MBL Biological Discovery in Woods Hole

The Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Cover photo: Atigun Gorge in the Brooks Range, Alaska. Photo is taken from the edge of the Arctic LTER study site and looks west along the Atigun River, which lies in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (photo: Jonathan Benstead)

The Ecosystems Center MBL 7 MBL Street Woods Hole, 02543 http://www.ecosystems.mbl.edu

Editors: Jerry M. Melillo and Deborah G. Scanlon Designer: Beth Ready Liles The Ecosystems Center was founded by the MBL as a year-round research program in 1975. The center’s mission is to investigate the structure and functioning of ecological systems, predict their response to changing environmental conditions, apply the resulting knowledge to the preservation and management of natural resources, and educate both future scientists and concerned citizens.

The Ecosystems Center operates as a collegial In Brazil, scientists investigate how the clearing association of scientists. Center scientists work of tropical forests in the western Amazon changes together on projects, as well as with investigators greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and from other MBL centers and other institutions, nitrous oxide released into the atmosphere. combining expertise from a wide range of What will the effect be on global climate? How disciplines. Together they conduct research to will change in temperature and atmospheric gas answer a variety of scientific questions: concentrations affect the productivity of forests? What effect does the clearing of forest for pasture have on tropical stream ecosystems?

In Harbor, researchers measure the transfer of nitrogen from the sediments to the water column. How long will it take the harbor to recover from decades of sewage addition?

In the Arctic rivers of Eurasia, center scientists have conducted research that shows increased freshwater discharge to the Arctic . If ocean circulation is affected, how might the climate in western Europe and eastern North America change?

On Martha’s Vineyard, researchers restore coastal sandplain ecosystems with either controlled burning or mechanical clearing. How much will beneficial processes such as groundwater recharge and nitrogen retention increase in restored ecosystems? Toolik Lake, Alaska, Will restoration bring back diversity in plant and with Brooks Range At the Arctic Long Term Ecological Research animal species? in the background, (LTER) project on Alaska’s North Slope and at site of the Ecosystems Center’s Long Term research sites in Greenland and northern At the Harvard Forest LTER project in central Ecological Research Scandinavia, Ecosystems Center scientists study Massachusetts and at the Abisko Scientific project. (Photo: John the effects of warmer temperatures on Arctic Research Station in Sweden, scientists use soil- Hobbie) ecosystems. Will increased permafrost thaw make warming experiments to assess how temperate more nutrients available to plants? If these nutrients forests and sub-arctic shrublands would respond flow into streams and lakes, how will they affect to climate warming. How much carbon might the aquatic food web? be released as temperatures increase? How will warming change plant communities? Will changes At the Plum Island Ecosystem LTER site in in nitrogen cycling affect carbon storage in plants? northern Massachusetts, researchers ask how urban development affects the flow of nutrients and Computer models at the center are also used to organic matter into estuaries. How ask questions about effects of future changes in will they alter the food web and plant growth in climate, carbon dioxide, and ozone on vegetation salt marshes? What happens to the production of productivity and carbon storage world-wide. A commercially valuable fish as a result? project with social and atmospheric scientists at MIT investigates ecological responses to various scenarios of economic and energy development.

Ecosystems Center Report 2006  The “Anthropocene” Era

Christie Haupert prepares to add a stable isotope tracer to an Amazonian stream in Brazil. The Brazilian Amazon has experienced dramatic land-use changes in the past three decades. (Photo: Chris Neill)

oday humans are a major, and sometimes overwhelming, Tenvironmental force. This period of Earth’s history is being called the “Anthropocene” era. Through our actions we have changed the climate, altered the chemistry of the atmosphere and precipitation, and cleared vast areas of natural vegetation for agriculture.

During the 20th century, fossil fuel burning and deforestation have increased the carbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere by about 30%. Loading of the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is largely responsible for the increase in the global surface temperature by 1.0oF (0.6oC) over the past century. The emissions of nitrogen oxides during the burning of coal, oil, and gas have also led to increases in near-surface ozone and in the nitrogen content of precipitation. Toward the end of the 20th century, annual global deforestation rates averaged at least 10 million hectares, a land area slightly larger than .

The human-induced changes have acted singly or together to diminish the capacity of ecosystems to deliver essential services. These services include the cleansing of air and water, the stabilization of landscapes against wind and water erosion, and the provision of recreation habitats. A major focus of Ecosystems Center science is the coastal zone, which has been heavily affected by human use. Here, Emily Gaines The ecosystems of the world deliver these and other life-sustaining and Hap Garritt dig for clams, part of the services for free. In many cases, they involve such complexity and are annual stable isotope food web survey at the on a scale so vast that humanity would find it impossible to find a Plum Island Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research project in northern Massachusetts. substitute for them. Staple isotopes of filter-feeding clams provide information about sources of organic matter As a result of continued population growth and increased consumption, that are important to estuarine food webs. we will face great challenges to maintain ecosystem services in the (Photo: W. McDonald Lee) future. The United Nations projects that the world population will

 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 An increase in fresh water dis- charge into the Arctic and North Atlantic could lead to a slowdown of the thermohaline circulation - the giant ocean conveyor system that warms the climate in many northern countries. Bruce Peterson and his colleagues collect samples from Russia’s Lena River as part of a study of how freshwater inputs from Arctic rivers are changing Arctic Ocean salinity. (Photo: Max Holmes)

increase about 40% by 2050, to 8.9 billion people. Per capita consumption will almost certainly increase, especially in the rapidly developing regions of the world such as China and India. As the economies of the two most populous nations in the world grow, their appetite for goods of all kinds is increasing. For example, new car sales have exploded in both China and India during the early years of this century. Annual new car sales of 4 million units in China and 1 million units a year in India are now the norm. This has major implications for resource use and impacts including climate change.

To protect and improve the environment and its capacity to deliver essential services, we need new knowledge partnerships among government leaders, the business community, and scientists and engineers. Through these partnerships, we must find ways to create a dynamic economy while protecting and improving the environment.

Scientists at the MBL’s Ecosystems Center are contributing to these knowledge partnerships by clearly defining complex environmental problems, evaluating the environmental consequences of proposed solutions, and offering new solutions based on a solid scientific foundation.

This report contains examples of how Ecosystems Center researchers are providing the ecosystem science needed for wise management of the planet for the benefit of future Ecosystems Center scientists study the long term effects of climate warming on forest ecology generations. at the Harvard Forest Long Term Ecological Research project in Petersham, Massachusetts. (Photo: David Foster)

Anne Giblin collects a sediment core for analysis from West Falmouth (Massachusetts) Harbor. Coastal estuaries such as this one are heav- ily influenced by nitrogen pollution. (Photo: Tom Kleindinst)

Ecosystems Center Report 2006  Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change

Shrubs rise above the snow cover in the springtime on the Arctic tundra, north of the Brooks Range. Ecosystems Center researchers are finding that the tundra is getting “shrubbier,” and that the shrubs absorb more solar energy than the snow, which increases climate warming. (Photo: Jim Laundre)

As 2006 ended, the Bush administration century in the northeast part of the United showed signs of recognizing the effects of States winters could warm by 8 to 12oF (4 to global warming by proposing to add 7oC) and summers by 6 to 14oF (3 to 8oC). Put polar bears to the list of “threatened” another way, by the end of the century, the animals under the Endangered Species climate of Massachusetts could be similar to Act. The U.S. Interior Secretary today’s climate in the Carolinas. acknowledged that the polar bears’ environment was slowly deteriorating Global warming and associated changes in from melting ice sheets caused by global precipitation are already affecting ecosystems, warming. and the effects will be even greater with more The global annual temperature for rapid climate change in the future. combined land and ocean surfaces in 2006 was +0.97°F (+0.54°C) above the Through controlled laboratory and field long-term average, ranking it the 5th experiments, MBL Ecosystems Center scientists warmest in the period of record. Over are documenting the consequences of climate the 21st century, global warming and change, adding to our understanding of how related climate changes are expected climate affects fundamental ecosystem processes Gus Shaver and associates Craig to accelerate as we add more carbon such as plant photosynthesis and decay of Menzies of the University of dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the organic material by microbes. Ecosystems Edinburgh and Peter van Buuren atmosphere. Center scientists are also developing simulation of Wageningen University set up models to predict possible impacts of climate equipment to measure reflection of light from vegetation at a In the absence of major initiatives to reduce changes in the future and to help resource heath site in Zackenberg Valley, continued growth of world greenhouse gas managers make wise choices. Greenland. (Photo: Lorna Street) emissions, estimates are that by the end of the

 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Scientists at the Arctic Long Term Ecological Research site at Toolik The Arctic Gets “Shrubbier” as the Climate Warms Lake, Alaska, have built simple wood frame greenhouses with plastic walls for their warming experiments. Greenhouses egetation and climate in the Arctic are Shrubbiness is important because shrubs stick up at left show an increase V changing, and these changes are influencing each above the winter snow cover and absorb more in shrubs, contrasted with other. Aerial photographs of the same places on solar energy than white snow, which reflects 90% the rest of the tundra. At of the sun’s energy. Particularly during the spring right, Jim Laundre, Gus the Alaskan tundra taken in the 1950s and again Shaver, and Molly Beland th at the end of the 20 century show that this snowmelt period, this reduced reflection increases reinforce a greenhouse. region is getting more shrubby. Over the same energy absorption by the vegetation, increasing (Photos: Jim Laundre and time period, average annual temperatures across its temperature and the rate of snowmelt, and Megan Hedlund) the Alaskan Arctic have risen between 3 to 6oF also warming the air around the vegetation—a (2 to 3oC). These temperature changes are among feedback on climate that tends to increase the the most rapid on the planet. warming trend.

