Fundamental Ecology

Thinking about the immensity of species that can be found on earth is incredible. Biodiversity and variety are everywhere as competition for resources and the struggle for survival have produced environments where differing species flourish or flounder under the pressures of existence. The strong win and the weak lose, yet, what about some of the oldest biomes on the planet? If such is the case, then why do species co-exist? Ross Conner, a first-year graduate student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, seeks to shed light on fundamental questions of biodiversity as he pursues his Master of Science under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Fox at the University of Calgary.

“The oldest habitats have the highest species richness; diversity does not result in species elimination.” offers Ross, comparing species’ coexistence to businesses in a thriving economy. He  relates the quickness of starting a business to the time it takes for a new species to evolve, asking why older industries are often dominated by only a few firms, yet many new and introduced species attain an equilibrium within their ecosystems, resulting in higher species richness.  

Conner is no stranger to the business world. After receiving his BSc in Animal Biology from the University of British Columbia he worked in forestry in the East Kootenay region later earning a Bachelor of Applied Technology in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from SAIT. He then began work with the Canadian Forest Service using spatial mapping, remote sensing, and analysis in forest fire modelling with Jen Beverly of the University of Alberta and published two papers (Beverly et al 2009, Beverly et al 2010).  

Ross took his experience to Calgary-based Matrix Solutions Environmental Consulting where he performed environmental impact assessments (EIA) on oil sands projects, assisting clients by streamlining development to produce ecological benefits for the same economic output.  

Leveraging his knowledge of remote sensing, he co-created a platform using aerial imagery and advanced photogrammetry techniques. He collected 800,000 hectares of imagery in the first year of the platform, allowing experts to analyse sites from the comfort of their offices without visiting the sites and incurring the expense of first-hand helicopter observation. Ross ventured into the entrepreneurial field when he cofounded a start-up that aimed to streamline the costs and time needed to reclaim the 400,000 abandoned and suspended wells in Alberta.  

Over a decade of industry experience has provided Ross with a wealth of knowledge and insight in business, but he credits his passion for ecology to his roots in biology. He recalls when he was younger, people asked ”what are you going to be when you grow up? Firefighter? Doctor?’ I’d say, ‘I’m going to be a zoologist!’”. Although it was not an easy decision to return to school, his choice was made easier with the support of his family and his admiration of Dr. Fox’s research. “Dr. Fox’s Lab has a combination of microcosm experiments and theoretical modeling. It allows us to investigate interesting biological questions that can’t be addressed with other model systems.” Looking to improve his stats background and mathematical modelling skills, he returned with a very different perspective on graduate school. He brought a renewed spark to learning and research as well as a toolbox of unique skills. 

Upon his return to school, his fundamental question remained to be answered: why do species co-exist? Considering predation and competition, why were there more species the longer a biome remained? Exploring these answers, Ross frequents different eco-systems and chooses vacations to areas rich in biodiversity. He has visited the Galapagos Islands, Borneo, and Indonesia to name a few. The non-linear nature of biological systems and yearning to understand how they work make his face light up. Explaining the workings of his research into higher level interactions of species and their impact on the equilibrium of a system, Conner effortlessly moves from the bird’s eye view to the extreme close-up. He sees this ability as the best way to uncover the connections that may be overlooked when trying to solve a problem. 

Ross provides a succinct example of higher order interactions and how this research approach affects his work with Dr. Fox. In a famous Yellowstone National Park study (Ripple and Beschta, 2012; Ripple et al, 2015), elk were grazing beside a river and limiting the ability for trees and shrubs to take root.  This led to erosion of the banks. Wolves were introduced to the area resulting in a multitude of modifications to the ecosystem. The elk were not culled by the wolves but changed their grazing patterns by moving to higher ground. Trees and shrubs returned to the riparian areas as did berries, birds and beavers. The standard interaction was predation, but the higher order interaction of fear resulted in a trophic cascade of effects. Despite this famous example, Dr. Fox’s work theorises that higher order interactions act as noise and the introduction of more species eventually cancels this ‘noise’ out due to the law of large numbers. Ross is working to verify this through computer modeling and experiments with protist colony data and is introducing machine learning and computer vision to his experiments with protists using images from microscopes to identify and count the organisms. He feels this approach will reduce the time needed to collect data and allow for experiments of increased scale. 

Gaining skills in machine learning, programming, and other methods to data gathering and analysis have helped Conner approach fundamental ecology problems in a new way. He advises other students to take advantage of skills they learn from other domains and to be open to different approaches and possibilities. As a scientist, he knows that researchers tend to be isolationists, but he encourages others to reach out and talk to peers. He also loves the “jolt of achievement when you figure something out” and sees his work as searching and finding answers but not the answer. As approaches to continued learning differ, Ross sees the attitude of the business community in promoting knowledge growth as a great example for the sciences. Learning should not stop at mastery of a skill. A passion for biological study has rekindled his curiosity and allowed Ross to reach for new heights. 

  

For more on Dr. Fox’s research, visit: https://foxlabcalgary.wordpress.com/ 

  

Citations: 

Modeling fire susceptibility in west central Alberta, Canada, Beverly, J. L., Herd, E. P. K., Conner, J. C. R., Forest Ecology and Management 258 (2009) 1465–1478 

Assessing the exposure of the built environment to potential ignition sources generated from vegetative fuel, Beverly, J. L., Bothwell, P., Conner, J. C. R., Herd, E. P. K., International Journal of Wildland Fire 2010, 19, 299–313 

Trophic cascades in Yellowstone: The first 15 years after wolf reintroduction, Ripple, W. J., Beschta, R. L., Biological Conservation 145 (2012) 205–213 

Trophic cascades from wolves to alders in Yellowstone, Ripple, W. J., Beschta, R. L., Painter, L. E., Forest Ecology and Management 354 (2015) 254–260

 

 

 

Article by Neil Christensen