Events

The increasing global demand for farmland products is placing unprecedented pressure on the global agricultural system and has recently led to episodic food crises. New bioenergy policies, changes in diets, and population growth have eroded the ability to cope with shocks in the global food system

Similarly to the probability distribution of energy in physics, the probability distribution of money among the agents in a closed economic system is also expected to follow the exponential Boltzmann-Gibbs law, as a consequence of entropy maximization. Analysis of empirical data shows that income

 Theory, Practice, & Partnership Proposal

Deforestation of tropical forests is considered a global environmental problem as extensive areas of this natural landscape in tropical countries have been transformed into agriculture or urban development. In Brazil, deforestation has degraded, damaged, or

Citizen science greatly expands the scale at which we can collect data and thus explore problems and solutions that are increasingly global in nature. Dr. Leslie Ries works on biodiversity data flowing from citizen-science monitoring efforts, currently focused on North American butterflies. She

Navigating the Complexity of Human-Carnivore Coexistence with Agent-Based Models

Neil Carter’s research integrates ecological and human dimensions for conservation purposes. He conducted his master’s research at the University of Michigan, evaluating the drivers and spatial location of potential

Current understanding of traditional ecological knowledge depicts those bodies of knowledge as threatened and eroding, but—at the same time—as dynamic and adaptive. In this seminar, Dr. Victoria Reyes-García will analyze those apparent contradictions and explore the issue of the value of traditional

From Minuscule Mosquitoes to Whopping Watersheds

This seminar will highlight recent research from Dr. Paul Leisnham's lab, which is centered on two main study areas:

1. Mosquito ecology and management and
2. Watershed health and sustainability.

Dr. Paul Leisnham will focus on studies of mosquitoes

There is no doubt that rural areas are different from urban and suburban areas. Federal programs aimed at improving medical care and education and targeted programs for rural development are some examples of recognition of marked differences between rural and urban areas.

"Rural" is accepted as a

Early Warnings of Land Degradation as a Management Strategy in Coupled Semi-Desert & Pastoral Systems

Andres Baeza is broadly interested in understanding the dynamical consequences of the feedback that emerges in coupled human–natural systems that are under high environmental variability. Most of

Butterfly Population Trends: Insights from Citizen Science

Elise Larsen is a quantitative ecologist interested in population and community dynamics in relation to disturbance and environmental change. Her research at SESYNC focuses on developing new tools for studying population dynamics and

Linking ‘Toxic Outliers’ to Environmental Justice Communities Across the United States

Mary Collins is an environmental sociologist interested in environmental inequality, a concept she defines broadly as the inequitable distribution of both environmental privileges and problems across social

Computational Biological Visualization, Quantitative Image Analysis & Exploring Complex Data

Analyses of multivariate, multi-scale nonlinear phenomena require new tools and conceptual approaches. How do we help viewers interpret and appreciate irregular, asymmetric patterns that occur in biological

The Everglades & Flood Control in the Anthropocene

This seminar presents ongoing qualitative research on the politics of implementing the world’s largest ecosystem restoration program in the Everglades, where flood control and agricultural pollution have gravely imperiled natural systems and urban

Building Evidence-Based Policies

The Sahel—the semi-arid zone stretching across sub-Saharan Africa from the Atlantic to the Red Sea—will see population growth by more than 250% by 2050. Child marriage and female genital cutting are widespread. Climatologists predict that this already hot area will

J. Baird Callicott's research goes forward simultaneously on four main fronts: theoretical environmental ethics; comparative environmental ethics and philosophy; the philosophy of ecology and conservation policy; and biocomplexity in the environment and coupled natural–human systems. He is perhaps