Center scientist Gus Shaver and his colleagues Increases in shrubbiness, in addition to causing have been studying the linkages between changes greater air warming, also have a major impact in vegetation and climate for several decades. At on soil temperature. In winter, shrubs trap more the Arctic Long Term Ecological Research site snow, which insulates the soil from the very cold on the North Slope of Alaska’s Brooks Range, winter air temperatures. This greater insulation they have built wood-framed greenhouses with beneath shrubs leads to warmer soils in the winter, walls of plastic to enclose patches of natural making it possible for more soil nutrient release vegetation. Air temperatures in the greenhouses and, perhaps, even greater shrub growth in the have been warmed by 9oF (5oC) and the shrubby following summer. On the other hand, during the vegetation has become thicker and taller. summer, the dense shrub canopies act to intercept the sun’s energy before it hits the soil, leading to Exactly what is it about the warmer temperature cooler soils. Cooler soils would tend to release that is causing the increase in “shrubbiness”? smaller amounts of soil nutrients, thus retarding Through a set of studies that have involved soil additional increases in shrub abundance. fertilization as well as the greenhouse enclosures, Shaver and his co-workers have shown that “At present we cannot predict with any certainty the increase in shrub abundance is probably which of these two alternatives will predominate,” not due directly to the effects of warming on says Shaver, “yet it is clear that initial changes shrub growth, but to the effects of warming on in vegetation in response to warming will play nutrient supply in the soil. As the air warms, so an important role in modulating further changes does the soil, and warmer soils stimulate greater in both vegetation and the warming itself. This production of plant-available nitrogen. Greater is why we do long-term, whole-ecosystem nitrogen supply leads to greater plant growth in experiments. Continued monitoring of these general, and especially to greater shrub growth experiments will give us the ability to make because shrubs can out-compete other species by increasingly accurate predictions of long-term growing taller. changes in the environment.”

Ecosystems Center Report 2006  Burning the rainforest to clear land for oil palm plantations near the Bukit Tigapuluh Nature Reserve, Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo: © WWF-Canon/ Mark Edwards)

Globalization and the Environment

Globalization of the world’s economy—the others to promote the use of biofuels, including strengthening of economic connections among biodiesel, could push this area up to above 18 nations—is not only reshaping international million hectares by 2020, again at the expense relations, but it is driving the transformation of tropical forests. of many of the largest regions of natural ecosystems left on earth. Much of this change In Brazil, increased demand for animal feed now occurs in the tropics. Forests are being and beef is reshaping the landscape. Large tracts logged, often illegally, to meet the growing of forests and savannas are being replaced by demand for wood. In addition, forests and soybean fields, with the harvested soybeans savannas are being cleared for tree plantations, used to produce animal feed. A 2001 ban by mechanized agriculture plots, and pastures to the EU on feeding animal protein to livestock, produce a range of commodities for global combined with changes in the Chinese diet markets including biofuels, animal feed, to include more meat, have created record and beef. demands for Brazilian soybean meal to feed pigs and other animals in Europe and China. Indonesia and Brazil are frontline countries in the supply of forest and agricultural products Human diets richer in beef have caused forest to industrial nations. The tropical forests of and savanna clearing to create cattle ranches in Indonesia are being cleared to meet ever- the Brazilian Amazon. The beef cattle grown growing demands for wood and biodiesel. on these ranches have helped make Brazil the In places like the Kalimantan province on world’s largest beef exporter, selling fresh and the Indonesian island of Borneo, powerful cooked beef to 150 countries. Russia and Cattle grazing in a pasture in lathes peel trees to thin veneers that are glued the EU are among its largest customers for Rondônia, Brazil, where Ecosys- together to make plywood for export to other fresh beef, while the is a major tems Center scientists have been parts of Asia, Europe, and North America. importer of Brazil’s cooked beef. With beef conducting research with Brazilian colleagues for the past 15 years. Over the past decade, as much as 40% of exports growing each year (by about 4% by (Photo: Chris Neill) Indonesia’s annual plywood production has volume in 2006), there is pressure to carve out been exported to the United States and another more ranch land from the forests and savannas 20% to countries in the European Union (EU). of the Brazilian Amazon.

Following forest clearing in Kalimantan and The growing demands on the landscapes of elsewhere in Indonesia, oil palm plantations Indonesia, Brazil, and many other tropical are often established for the production of countries have created new ecological biodiesel. There are now about 6.5 million challenges. The science conducted by MBL hectares of oil palm plantations in Borneo and Ecosystems Center researchers is vital to laying Sumatra. Recent decisions made by China, a foundation for environmental protection in the EU nations, Japan, the United States, and this new globalized world.

 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 After the rainforest is burned, oil palm companies will clear land and plant oil palm trees. Bukit Tigapuluh Nature Biofuels, Energy, and the Environment: Reserve, Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo: The Need for a Certification System © WWF-Canon/ Mark Edwards)

ith oil prices between $50 and $60 a barrel, the market for biofuels is growing rapidly. WSome industrial nations, including the United States, are using a portion of their croplands to raise sugar- and starch-rich plants such as corn to produce ethanol and oil-rich plants such as soybeans to produce biodiesel. The United States, along with China, Japan, and the European Union (EU), are also looking to the tropics as sources of biofuels.

Ethanol from sugarcane grown in the tropical savanna region of Brazil will likely play a role in meeting the transportation fuel needs of economic powers including the United States and Japan. Biodiesel from oil palms grown in the once-forested areas of Asia will almost certainly have a role in meeting the transportation fuel needs of China and some EU nations.

What are the benefits and costs of biofuels produced in the tropics? Will they help us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without causing serious environmental problems? How can we use science to make biofuels a desirable part of a 21st century energy strategy for society?

The Ecosystems Center’s Jerry Melillo, David Kicklighter, Loading of logs from illegal Ben Felzer, Tim Cronin, and their colleagues at MIT, cutting in the region of Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Brown University, and the University of São Paulo have begun to address these questions. They (Photo: © WWF/ Volker Kess) are combining remote sensing, field measurements, and simulation modeling to develop analyses of the net energy yields and the environmental consequences of biofuel production in the tropical savanna and forest regions across the globe.

This multi-institution, interdisciplinary team uses remote sensing to estimate the rate of expansion of biofuel crops into savannas and forests. They make field measurements to quantify how the replacement of natural vegetation with biofuel crops and plantations changes emissions to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide), nutrient enrichment of ground and surface waters, and several indexes of biodiversity. In addition, they are developing and using simulation models to produce integrated regional estimates of net energy yields and environmental consequences associated with a range of biofuel crops.

One of the long-term goals of this work is to develop a scientifically based scheme to certify that the production of a biofuel is sustainable. Such a scheme would consider a number of issues including energy and greenhouse gas balances involved in biofuel production, consequences for food and water supplies, effects on the local culture and economy, and impacts on biodiversity. Studying these issues will help us determine the role biofuels can play in a sustainable transition away from fossil fuels.

Ecosystems Center Report 2006  Coastal areas provide a range of services to society, from fisheries and mariculture to recreation, storm protection, and a habitat for plants and animals. (Photo: Amanda Keledjian)

Managing the Coastal Zone

Some of the most heavily used ecosystems Coastline development causes habitat loss in in the world are in the coastal zones of estuaries and coastal marshes. The United the continents. More than half of the States Environmental Protection Agency world’s population lives in coastal and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric watersheds, and 13 of the 20 largest Administration estimate that many of our cities in the world are located on estuaries show signs of degradation or the coast. In the United States, an impairment. Between 30 and 40% of shellfish- estimated 37 million people and 19 growing waters in the nation’s estuaries cannot million homes have been added to be harvested each year because of bacterial coastal areas during the past three contamination from urban and agricultural decades. runoff. And intertidal wetlands are rapidly losing ground to rising sea level. This intensity of human use is threatening the environmental Federal, state, and local governments are integrity and sustainability of recognizing these environmental challenges and are trying to address them in an coastal zone ecosystems and the environmentally and economically sustainable many services they provide. way. Scientists at MBL’s Ecosystems Center Hannah Madsen of are helping by providing basic scientific Middlebury College checks understanding of how coastal ecosystems work, on her algal growth Urbanization and intensive agriculture in coastal how they are linked to one another, and how experiment in the marshes watersheds and engineering of river systems they are being disrupted by human actions. of Plum Island Estuary in alter the inputs of freshwater, sediments, and northern Massachusetts. This knowledge is key to the design of nutrients to estuaries and the coastal ocean. (Photo: Danielle Tomasso) sustainable solutions to coastal-zone problems.

