Ecologists increasingly challenge ecological paradigms developed during Holocene conditions because they are not effective for understanding and conserving ecosystems in the Anthropocene. In the 1970s ecologists agreed that tropical ecosystems were fragile. Today, ecologists focus on the resilience and adaptability to disturbances of tropical ecosystems, not their fragility. Similarly, ecologists have traditionally considered human activity as an external disturbance of “natural” ecosystems, but in the Anthropocene, the notion of “naturalness” is challenged and humans are considered part of ecological systems; hence the notion of social-ecological systems. Human wellbeing is dependent on the functioning and adaptation of social-ecological systems to extreme events. Increasing frequency of extreme events during the Anthropocene will challenge the adaptability of social-ecological systems. Caribbean islands are excellent models of the Anthropocene, because of the intensity of human activity and the high levels of commercial and biodiversity interchange with the rest of the world. Moreover, these islands are exposed to extreme events such as hurricanes, droughts, floods, and economic collapses that threaten human wellbeing. I will define and compare extreme events in relation to the effects on the functioning of insular social-ecological systems, and explore how social-ecological systems adapt to changing environmental conditions and contribute to human wellbeing. Popular management recommendations for resilience based on the Holocene, do not apply to the Anthropocene, but can work in the opposite direction by reducing resilience and adaptability. An example is the eradication of non-native species solely because of their geographic origin while ignoring their ecological roles under novel environmental conditions.

Brief Bio

Ariel Lugo is a native Puerto Rican with a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a Life Member of the Ecological Society of America and current Director of the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry. Previously he taught at the University of Florida at Gainesville and was a Staff Member at the President’s Council on Environmental Quality in Washington DC.

Lugo has worked on mangroves and freshwater wetlands; dry, moist, wet, and rain forests; and tropical tree plantations. He is currently dedicated to the study of tropical cities and novel forests. His interests are in ecosystem functioning with a focus on nutrient and carbon cycling, and has a publication output of about 530 papers with over 30,000 citations. The United Nations named him a Forest Hero for his work with mahogany and community forestry.

The Arctic is a showcase for the interplay of ecology and society in a rapidly changing world. Temperatures in the Arctic are rising about twice as fast as the global average, driving a cascade of abiotic and biotic effects on the structure and function of Arctic ecosystems. In this lecture, I highlight recent advances in our understanding of the causes and consequences of rapid Arctic environmental change. I draw from my research on the ecology of Arctic mosquitoes and aquatic ecosystems to demonstrate 1) strong ecological responses to climate variation, including extreme events, and 2) how these responses are relevant to animal and human systems in the north. I will discuss how the integration of empirical research, biological monitoring, and community engagement are key for advancing the theoretical understanding of Arctic ecology and for anticipating and responding to impacts on human well-being. People and ecosystems in the Arctic will continue to be disproportionately affected by rapid environmental change, but what happens in the Arctic is also a bellwether of what’s to come for the rest of the world in the Anthropocene.

Brief Bio

Lauren E. Culler is an ecologist who has been studying Arctic insect community dynamics since 2009. She is a Research Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College, and, as outreach coordinator at Dartmouth’s Institute of Arctic Studies, leads NSF-funded student science expeditions to Greenland and Antarctica.

New remote sensing techniques provide observations corresponding to many of the most common field and lab plant science measurements. New sensors and retrieval techniques for solar-induced fluorescence, evapotranspiration, leaf water content and water potential, chlorophyll, nutrient content and even species diversity provide new tools at new scales for plant biology. Coverage by these measurements is becoming more and more frequent and widespread, and will be further enhanced by planned and proposed new missions, as well as via aircraft sensors. Remote observations now characterize many of the measures used to index plant performance and stress in situ, but for plant communities and across large areas. These new measurements have already challenged many long-held assumptions about vegetation response to climate and are transforming out understanding of our living planet.