elevational gradients
Spatial gradients in elevation that capture variation in temperature, soil age and type, disturbance regimes, and land-use histories providing important insights into how organisms, communities, and e...
bee conservation
Management strategies and techniques aimed at supporting and maintaining bee populations and their ecological functions.
water quality standards
Regulatory standards for contaminant concentrations in water bodies including acute and chronic limits for aquatic life protection
environmental drivers
Rensch's Rule
leaf economics spectrum
Describes consistent and strong correlations among plant functional traits reflecting the ecological tradeoffs and constraints of plants around resource use
time budget
The allocation of time among different activities that determines overall energy expenditure patterns
resilience
biological pest control
Introduction of natural enemies to reduce pest population density through environmentally friendly means
hot spots and hot moments
long-term ecological studies
Ecological research projects that follow individuals or systems over extended periods, often spanning decades
space-for-time substitution
Assumption that spatial differences in environmental conditions can predict temporal responses to environmental change
undergraduate field experiences
Student learning experiences that occur in nature, taking various forms from field laboratories to multi-day field trips and research internships
critical zone
The near-surface environment where rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms interact and drive Earth surface processes
ecological consequences
ecosystem-based management
nutritional ecology
Study of how organisms obtain and use nutrients and how nutrition affects fitness
Atokan
chronosequence
A series of sites of different ages since disturbance used to infer temporal changes in ecological processes
cognitive ecology
Study of how cognitive mechanisms govern decision-making by floral visitors and shape pollination and plant fitness
complex adaptive systems
conservation biology
Scientific discipline focused on protecting and preserving species and ecosystems
ecosystem services
Benefits that humans derive from ecosystem processes, including pollination, pest control, and decomposition
exponential distribution of root mass
functional zonation
ASNE framework
Abundance, Size, Number, Energy framework that uses ecological state variables to predict ecosystem structure functions
Atoka Series
Experience Economy Model
Fusulinid Biozones
Lower Missouri Series
Morrowan
Tinbergen's four questions
Four categories of biological explanation: proximate causation, development, adaptive utility, and evolutionary history
Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence
A theoretical model arguing that three social factors influence students' integration into the scientific community: scientific self-efficacy, scientific identity, and perceptions of alignment between...
Value, Attitude & Behavior Model
activated control point
amphibian conservation
Conservation strategies for protecting declining amphibian populations globally
biodiversity monitoring
Systematic observation and assessment of biological diversity over time to detect changes in species populations, community composition, and ecosystem health
bioeconomic model
bioenergetics
Study of energy flow and energy dynamics in biological systems
built environment microbiology
Study of microbial communities and processes in constructed habitats and structures
captive breeding
Conservation strategy to preserve threatened or critically endangered species through maintaining reproductive populations in captivity
collective management
disease vector ecology
Study of organisms that transmit pathogens between hosts, particularly focusing on their distribution and abundance
ecological forecasting
The process of generating model-based, quantitative predictions of the future state and dynamics of an ecological system
efficient theories
equation of state
Mathematical relationship among state variables that describes the system independent of how those values were achieved
equity and inclusion
Ensuring that fieldwork safety accommodates different identities and experiences, and that safety cannot be promoted except through explicit consideration of power dynamics and workers' identities
ethnobiology
functional morphology
The study of how morphological structures relate to their function, in this case how syrphid pile density affects pollen capture
functional traits
Species characteristics including body mass, nest location, and overwintering stage that influence phenological responses