 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Saving Salt Marshes from Risks of Coastal Development

alt marshes, low coastal grasslands frequently flooded by tides, have been the subject of poets Sand nature writers who celebrate the marshes’ beauty and the special roles they play as part of Earth’s living fabric. Salt marshes function as coastal-storm buffers, nursery grounds for fishes, habitat for birds, and so much more.

Almost 50 years have passed since John and Mildred Teal first published their classic book, Life and Death of the Salt Marsh, in which they warned that salt marshes were in danger from direct and indirect human activities. Their list of direct dangers included “dredging, filling, and building.” They identified pollution as the indirect danger.

Unfortunately, their warnings have not been heeded, and little action has been taken. Today, nitrogen entering salt marshes from septic systems and runoff from heavily fertilized lawns and Plum Island Estuary in agricultural plots is overwhelming the marshes and compromising their abilities to function northern Massachusetts properly. (Photo: Christian Picard)

Marshes can absorb some of the surplus nitrogen, but when critical thresholds are passed, plant and animal abundances and food webs are likely to change, sometimes abruptly. MBL Ecosystems Center scientist Linda Deegan is leading a project to understand how increased nutrients and changes in species composition may be affecting the long-term survival of salt marshes.

In a unique whole-ecosystem manipulation, Deegan and her colleagues are adding nutrients to salt marsh ecosystems via tidal water to emulate broad-based coastal nutrient enrichment. They are also studying how the removal of the most common fish in salt marshes, the minnow-like mummichog, might alter the response of the salt marsh to nutrient enrichment. “We hope to understand whether these changes in nutrient inputs and food-web structure might interact to push these systems over the edge,” Deegan says. Salt marshes function as coastal-storm One issue that center scientists are focusing on is whether the added buffers, nursery grounds for fishes, habitat nitrogen will cause plant species to change and to grow and decompose for birds, and so much more. so fast that the buildup of marsh peat will slow or stop altogether. “Without peat buildup, a natural process in marshes, these critical ecosystems will drown as sea level rises in response to global warming,” says Deegan. “The open waters that replace the salt marshes will not provide the same kinds and quantities of fish and shellfish or buffer homes and businesses from coastal storms.”

While the experiment has only been underway for three years, the marsh is already changing in response to the manipulations. Plants that produce less peat are favored by the experimental nutrient enrichment. The removal of mummichogs from the marsh food web has led to algal blooms in response to the added nutrients. This response points to important interactions between nutrient loading and food-web shifts in marsh ecosystems.

Looking to the future, Deegan notes, “The project will provide concrete knowledge essential for coastal-zone management decisions such as whether to construct multi-million dollar sewage treatment facilities to reduce nutrient loading, when to regulate fishing, or where to rebuild lost salt marshes that will affect coastal communities for generations.”

Ecosystems Center Report 2006  Education

Semester in Environmental Science

he Ecosystems Center first offered its Tundergraduate program, the Semester in Environmental Science (SES), in fall 1997. During the past 10 years, 158 students have completed the program, including 18 students representing 14 colleges in 2006. Amy Townsend-Small, a member of the first SES class One of the distinguishing features of SES, compared with most off-campus in 1997, collects samples for studies programs, is the ongoing involvement of the Ecosystems Center faculty her doctoral research in the with these students as they pursue their careers. About one in five SES alumni Peruvian Andes. (Photo: Jorge Noguera) have returned to the MBL to work as summer interns, research assistants, or teaching fellows in SES. Nearly 40% have continued with their education to receive graduate degrees and advanced training in related fields ranging from environmental law and public health to civil engineering, oceanography, and ecosystems science.

The goal of SES is to help train the next generation of environmental leaders, people like Amy Townsend-Small. In 1997, Amy enrolled in the first SES class. A senior at Skidmore College, she had a double major in biology and English literature, and, she says, “I jumped at the opportunity to work at a real laboratory at one of the most renowned institutions in the United States.” Kim Morrell (Carleton College) measures stream current. (Photo: Yusuke During SES, she was introduced to the field of biogeochemistry, and Kumai) immediately took to it. “From the very beginning, I was hooked!” she says. For her independent research project, she used stable isotopes of nitrogen to trace groundwater inputs from the Falmouth, Massachusetts, Sewage Treatment Plant to West Falmouth Harbor and Buzzards Bay. She had help analyzing her nitrogen isotopes from MBL-Boston University Marine Program graduate student, Jim McClelland. Jim then left MBL for a postdoctoral fellowship at Tech and returned to the Ecosystems Center as a staff scientist with Bruce Peterson, studying inputs of water, carbon, and other materials from the rivers of Siberia to the Arctic Ocean.

Meanwhile, Amy graduated from Skidmore in 1998, took a few years off to prepare for graduate school, and entered the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. As a graduate student in the Department of Marine Science there, she

10 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 used many of the lessons and skills she learned at SES. Using stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, she studied transport of organic matter from the Peruvian Andes Mountains to the Amazon River.

As Amy finished her dissertation, she reconnected with Jim McClelland, who had just been hired as an assistant professor at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. “I had been following his research studying organic matter transport in rivers feeding the Arctic Ocean, so when he asked me if I would consider staying at UT to work with him on his Arctic research, I couldn’t refuse,” says Amy. Now Amy is a postdoctoral fellow at UT Austin working with Jim.

Amy said that her SES experience helped shape her career. “Needless to say, SES has been instrumental in focusing my career in river biogeochemistry,” she says, adding that she’s “really grateful for the unique opportunity to conduct cutting- edge research in environmental science while a student at a liberal arts college.”

Not simply a program in marine biology or terrestrial ecology, SES integrates and contrasts ecosystems structure and processes across the landscape. Students learn to think critically about scientific information and environmental issues

left: Greg Henkes (Bates by analyzing and interpreting data they collect in a diverse array of ecosystems College) and SES teaching on Cape Cod. Those aspiring to become policy makers and environmental assistant Clara Funk advocates leave SES equipped to understand complex scientific issues. sample algae. (Photo: Tom Kleindinst)

In addition to their independent research, students spend about 20 hours a center: SES students use a week in the field and lab as part of core courses in terrestrial and aquatic seine net to collect fish at ecosystems science that introduce them to local field sites including freshwater Coonamessett River in East ponds, estuaries, and a coastal forest. Falmouth, Massachusetts. (Photo: Yusuke Kumai)

Students also complete a science-writing seminar and an elective such as right: Whitney Eng (Brown Mathematical Modeling of Ecosystems or Microbial Methods in Ecology. University) and Bianca Kissel Sixty-two colleges have joined the MBL Consortium in Environmental Science ( College) take water samples. (Photo: and guarantee credit at their home institutions for students who successfully Kaitlyn Lucey) complete SES. Brown University also offers credit to students from non-affiliated institutions, further extending the reach of the program. And most recently, the A.W. Mellon Foundation has funded the center so that faculty and students from colleges and universities serving under-represented groups in environmental science can participate in the program.

For more information, please go to the website, http://courses.mbl.edu/SES/.

Ecosystems Center Report 2006 11 Other Educational Programs

The Ecosystems Center is actively involved in education in a variety of ways. In addition to teaching in the Semester in Environmental Science, center scientists serve as adjunct professors and advisors in the Brown-MBL Graduate Program, members of doctoral committees, and mentors for postdoctoral scientists and undergraduate interns. The center staff also takes part in a range of community outreach activities to increase public understanding of science.

On the boardwalk overlooking the Toolik Lake LTER site in Alaska: Pam Hinkle, MBL communications director, and several MBL Science Journalism Program fellows. (Photo: John Hobbie.) Undergraduate Internships

With funding from the National Science Founda- tion (NSF) and other groups, the Ecosystems Center has offered many college students the opportunity to undertake summer projects at research sites. In 2006, 12 undergraduates conducted research projects through NSF’s Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Internship program, or inde- pendently. Their projects ranged from an experiment to determine algae growth in marshes at Plum Island estuary in northern Massachusetts to a study of denitri- fication in the Arctic tundra in Alaska.

