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Shon's
Real Resume
Shon's
life and times
as
of March 7, 2001
My professional and
personal interests are quite diverse but tend to share one
common element. They each involve exploring the complex relationships
that structure the natural and sociological world. Currently
my focus is ecologically oriented, exploring the relationships
between organisms and their environment. More specifically,
I'm interested in how exotic weed species impact the plant
and animal communities of the ecosystems they invade and how
classical biological control can moderate the effect. My interests
will probably change over time and, more generally, I expect
my continuing education to enhance my ability to critically
examine the world through the generation of creative hypotheses
and the construction and use of analytical methods. I am also
increasing my competence in sharing ecological knowledge through
writing journal articles, presenting at conferences, and teaching
undergraduate students. Future employment positions that would
allow me to continue exploring my interests are as research/teaching
professor, government researcher, and ecological consultant.
My interest in pursuing
a career in ecological research began in Madison in Dan Young's
Introductory and Field Entomology courses at the University
of Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter I attained the coveted position
of laboratory assistant in the theoretical ecology lab of
Anthony R. Ives, studying the foraging patterns of parasitoid
wasps (Aphidius ervi) on aphid hosts (pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon
pisum). With an environmental studies grant from the Holstrom
Foundation, I examined whether the behavior of a hyperparasitoid
wasp (Asaphes lucens) leads to density-dependent or
density-independent aggregation in response to variation in
host density. This question is important because density-dependent
aggregation behavior of a hyperparasitoid may serve as a negative
feedback mechanism regulating the parasitoid population that
it attacks. This, in turn, may limit the effectiveness of
the primary parasitoid as a biological control agent of the
pea aphid, for which it was introduced. Through examining
variation of host density at three scales (laboratory cages,
field cages, and across multiple fields), we found that density-dependent
aggregation only occurred at the largest spatial scale, where
the variation in host density was the highest. The study had
three important results. First, the hyperparasitoid exhibited
density-dependent aggregation behavior when examined in its
natural environment (the largest scale). Therefore, it may
indeed act to regulate the populations of the primary parasitoid.
Second, it exemplifies the need to observe organisms at the
proper scale if the goal is to understand their behavior in
a natural setting. Third, it resulted in my first published
scientific paper and gave me the satisfaction of contributing
the advancement of scientific knowledge.
After receiving my
BS degree I moved to Corvallis to begin studies in the Department
of Entomology at OSU. Working with Dr. Peter McEvoy (my advisor
at Oregon State) and Eric Coombs (Oregon Department of Agriculture),
I charted and measured the progress of a biological control
system as a series of steps. In a local field trial at Baskett
Slough NWR, we examined the impact of two introduced leaf-skeletonizing
beetles (Galerucella pusilla and G. calmariensis)
on the exotic wetland plant, purple loosestrife (Lythrum
salicaria). We measured and modeled: 1) establishment
of agent, 2) population increase of agent, 3) spread of agent,
4) increase in damage to target plant, 5) decline in target
plant population, and 6) increase in population of desirable
plant species. Quantitative measures of system development
help create more reliable bases for comparison and extrapolation.
This study was presented as a poster at the national Ecological
Society of America meeting in 1998 and published as a master's
thesis at Oregon State University (1998). We are currently
revising the manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed
journal.
After receiving my
MS degree from OSU, I retired for a year to the peace and
quiet of Brooklyn, New York. There, I worked in the publishing
business as an editorial assistant at W.W. Norton and Co.
and concurrently took lessons on human behavior in an urban
environment.
In the summer of 1999
I moved back to Corvallis and accepted an interim position
as "Visiting Scholar" at Earth Design Consultants. There I
worked with Dr. Ralph Garono on methods of studying Oregon
coast range watersheds at landscape scales. We used a Geographic
Information System (ArcInfo and ArcView, ESRI) to classify
and compare watersheds and the consequences of land-use practices
on lamprey and salmon populations. The objective was to create
a quantitative, objective, and repeatable method for classifying
watersheds (100 ha catchments) based on biological attributes
such as land cover and physical attributes such as elevation,
slope, aspect, hillshade, and stream density. These groupings
were used to select replicated study sites in order to examine
the effects of land-use practices on lamprey populations.
The results of this study were presented at the SWS (Society
for Wetland Scientists) national meeting in August of 2000.
Currently I'm working
on a PhD (advised by Dr. Peter McEvoy) under a grant from
a coalition of partners centered in the Portland area. We
are mapping loosestrife in the Columbia Slough and Tualatin
watersheds and examining the progress of biological control
agents released in the Rivergate District of Portland in 1997.
As a part of this study we are also examining the impact of
loosestrife and reed canary grass on plant and moth communities
in NW Oregon.
The impact of an introduced
plant species on local species richness and diversity is somewhat
of a paradox. Initially, an introduced invasive species will
increase the local species richness (S) though itself and
other organisms that are close associates (such as specialist
herbivores and pathogens). As the species establishes and
spreads, it will increase the evenness (J') of species distribution.
Finally, as it approaches a monospecific stand, both species
richness and diversity measures will decline through the displacement
of other species and their associates. I expect that the slight
positive impacts of the introduction will be imperceptible
due to community variability while the negative impact will
become apparent at greater densities of the introduced species.
Therefore, my hypotheses can be simplified as: I expect that
as the density of the introduced plant species increases,
the species richness and diversity of the local plant community
will decrease. Because moths are often associated with specific
host plants, I hypothesize that as the species richness and
diversity of plant hosts declines, so will the species richness
and diversity of the moth community. Preliminary results show
that as reed canary grass densities increase, plant and moth
species richness and diversity decreases.
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