ESA to feature wide range of UW-Madison pre...( The Ecological Society of America wi...)

The Ecological Society of America will hold its 93rd annual meeting on Aug. 3-8, 2008, in Milwaukee, Wis. The society was founded in 1915 to promote the practice and awareness of ecological science.

This year's meeting will highlight the interdisciplinary nature of ecology and linking research with education. A wide range of University of Wisconsin-Madison research will be presented at the meeting, including a number of presentations of interest to environmental reporters. Highlights are included in this tipsheet.

A new book, titled "The Vanishing Present: Wisconsin's Changing Lands, Waters, and Wildlife," examines how human pressures urbanization, population growth, and land use changes are reshaping the state's ecology and environment.

Edited by UW-Madison botany and environmental studies professor Don Waller and Wright State University biology professor Thomas Rooney, the book brings together viewpoints of dozens of scientists, natural resource managers, and policy experts to offer insight into Wisconsin's ecological past, present, and future. The book will be available at the meeting.

Contact: Don Waller, dmwaller@wisc.edu, (608) 263-2042

Climate models generally predict an increase in climate variability and extremes due to the enhanced greenhouse effect. Michael Notaro, a scientist in the UW-Madison Center for Climatic Research, has applied a dynamic global vegetation model to determine how year-to-year climate fluctuations will affect vegetation types and patterns and fire risk.

He has found that interannual climate variability reduces net global vegetation cover, particularly in semi-arid regions such as the southwest U.S. At the same time, the m
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