Maureen Conte and her REU intern, Jasmine Crumsey of Albany State Brown-MBL Graduate Program in Biological and Environmental Sciences University, on top of a tower at Austin Carey Four students are working with Ecosystems Center scientists Memorial Forest near in the MBL’s graduate program with Brown University. Gil- Gainesville, Florida. lian Galford is studying regional and global consequences of the (Photo: Tim Martin) expansion of mechanized agriculture in the Brazilian Amazon Right: Brown-MBL with Jerry Melillo of the Ecosystems Center and Jack Mustard graduate students of Brown. Marselle Alexander-Ozinskas is conducting research Marselle Alexander- on the effects of topography, landscape age, and climate change Ozinskas and Angela Allen at work in the on biogeochemical nitrogen cycling in the Arctic and other arid Ecosystems Center lab. ecosystems with Gus Shaver of the center and Osvaldo Sala of (Photo: Debbie Scanlon) Brown. Seeta Sistla works with Melillo and Sala on estimating

the contribution of root respiration to total soil CO2 outflow in a temperate forest ecosystem. Angela Allen’s research focuses on understanding the nutrient dynamics of aquatic ecosystems in the context of global climate change. Her advisors are Bruce Peterson of the Ecosystems Center and Osvaldo Sala from Brown.

12 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Schoolyard Long Term Ecological Research Projects

The two MBL-based LongTerm Ecological Research (LTER) projects received supplemental funding from NSF again in 2006 to promote educational activities near their sites. The Arctic Schoolyard LTER is based at Barrow, Alaska, and designed for students, mostly Native Inupiat Eskimos, their teachers, and local residents. It consists of “Schoolyard Saturday,” a weekly series of lectures and field demonstrations by visiting scientists, and two field activities for Barrow students and teachers. One field experiment measures the effects of climate warming on tundra vegetation; the second experiment measures changes in lake water chemistry.

The Plum Island Ecosystem Schoolyard LTER is conducted in cooperation with the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Salt Marsh Science Project, and provides ongoing professional development for teachers in the area. The Salt Students from Mexico Marsh project also involves school children in long-term ecological research. Class groups traveled to Barrow, Alaska, to participate in from 4th grade and up take field trips to the Plum Island salt marshes, where they have been an international scientific involved in long-term monitoring of salt marshes for vegetation, invasive species, salinity exchange program in Au- levels, and salt marsh fish. gust. The group worked with Barrow students on the tundra experiment that is part of the Arctic Science Journalism Program Long Term Ecological Research program’s The Ecosystems Center has participated in the MBL’s Science Journalism Program since its Schoolyard Project. inception in 1986. Journalists attend a hands-on training course in ecology in Woods Hole in (Photo: Leslie Pierce.) June, directed by Chris Neill and Ken Foreman. In 2006 the journalists were Marc Airhart, freelance writer from Austin, Texas; Molly Murray from The News Journal, Wilmington, ; Anton Caputo of the San Antonio Express Journal; Mary Engel of the Los Angeles Times, and Jim Metzner of the Pulse of the Planet radio series.

The writers traveled to Alaska to participate in the Arctic Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems course, taught by scientists from the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and the Ecosystems Center, and funded by a National Science Foundation grant. In addition to the science writers, 20 graduate students took the course, which offered an overview of ecosystem interactions with hydrology and climate. The two-week course took place at IARC and the Toolik Lake LTER site on the North Slope of Alaska. John Hobbie taught and coordinated the Toolik portion of the course.

Science Outreach in the Community

In 2006, members of the Ecosystems Center staff judged community and state science fairs for students in kindergarten through grade 12 and mentored junior high school students as they researched their projects. The center also continued its participation in the Woods Hole Science and Technology Education Partnership, providing assistance to teachers and students in the local school systems.

Ecosystems Center staff members serve on many town committees, including the Falmouth planning board and conservation commission, Falmouth Associations Concerned with Estuaries and Salt Ponds, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Falmouth Coastal Resources working group, the Nutrient Management working group, and the Falmouth Ashumet Plume Nitrogen-Offset Committee.

Ecosystems Center Report 2006 13 Scientists at the Ecosystems Center

Jerry M. Melillo John E. Hobbie Edward B. Rastetter Co-director, Senior Scientist Co-director, Distinguished Senior Scientist Ph.D., Yale University Scientist, Senior Scholar Ph.D., University of Jerry is interested in Ph.D., University Virginia how human activities As an aquatic ecologist, Ed synthesizes field and are altering the John identifies the factors laboratory data using Hugh W. Ducklow has been named Hugh adds, “I have been visiting and controlling decomposition simulation models to Transitions biogeochemistry of director of the Ecosystems Center. working in Woods Hole with MBL terrestrial ecosystems and and productivity in study how plants and especially how global aquatic ecosystems, microbes optimize their He will begin in May 2007. Hugh and WHOI colleagues since the 1980s. changes are affecting especially the role that use of resources like John E. Hobbie, co-director of is presently the Glucksman Professor Working in Woods Hole has been a the chemistry of the microbes play. carbon, nitrogen, light, the Ecosystems Center, was honored of Marine Science at the School of and water, and how career-long dream.” atmosphere and the May 7 at a symposium in Lillie Marine Science at the College of overall climate system. that optimization might Charles S. Hopkinson influence the response Auditorium celebrating his nearly William and Mary, and lead principal Senior Scientist of ecosystems to global 50 years in science. Five scientists investigator of the Palmer, Antarctica, Linda A. Deegan Ph.D., State change. who have collaborated with John Long Term Ecological Research Senior Scientist University during his career shared highlights project. Ph.D., Louisiana State Chuck’s work focuses University on the coastal zone, Gaius R. Shaver of his research accomplishments in Linda is interested in examining the effects Senior Scientist Arctic and microbial ecology (above, Hugh received his Ph.D. in the relationship between of climate change, land Ph.D., Duke University from left: Warwick Vincent, Laval environmental engineering in 1977 Gus’s research is focused animal populations and use change and sea level University, Quebec; Erik Hobbie, from Harvard University, with a thesis ecosystems because rise on estuaries and on the role of plants in animals can strongly continental shelves and ecosystem element cycles, University of ; John in microbial ecology. He studies the influence community the ecosystem services especially in Alaskan Hobbie; Åke Hagstrom, University roles of marine bacteria in the ocean composition and they provide. tundra ecosystems, where of Kalmar, Sweden; Farooq Azam, carbon cycle and on the interactions low temperatures, low ecosystem nutrient cycles Scripps Institution of Oceanography; between climate change and ecosystem and productivity. light intensities, low Christopher Neill nutrient availability, and and Bruce Peterson, MBL). function. Associate Scientist a short growing season Senior research scientist Paul Kenneth H. Foreman Ph.D., University of all interact to limit plant John retired in July as the center’s “Ecosystems are the building blocks of Steudler retired from the Ecosystems growth Director of Semester in Massachusetts Amherst co-director but remains at the center the biosphere,” says Hugh. “Think of Center in December 2006. He came Environmental Science Chris investigates Program how ecosystems cycle as a researcher and lead principal the planet as a mosaic of ecosystems. to the MBL more than 31 years ago Ph.D., Boston University nutrients and organic Paul A. Steudler investigator of the Arctic Long Term To understand how the planetary to work as manager of the center’s Ken’s principal research matter and how changes Senior Research Scientist Ecological Research project. He was system works, you have to study chemical and analytical facility and M.S., University of area is the coastal zone. in land use, such as named MBL Distinguished Scientist ecosystems as interacting units. The rapidly became directly involved in In recent years, he has deforestation in the Oklahoma been studying the effects tropics, alter the structure Paul is interested in the in 2005. Ecosystems Center is unique because research. He has studied the cycling of nutrient loading and biogeochemistry of responses of temperate it takes that systems-level approach as of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, and on benthic and water ecosystems. and tropical forest and The night before the symposium, its fundamental mission, carrying out trace gas fluxes in a variety of aquatic agricultural ecosystems column communities and 100 people attended a dinner held at comparative and synthetic studies of systems. His work on sulfur cycling in processes. to disturbances like Bruce J. Peterson hurricanes, nitrogen the Swope Center in tribute to John ecosystems ranging from the Amazon Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Senior Scientist and sulfur additions, and to mark the near completion rainforests to coastal Massachusetts Massachusetts, resulted in five papers. Anne E. Giblin Ph.D., Cornell University forest cutting and re- of the John E. Hobbie Scientific to the Arctic tundra. We’re going to Paul went on to conduct research growth, and increased Senior Scientist Bruce focuses on Research Endowment. More than add the Antarctic marine ecosystem in a variety of terrestrial ecosystems. Ph.D., Boston University understanding aquatic temperature. Anne’s major research productivity and global $400,000 has been raised thus far for to the center. The coastal ecosystem At Harvard Forest in Petersham, focus is the cycling change by studying the the endowment, a discretionary fund along the Antarctic Peninsula is Massachusetts, he researched the effects of elements in the cycles of water, carbon, Joseph J. Vallino that will be used to explore emerging demonstrating a strong response to of nitrogen addition and soil warming Associate Scientist environment, especially and nitrogen at the areas of ecology, to fill gaps in support regional climate warming across all on carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycling, the biogeochemistry of ecosystem and global Ph.D., Massachusetts iron, sulfur, nitrogen, and levels. Institute of Technology of existing research programs, and to trophic levels. In general, I think and in Brazil, he studied the effects phosphorus in soils and Joe’s research employs further John’s vision of collaboration there’s a lot that can be done to of clearing tropical forests for pasture sediments. thermodynamics to and excellence in ecosystems science. expand and deepen integrated coastal agriculture and reformation. examine how microbial metabolic networks (See page 24 for a list of donors.) and watershed studies in the center, organize and evolve and that’s one area I want to start Paul plans to stay involved in to utilize energy Top left: John Hobbie and colleagues looking at when I start work later ecological research as a consultant to (Photos: Tom Kleindinst) and resources in the (Photo: Debbie Scanlon) this spring.” the Ecosystems Center. environment. Top right: Hugh Ducklow (Photo: Christine Hammock) Right: Paul Steudler (Photo: Kevin Carmody)

