue. If so, can understanding the genomics of those systems allow us to better forecast which populations are most vulnerable to climate extremes? I use extensive spatiotemporal genomic and demographic data from the riparian plant scarlet monkeyflower, Mimulus cardinalis to study range-wide rapid adaptation to drought and the prevalence and predictability of evolutionary rescue. Whole genome sequencing across 55 populations reveals regions of the genome most associated with drought. Genetic changes at these sites are then tracked across 11 populations between 2010 and 2016, establishing range-wide evidence of rapid evolution in response to the 2012-2015 exceptional drought. When compared to nine years of field collected demography data at each site, we find evidence of evolutionary rescue, but only in some populations. Evolutionary rescue was predictable by the amount of climate-associated genetic diversity from before the drought, demonstrating an important role of evolutionary genomics in the conservation and management of populations. Based on these initial findings, I outline my expanding research program, which aims to upscale genomic inferences of (mal)adaptation across decadal timescales and from single species to multispecies comparisons.

Bio: Dr. Daniel Anstett received his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Toronto with Marc Johnson, studying latitudinal gradients in herbivory and plant defence. He did a postdoc with Amy Angert and Loren Rieseberg at the University of British Columbia, and further postdoctoral training at Michigan State University's Plant Resilience Institute, studying spatiotemporal genomics, evolutionary ecology, and climate adaptation in plants.
Daniel is currently an Assistant Professor in the Plant Biology Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. His research focuses on rapid evolution in response to climate change, and specifically severe drought. Daniel's work has been published in top journals including Nature Publishing Group and Science. His most recent work documenting evolutionary rescue in wild populations has been covered by the Washington Post, CNN, and NPR. Daniel’s current research leverages relationships between contemporary evolution, genomics, and species interactions to inform population and ultimately ecosystem resilience.

Host: Courtney Davis

Hybrid seminar: Zoom registration

Out of the Fire, Into the Smoke: Emerging understanding of the effects of smoke disturbance on birds

Speaker: Olivia Sanderfoot

Abstract: Wildfire activity is intensifying globally, exposing people and wildlife to more frequent and intense smoke pollution. Even here in upstate New York, wildfire smoke from megafires burning in the boreal forest has contributed to hazardous air quality conditions in the spring and summer. Birds are likely to be especially vulnerable to increased smoke disturbance due to their sensitive respiratory systems. Yet, avian smoke ecology is a nascent field. In this talk, Dr. Sanderfoot will present her research on the wide-ranging effects of wildfire smoke on birds, from impaired body condition and reproductive success to shifts in detectability and occurrence dynamics. She will highlight the critical knowledge gaps facing the field and make a case for why participatory science is the key to discovering what an inevitably smokier future means for birds.

Bio: Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot is an ornithologist and global change ecologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Her research is focused on understanding how birds are impacted by wildfire smoke, from the individual to the population level. Olivia’s research program is highly interdisciplinary, linking data and tools from ornithology, quantitative ecology, and atmospheric science. Participatory science is a common thread throughout her work: Olivia leads Project FeederWatch, a participatory science monitoring program keeping tabs on winter birds in North America, and she founded Project Phoenix, a community science initiative to monitor bird responses to smoke in the western U.S. Olivia’s work has been covered in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, and Audubon. Prior to joining the Lab, Olivia completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington and an M.S. from the UW–Madison.

Host: Courtney Davis

Hybrid seminar: Zoom registration