Stanford biologist to keynote ecology symposium

A biologist who has devoted much of his career to studying the phenomenon of biological invasions on the Hawaiian Islands will be the keynote speaker Sept. 23-24 at UW–Madison’s annual fall ecology research symposium.

Peter Vitousek, the Clifford G. Morrison Professor in Population and Resource Studies at Stanford University, will give two free public lectures:

• “Soils, Agriculture and Sustainability in Pre-Contact Polynesia,” 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, in 145 Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Drive; and
• “Sources of Nutrients During Four Million Years of Soil and Ecosystem Development,” 3:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 24, in the Genetics-Biotechnology Center Auditorium, 425 Henry Mall.

UW-Madison researchers from five academic departments will give presentations about their current ecological studies before the second lecture, from 1-3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, in the Genetics-Biotechnology Auditorium. The researchers are professors Janette Boughman, zoology; Katherine McMahon, civil and environmental engineering; Claudio Gratton, entomology; Nicholas Balster, soil science; and associate scientist Anna Pidgeon, forest ecology and management. This session also is free and open to all.

Vitousek was named by TIME/CNN as one of “America’s Best” in science and medicine in 2001. In extensive studies of nutrient cycling in tropical and temperate forests, he has demonstrated that biological invasions of exotic species can alter ecosystems significantly. His current studies seek to better understand interactions between components of global change and terrestrial ecosystems.

The symposium is organized by the UW–Madison Ecology Group, composed of faculty and academic staff members from throughout the campus, and cosponsored by the University Lectures Committee and a variety of university departments.

For more information, contact the symposium coordinator, Alison Duff, (608) 265-6712, meg@mail.ies.wisc.edu.