14 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Transitions Hugh W. Ducklow has been named Hugh adds, “I have been visiting and director of the Ecosystems Center. working in Woods Hole with MBL He will begin in May 2007. Hugh and WHOI colleagues since the 1980s. John E. Hobbie, co-director of is presently the Glucksman Professor Working in Woods Hole has been a the Ecosystems Center, was honored of Marine Science at the School of career-long dream.” May 7 at a symposium in Lillie Marine Science at the College of Auditorium celebrating his nearly William and Mary, and lead principal 50 years in science. Five scientists investigator of the Palmer, Antarctica, who have collaborated with John Long Term Ecological Research during his career shared highlights project. of his research accomplishments in Arctic and microbial ecology (above, Hugh received his Ph.D. in from left: Warwick Vincent, Laval environmental engineering in 1977 University, Quebec; Erik Hobbie, from Harvard University, with a thesis University of New Hampshire; John in microbial ecology. He studies the Hobbie; Åke Hagstrom, University roles of marine bacteria in the ocean of Kalmar, Sweden; Farooq Azam, carbon cycle and on the interactions Scripps Institution of Oceanography; between climate change and ecosystem and Bruce Peterson, MBL). function. Senior research scientist Paul John retired in July as the center’s “Ecosystems are the building blocks of Steudler retired from the Ecosystems co-director but remains at the center the biosphere,” says Hugh. “Think of Center in December 2006. He came as a researcher and lead principal the planet as a mosaic of ecosystems. to the MBL more than 31 years ago investigator of the Arctic Long Term To understand how the planetary to work as manager of the center’s Ecological Research project. He was system works, you have to study chemical and analytical facility and named MBL Distinguished Scientist ecosystems as interacting units. The rapidly became directly involved in in 2005. Ecosystems Center is unique because research. He has studied the cycling it takes that systems-level approach as of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, and The night before the symposium, its fundamental mission, carrying out trace gas fluxes in a variety of aquatic 100 people attended a dinner held at comparative and synthetic studies of systems. His work on sulfur cycling in the Swope Center in tribute to John ecosystems ranging from the Amazon Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, and to mark the near completion rainforests to coastal Massachusetts Massachusetts, resulted in five papers. of the John E. Hobbie Scientific to the Arctic tundra. We’re going to Paul went on to conduct research Research Endowment. More than add the Antarctic marine ecosystem in a variety of terrestrial ecosystems. $400,000 has been raised thus far for to the center. The coastal ecosystem At Harvard Forest in Petersham, the endowment, a discretionary fund along the Antarctic Peninsula is Massachusetts, he researched the effects that will be used to explore emerging demonstrating a strong response to of nitrogen addition and soil warming areas of ecology, to fill gaps in support regional climate warming across all on carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycling, of existing research programs, and to trophic levels. In general, I think and in Brazil, he studied the effects further John’s vision of collaboration there’s a lot that can be done to of clearing tropical forests for pasture and excellence in ecosystems science. expand and deepen integrated coastal agriculture and reformation. (See page 24 for a list of donors.) and watershed studies in the center, and that’s one area I want to start Paul plans to stay involved in Top left: John Hobbie and colleagues looking at when I start work later ecological research as a consultant to (Photo: Debbie Scanlon) this spring.” the Ecosystems Center. Top right: Hugh Ducklow (Photo: Christine Hammock) Right: Paul Steudler (Photo: Kevin Carmody)

Ecosystems Center Report 2006 15 Gus Shaver crosses the Zackenberg River in Greenland during spring snowmelt. (Photo: Lorna Street) News

Ecosystems Center scientists serve on national-level planning committees for science initiatives, on boards and as officers of scientific societies, and as conveners of professional conferences.

Gus Shaver served his second year as the (Ecological Isotope) group at the Centro de Ecological Society of America’s vice president Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (Center for for science. He is on the steering committee Nuclear Energy in Agriculture-CENA) of the of the Arctic Systems Science (ARCSS) Study University of São Paulo, in Piracicaba, in the of Environmental Arctic Change. Chuck state of São Paulo. The fellowships are co- Hopkinson was appointed to the national sponsored by the Council for the International executive committee of the Long Term Exchange of Scholars in the U.S. and by Ecological Research (LTER) project and the Research Foundation of the State of São serves as a member of the external advisory Paulo. In Piracicaba, Linda will investigate the committee for the Florida Coastal Everglades role of Amazon deforestation in altering the LTER. John Hobbie is also a member of composition and diversity of stream insects and the LTER executive committee and is on fishes. Chris will work with aquatic chemists the planning committee for the National at USP to use stream chemistry to trace the Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sources of water to small Amazon streams in forested and deforested regions. Linda and Jerry Melillo completed his term as past Chris have been collaborating with CENA president of the Ecological Society of America researchers Reynaldo Victoria, Alex Krusche, and is in the middle of his three-year term as and Victoria Ballester since 1996. the past president of the Scientific Committee for the Environment. He was elected to the board of NEON and reappointed to the board of the John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and Environment. Jerry also continues to serve on the board of the Abisko Research Station in Sweden and on the United States National Committee for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna. He is the vice-chair of the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment, an activity of the Union of Concerned Scientists. In addition, Jerry chaired the advisory committee of the LTER network planning process and is chairing a review of the Inter American Institute for Global Change Research for the American Association for the In addition, Linda is co-science chair for the Linda Deegan (right) and her Advancement of Science. International Estuarine Research Federation assistant collect pasture stream samples in Amazonia, meeting to be held in early November 2007 Brazil. (Photo: Chris Neill) Linda Deegan and Christopher Neill have in Providence. She also serves on the Science been selected as Fulbright Scholars and will Advisory Board for Massachusetts Audubon visit Brazil in 2007. They will spend January Society. through May with the Ecologia Isotópica

16 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Gus Shaver crosses the Zackenberg River in Greenland during spring snowmelt. (Photo: Lorna Street) News Publications 2006 Lorna Street and Craig Menzies from the University of Edinburgh set up a chamber to Ecosystems Center scientists serve on national-level planning committees for science initiatives, on boards measure carbon dioxide flux in Zackenberg Valley, Greenland. and as officers of scientific societies, and as conveners of professional conferences. (Photo: Peter van Buuren)

Gus Shaver served his second year as the (Ecological Isotope) group at the Centro de Borken, W., E. A. Davidson, K. Savage, E. T. Sundquist, and P. Steudler. Effect of summer Ecological Society of America’s vice president Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (Center for throughfall exclusion, summer drought, for science. He is on the steering committee Nuclear Energy in Agriculture-CENA) of the and winter snow cover on methane fluxes of the Arctic Systems Science (ARCSS) Study University of São Paulo, in Piracicaba, in the in a temperate forest soil. Soil Biology and of Environmental Arctic Change. Chuck state of São Paulo. The fellowships are co- Biochemistry 38 (6): 1388-1395. Hopkinson was appointed to the national sponsored by the Council for the International Cerri, C. E. P., M. C. Piccolo, B. J. Feigl, K. executive committee of the Long Term Exchange of Scholars in the U.S. and by Paustian, C. C. Cerri, R. L. Victoria, and J. M. Ecological Research (LTER) project and the Research Foundation of the State of São Melillo. Interrelationships among soil total C serves as a member of the external advisory Paulo. In Piracicaba, Linda will investigate the and N, microbial biomass, trace gas fluxes, and internal N-cycling in soils under pasture committee for the Florida Coastal Everglades role of Amazon deforestation in altering the of the Amazon region. Journal of Sustainable LTER. John Hobbie is also a member of composition and diversity of stream insects and Agriculture 27 (4): 45-69. Dennen, K. O., C. A. Johnson, M. L. Otter, S. Grimm, N., A. Covich, and J. Melillo. A vision for the LTER executive committee and is on fishes. Chris will work with aquatic chemists R. Silva, and G. A. Wandless. 15N and non- ecology’s future: Where are we today? Frontiers in Chan, A. S. K., and P. A. Steudler. Carbon the planning committee for the National at USP to use stream chemistry to trace the carbonate 13C values for two petroleum source Ecology and the Environment 4(3):115. monoxide uptake kinetics in unamended and rock reference materials and a marine sediment Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sources of water to small Amazon streams in long-term nitrogen-amended temperate forest reference material. U. S. Geological Survey Open Harris, L. A., C. M. Duarte, and S. W. Nixon. forested and deforested regions. Linda and soils. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 57 (3): 343- File Report 2006-1071. Allometric laws and prediction in estuarine and Jerry Melillo completed his term as past Chris have been collaborating with CENA 354. coastal ecology. Estuaries and Coasts 29: 340-344. president of the Ecological Society of America researchers Reynaldo Victoria, Alex Krusche, Drake, D. C., R. J. Naiman, and J. S. Bechtold. Chapin, F. S. III, G. M. Woodwell, J. T. Randerson, Fate of nitrogen in riparian forest soils and trees: Hobara, S., C. McCalley, K. Koba, A. E. Giblin, M. and is in the middle of his three-year term as and Victoria Ballester since 1996. G. M. Lovett, E. B. Rastetter, D. D. Baldocchi, A 15N tracer study simulating salmon decay. S. Weiss, G. M. Gettel, and G. R. Shaver. Nitrogen the past president of the Scientific Committee D. A. Clark, M. E. Harmon, D. S. Schimel, R. Ecology 87: 1256-1266. fixation in an arctic tundra watershed: A key for the Environment. He was elected to Valentini, C. Wirth, J. D. Aber, J. J. Cole, M. atmospheric N source. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine L. Goulden, J. W. Harden, M. Heimann, R. the board of NEON and reappointed to Euskirchen, E. S., A. D. McGuire, D. W. Research 38(3): 363–372. W. Howarth, P. A. Matson, A. D. McGuire, the board of the John Heinz III Center for Kicklighter, Q. Zhuang, J. S. Clein, R. J. J. M. Melillo, H. A. Mooney, J. C. Neff, R. 15 Dargaville, D. G. Dye, J. S. Kimball, K. C. Hobbie, J., and E. Hobbie. N in symbiotic fungi Science, Economics and Environment. Jerry A. Houghton, M. L. Pace, M. G. Ryan, S. W. McDonald, J. M. Melillo, V. E. Romanovsky, and plants estimates nitrogen and carbon flux Running, O. E. Sala, W. H. Schlesinger, and also continues to serve on the board of the and N. V. Smith. Importance of recent shifts rates in Arctic tundra. Ecology 87:816-822. E.-D. Schulze. Reconciling carbon cycle Abisko Research Station in Sweden and on in soil thermal dynamics on growing season terminology: A search for consensus. length, productivity, and carbon sequestration Lezberg, A. L., K. Buresch, C. Neill, and T. the United States National Committee for Ecosystems 9(7): 1041-1050. the International Institute for Applied Systems in terrestrial high-latitude ecosystems. Global Chase. Mechanical land clearing to promote Change Biology 12(4): 731-750. establishment of coastal sandplain grassland and Analysis in Vienna. He is the vice-chair of Chen, H., H. Tian, M. Liu, J. Melillo, S. Pan, shrubland communities. Restoration Ecology 14 and C. Zhang. Effect of land-cover change on the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment, Farber, S., R. Costanza, D. L. Childers, J. Erickson, (2): 220-232. terrestrial carbon dynamics in the southern K. Gross, M. Grove, C. S. Hopkinson, J. Kahn, an activity of the Union of Concerned United States. Journal of Environmental Quality S. Pincetl, A. Troy, P. Warren, and M. Wilson. Logan, J., H. Haas, L. Deegan, and E. Gaines. Scientists. In addition, Jerry chaired the 35: 1533-1547. Linking ecology and economics for ecosystem Turnover rates of nitrogen stable isotopes in the advisory committee of the LTER network management. BioScience 56 (2) 121-133 salt marsh mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, planning process and is chairing a review of Claessens, L., C. Hopkinson, E. Rastetter, and following a laboratory diet switch. Oecologia 147 J. Vallino. Effect of historical changes in land Fedorko, E., G. Pontius, S. Aldrich, L. Claessens, (3): 391-395. the Inter American Institute for Global Change use and climate on the water budget of an Linda Deegan (right) and her C. Hopkinson, and W. Wollheim. Spatial Research for the American Association for the In addition, Linda is co-science chair for the urbanizing watershed. Water Resources Research assistant collect pasture distribution of land-type in regression models of Lü, A., H. Tian, M. Liu, J. Liu, and J. M. Melillo. Advancement of Science. International Estuarine Research Federation 42 (3): Art. No. W03426. stream samples in Amazonia, pollutant loading. Journal of Spatial Hydrology Spatial and temporal patterns of carbon emissions meeting to be held in early November 2007 Brazil. (Photo: Chris Neill) 5: 61-80. from forest fires in China from 1950 to 2000. Clemmensen, K., A. Michelsen, S. Jonasson, Journal of Geophysical Research 111. D05313, Linda Deegan and Christopher Neill have in Providence. She also serves on the Science and G. Shaver. Increased ectomycorrhizal fungal Feigl, B., C. Cerri, M. Piccolo, N. Noronha, K. doi:10.1029/2005JD006198 been selected as Fulbright Scholars and will Advisory Board for Massachusetts Audubon abundance after long-term fertilization and Augusti, J. Melillo, V. Eschenbrenner, and L. warming of two arctic tundra ecosystems. New visit Brazil in 2007. They will spend January Society. Melo. Biological survey of a low-productivity Machas, R., R. Santos, and B. Peterson. Elemental Phytologist 171: 391-404. through May with the Ecologia Isotópica pasture in Rondônia state, Brazil. Outlook on and stable isotope composition of Zostera noltii Agriculture 35 (3): 199-208. (Horneman) leaves during the early phases of decay in a temperate mesotidal lagoon. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 66 (1-2): 21-29.

Ecosystems Center Report 2006 17 Chris Crockett sets out to take mea- surements to add to a 32-year record of changes in water chemistry, water temperature, and algal production at Toolik Lake, Alaska. The lake is the ref- erence lake for the Arctic LTER project. (Photo: Adrian Green)

McClelland, J. W., S. J. Dery, B. J. Peterson, R. M. Neill, C., L. A. Deegan, S. M. Thomas, C. L. Walker, M. D., C. H. Wahren, R. D. Hollister, Holmes, and E. F. Wood. A pan-arctic evaluation of Haupert, A. V. Krusche, V. M. Ballester, and R. L. G. H. R. Henry, L. E. Ahlquist, J. M. Alatalo, M. changes in river discharge during the latter half of Victoria. Deforestation alters the hydraulic and S. Bret-Harte, M. P. Calef, T. V. Callaghan, A. the 20th century. Geophysical Research Letters 33 biogeochemical characteristics of small lowland B. Carroll, H. E. Epstein, I. S. Jonsdottir, J. A. (6): Art. No. L06715. Amazonian streams. Hydrological Processes 20 Klein, B. Magnusson, U. Molau, S. F. Oberbauer, (12): 2563-2580. S. P. Rewa, C. H. Robinson, G. R. Shaver, K. Medeiros, P. M., M. H. Conte, J. C. Weber, and N. Suding, C. C. Thompson, A. Tolvanen, O. B. R. T. Simoneit. Sugars as source indicators of Neill, C., M. C. Piccolo, C. C. Cerri, P. A. Steudler, Totland, P. L. Turner, C. E. Tweedie, P. J. Webber, biogenic organic carbon in aerosols collected and J. M. Melillo. Soil solution nitrogen losses and P. A. Wookey. Plant community responses above the Howland Experimental Forest, Maine. during clearing of lowland Amazon forest for to experimental warming across the tundra Atmospheric Environment 40: 1694-1705. pasture. Plant and Soil 281 (1-2): 233-245. biome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103(5): 1342-1346. Morrall, D. D., S. C. Christman, B. J. Peterson, Peterson, B. J., J. McClelland, R. Curry, R. M. W. M. Wollheim, and S. E. Belanger. Utility of Holmes, J. E. Walsh, and K. Aagaard. Trajectory Williams, M., L. E. Street, M. van Wijk, and G. R. stable isotopes (13C and 15N) to demonstrate shifts in the Arctic and subarctic freshwater cycle. Shaver. Identifying differences in rates of carbon comparability between natural and experimental Science 313 (5790): 1061-1066. exchange among vegetation types along an streams for environmental risk assessment. Arctic toposequence. Ecosystems 9: 288-304. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 65 (1): Prowse, T. D., F. J. Wrona, J. D. Reist, J. J. Gibson, 22-35. J. E. Hobbie, L. M. J. Lévesque, and W. F. Vincent. Wollheim, W. M., C. J. Vörösmarty, B. J. Climate change effects on hydroecology of Arctic Peterson, S. P. Seitzinger, and C. S. Hopkinson. Neill, C., H. Elsenbeer, A. V. Krusche, J. Lehmann, freshwater ecosystems. Ambio 35(7): 347-358. Relationship between river size and nutrient D. Markewitz, and R. D. Figueiredo. Hydrological removal. Geophysical Research Letters 33(6): and biogeochemical processes in a changing Prowse, T. D., F. J. Wrona, J. D. Reist, J. J. Art. No. L06410. Amazon: Results from small watershed studies and Gibson, J. E. Hobbie, L. M. J. Lévesque, and W. F. the large-scale biosphere-atmosphere experiment. Vincent. Historical changes in Arctic freshwater Wrona, F. J., T. D. Prowse, J. D. Reist, J. E. Hydrological Processes 20 (12): 2467-2476. ecosystems. Ambio 35(7): 339-346. Hobbie, L. M. J. Lévesque, and W. F. Vincent. Key findings, science gaps and policy Shaver, G., A. Giblin, K. Nadelhoffer, K. Thieler, recommendations. Ambio 35(7): 411-415. M. Downs, J. Laundre, and E. Rastetter. Carbon turnover in Alaskan tundra soils: Effects of Wrona, F. J., T. D. Prowse, J. D. Reist, J. E. organic matter quality, temperature, moisture and Hobbie, L. M. J. Lévesque, and W. F. Vincent. fertilizer. Journal of Ecology 94: 740-753. Climate impacts on Arctic freshwater ecosystems and fisheries: background, rationale Shaver, G. R. Spatial Heterogeneity Past, Present, and approach of the Arctic Climate Impact and Future, pp. 443-449. In: G. M. Lovett, C. Assessment (ACIA). Ambio 35(7): 326-329. G. Jones, M. G. Turner, and K. C. Weathers (eds.) Ecosystem Function in Heterogeneous Wrona, F. J., T. D. Prowse, J. D. Reist, J. E. Landscapes. Springer-Verlag, New York. Hobbie, L. M. J. Lévesque, and W. F. Vincent. Climate change effects on aquatic biota, Street, L. E., G. R. Shaver, M. Williams, and ecosystem structure and function. Ambio 35(7): M. T. van Wijk. What is the relationship 359-369. between changes in leaf area and changes in Wrona, F. J., T. D. Prowse, J. D. Reist, J. E. photosynthetic CO2 flux in arctic ecosystems? Journal of Ecology doi: 10.1111/ j.1365- Hobbie, L. M. J. Lévesque, R.W. Macdonald, 2745.2006.01187. and W. F. Vincent. Effects of ultraviolet radiation and contaminant-related stressors on Arctic Torres, R., S. Fagherazzi, D. van Proosdij, and C. freshwater ecosystems. Ambio 35(7): 388-401. Hopkinson. Salt marsh geomorphology: Physical and ecological effects on landform. Estuarine, Zhuang, Q. L., J. M. Melillo, M. C. Sarofim, Coastal and Shelf Science 69(3-4): 309-310. D. W. Kicklighter, A. D. McGuire, B. S. Felzer, A. Sokolov, R. G. Prinn, P. A. Steudler, and S.

M. Hu. CO2 and CH4 exchanges between land ecosystems and the atmosphere in northern high latitudes over the 21st century. Geophysical Research Letters 33 (17): Art. No. L17403.

Harvard Forest LTER site in Petersham, Massachusetts. (Photo: David Foster)

18 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Adrian Green prepares to measure water flow at the Kuparuk River in Alaska. (Photo: Heidi Rantala)

In press Neill, C. The challenge of managing disturbance regimes, terrestrial communities and rare species in a suburbanizing region: The Northeastern U.S. coastal sandplain. Biological Conservation. Benstead, J. P., A. C. Green, L. A. Deegan, B. J. Peterson, K. Slavik, W. B. Bowden, and A. Neill, C., B. Von Holle, K. Kleese, K. Ivy, R. Collins, E. Hershey. Recovery of three Arctic stream C. Treat and M. Dean. Historical influences on reaches from experimental nutrient enrichment. the vegetation and soils of the Martha’s Vineyard, Freshwater Biology. Massachusetts, coastal sandplain: Implications for conservation and restoration. Biological Bowen, J. L., and I. Valiela. Using δ15N to assess Conservation. coupling between land use and estuaries in temperate and tropical systems. Journal of Nixon, S. W., B. A. Buckley, S. L. Granger, L. A. Coastal Research. Crump, B., H. Ducklow, and J. Hobbie. Microbial Harris, A. Oczkowski, R. W. Fulweiler, and L. W. Cole. Nutrient inputs to Narragansett Bay: Bowen, J. L., J. M. Ramstack, S. Mazzilli, and food webs. In: J. W. Day, W. M. Kemp, and A. nd Past, present, and future. In: A. Desbonnet, B. I. Valiela. NLOAD: An interactive, web-based Yanez-Arancibia, (eds.), Estuarine Ecology, 2 Costa-Pierce, and A. Colt (eds.) Ecosystem-based modeling tool to estimate nitrogen loads and Edition. John Wiley & Sons. Management of Narragansett Bay. Springer- concentrations, and explore options for nitrogen Verlag. New York. management in estuaries. Ecological Applications. Deegan, L. A., J. L. Bowen, D. Drake, J. W. Fleeger, C. T. Friedrichs, K. A. Galvan, J. E. Quesada, A., W. F. Vincent, E. Kaup, J. E. Hobbie, Bowen, J. L., K. D. Kroeger, G. Tomasky, W. Hobbie, C. Hopkinson, J. M. Johnson, D. S. I. Laurion, R. Pienitz, J. López-Martínez, and J.-J. J. Pabich, M. L. Cole, R. H. Carmichael, and I. Johnson, D. E. Lemay, E. Miller, B. J. Peterson, Durán. Landscape control of high latitude lakes in Valiela. A review of land-estuary coupling by C. Picard, S. Sheldon, J. Vallino, and R. S. a changing climate. In: D. Bergstrom, P. Convey, ground water discharge: Mechanisms and effects. Warren. Susceptibility of salt marshes to nutrient and A. Huiskes (eds.) Trends in Antarctic Terrestrial Applied Geochemistry. enrichment and predator removal. Ecological Applications. and Limnetic Ecosystems. Springer, Berlin. Cerri, C. E. P., K. Paustian, M. Bernoux, C. C. Seitzinger, S., J. A. Harrison, J. K. Bohlke, A. Cerri and J. M. Melillo. Combining soil C and Fedorko, E., G. Pontius, S. Aldrich, L. Claessens, F. Bouwman, R. Lowrance, B. Peterson, C. N spatial variability and modeling approaches C. Hopkinson, and W. Wollheim. Spatial Tobias, and G. Van Drecht. Denitrification for measuring and monitoring soil carbon distribution of land-type in regression models of across landscapes and waterscapes: A synthesis. sequestration. Journal of Environmental pollutant loading. Spatial Hydrology. Ecological Applications. Management. Groffman, P. M., M. A. Altabet, J. K. Böhlke, K. Tian, H., J. Liu, J. M. Melillo, M. Liu, D. Kicklighter, Cerri, C. E. P., K. Paustian, M. Bernoux, R. L. Butterbach-Bahl, M. B. David, M. K. Firestone, X. Yan, and S. Pan. The Terrestrial Carbon Budget Victoria, J. M. Melillo and C. C. Cerri. Modeling A. E. Giblin, T. M. Kana, L-P. Nielsen, and M. A. in East Asia: Human and Natural Impacts. In: C. changes in soil organic matter in Amazon forest Voytek. Methods for measuring denitrification: Fu, J. Freney and J. Steward (eds.), Changes in to pasture: conversion using the Century model. Diverse approaches to a difficult problem. the Human-Monsoon System of East Asia in the Global Change Biology. Ecological Applications. Context of Global Change. SCOPE Series, Island Press, . Cerri, C. E. P., M. Bernoux, V. Chaplot, B. Volkoff, Hobbie, J. E., M. Bahr, and A.-L. Reysenbach. R. L. Victoria, J. M. Melillo, K. Paustian and C. Ecology at long term research sites: Integrating Williams, M., C. Hopkinson, E. Rastetter, J. C. Cerri. Nova Vida agronomic experiment: 1. microbes and ecosystems. In: Third Edition of the Vallino, and L. Claessens. Relationships of land Taking into account the spatial variability of soil ASM Manual of Environmental Microbiology. use and stream solute concentrations in the properties for selecting the experimental area. ASM Press. Ipswich River basin, Northeastern Massachusetts. Plant and Soil. Lau, E., A. Ahmad, P. A. Steudler, and C. M. Water, Air and Soil Pollution. Clement, J., R. M. Holmes, B. J. Peterson and G. Cavanaugh. Molecular characterization of Zhuang, Q., J. M. Melillo, A. D. McGuire, D. W. Pinay. Isotopic investigation of nitrogen retention methanotrophic communities in forest soils Kicklighter, R. G. Prinn, P. A. Steudler, B. S. Felzer, in a riparian ecosystem. Journal of Ecology. that consume atmospheric methane. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. and S. Hu. Net land-atmosphere exchanges of CH and CO in Alaska: Implications for the Cooper, L., R. Benner, J. McClelland, B. Peterson, 4 2 region’s greenhouse gas budget. Ecological R. Holmes, P. A. Raymond, D. Hansell, J. M. McHorney, R. M., and C. Neill. Alteration of water Applications. Grebmeier, and L. A. Codispoti. The linkage levels in a Massachusetts coastal plain pond between runoff, dissolved organic carbon, subject to municipal ground water withdrawals. and the stable oxygen isotope composition of Wetlands. seawater and other water mass indicators in the Arctic Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research.

Ecosystems Center Report 2006 19 Christian Picard and Adam Trescott at the Sweeney Creek fertilization station, Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts. (Photo: Mike Johnson)

23 Ben Van Mooy, Woods 10 Robert Muth, University Hole Oceanographic Institution, of Massachusetts Amherst, “Relationship between “Integrating biophysical and 2006 Seminars bacterial community socioeconomic information structure and DOC into water and land-use chemical composition decisions.” February April in coastal and estuarine waters.” 17 Judy Stone, Colby 7 Anne Bernhard, 4 Kevin Kroeger, College, “Pollinator Connecticut College, U.S. Geological Survey, 30 Suzanne Thomas, abundance and pollen “Ammonia-oxidizing “Submarine groundwater MBL Ecosystems Center, limitation at elevational bacteria in estuaries: A discharge: Nitrogen fluxes “Comparing denitrification range limits of a tropical model for linking structure and biogeochemistry.” in Northeast Massachusetts shrub.” and function.” streams using in-situ 15N 11 Peter Siver, Connecticut additions.” 20 Barbara Bond,* Oregon 28 Jim Latimer and College, “Panning for gold in State University, “Size Giancarlo Ciccetti, U.S. a diamond mine: Tales from September matters: Impacts of big trees EPA Atlantic Ecology an ancient eocene maar and big mountains on water Division, “Development of lake.” 12 Joaquin Chaves, MBL fluxes.” models for nitrogen load Ecosystems Center, “Where and ecosystem response 18 Peter Groffman, does the water come from? 27 James Cloern,* U. S. in southern New England Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Elucidating water sources Geological Survey, “The estuaries.” “Nitrogen fluxes in urban that contribute to stream altered states of San watershed ecosystems.” flow in the Amazon.” Francisco Bay: Surprises March from three decades of 25 Elizabeth North, 15 Paul Mayewski,* observation.” 7 Laura Meyerson, University of Horn University of Maine, University of , Point Laboratory, “Modeling “Naturally and humanly 31 Dan Hornbach, “Multi-scale tracking of native and non-native forced climate change–an Macalester College, “Factors non-native species in the oyster larvae dispersal in ice core perspective.” influencing the distribution U.S.” Chesapeake Bay.” and abundance of freshwater 19 Mark Adams, University mussels.” 14 Michael Coe, Woods May of New South Wales, “Fire Hole Research Center, and P risks to biodiversity November “Investigating water 2 John Harrison, University and productivity in natural resource variability in the of California, Davis, “Rivers, ecosystems.” 17 John Holdren,* Woods Sahel region of northern nutrients, and green house Hole Research Center, Africa.” gases: Insights from a case 29 Margaret Palmer,* “Meeting the climate change study and a global model.” University of Maryland challenge.” 21 Brian Fath, Towson Chesapeake Biological University, “Ecosystem 9 Carol Thornber, Laboratory, “What happens December networks: Cyclic pathways University of Rhode Island, to terrestrial carbon when it and indirect mutualism.” “Intertidal gradients in enters aquatic ecosystems?” 5 Gretchen Gettel, herbivore selectivity and University of New Hampshire, 28 Pamela Templer, Boston algal defenses.” October “Rates, importance, and University, “Influence controls on nitrogen fixation of plant and microbial 16 Michael Hiscock, Woods 3 Malcolm Hill, University in oligotrophic Arctic lakes.” interactions on forest Hole Oceanographic Institution, of Richmond, “Tropical nitrogen retention and loss.” “Primary production in and temperate contrasts of the ocean surrounding ecological and evolutionary Antarctica: Penguins, roles of sponges in marine whales, and diatoms. communities.” Oh, my!” * SES Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series

20 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Sunrise over the Rowley River, Plum Island Estuary. (Photo: W. McDonald Lee) Staff

Dorothy J. Berthel Neil Bettez Jennifer L. Bowen Donald W. Burnette Administrative Assistant Visiting Scientist in Residence Postdoctoral Scientist Research Assistant Cornell University Ph.D., Boston University M.S., Southern Illinois University M.A., University of Greensboro

Joaquin E. Chaves Paul Colinvaux Maureen H. Conte Suzanne J. Donovan Postdoctoral Scientist Senior Research Scientist Adjunct Scientist in Residence Graphics and Website Specialist Ph.D., University of Rhode Island Ph.D., Duke University Institute of Ocean Sciences Massachusetts College of Art Ph.D., Columbia University

Thomas Duncan Deanne C. Drake Benjamin Felzer Clara S. Funk Visiting Scientist in Residence Postdoctoral Scientist Research Associate Research Assistant Nichols College Ph.D., University of Washington Ph.D., Brown University B.A., Wesleyan University Ph.D., Boston University

* SES Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series

Ecosystems Center Report 2006 21 Emily F. Gaines Robert H. Garritt Robert C. Hanifin Lora A. Harris Research Assistant Senior Research Assistant Research Assistant Postdoctoral Scientist B.S., University of Virginia M.S., Cornell University B.S., Dickinson College Ph.D., University of Rhode Island

Melanie Hayn Kelly R. Holzworth Samuel W. Kelsey Ketil Koop-Jakobsen Visiting Scientist in Residence Research Administrator Research Assistant Graduate Student in Residence Cornell University University of San Diego B.S., Dickinson College Boston University B.S., Cornell University M.S., Roskilde University

James A. Laundre W. McDonald Lee David W. Kicklighter Bonnie L. Kwiatkowski Senior Research Assistant Research Assistant Research Associate Research Assistant M.S., University of Connecticut B.S., The College of William and Mary M.S., University of M.S., University of New Hampshire

Katherine J. Lenoir Richard P. McHorney Jacqueline E. Mohan Christina Maki Research Assistant Senior Research Assistant Postdoctoral Scientist Research Assistant B.A., Wellesley College M.S., University of Ph.D., Duke University B.A., Bates College Pennsylvania

22 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Marshall L. Otter Christian R. Picard Deborah G. Scanlon Mary Ann Seifert Senior Research Assistant Research Assistant Projects and Publications Coordinator Administrative Assistant Ph.D., University of Cape Town M.S., University of Akron B.A., Syracuse University B.A., Alfred University

Lorna Street Suzanne M. Thomas Jane Tucker J. C. Weber Research Assistant Research Assistant Senior Research Assistant Senior Research Assistant B.S., University of Edinburgh M.S., University of Pennsylvania M.S., University of North Carolina M.S., University of Delaware

Adjunct Scientists, not pictured Zoe Cardon, University of Connecticut Robert Howarth, Cornell University Visiting Scientists and Scholars, not pictured Peter Berg, University of Virginia Luc Claessens, University of California, San Diego James Galloway, University of Virginia Aimlee Laderman, Yale University Yuriko Yano Laura E. Wittman Roxanne Marino, Cornell University Postdoctoral Scientist Research Assistant Karen McGlathery, University of Virginia B.A., Skidmore College Ph.D., Oregon State University Brown/MBL Graduate Students Marselle Alexander-Ozinskas, B.S., Bates College Angela Allen, M.S, University of Rhode Island Gillian Galford, B.S., Washington University Seeta Sistla, B.S., Swarthmore College Staff who moved to new positions in 2006: Angela R. Allen, graduate student, Brown University Consultants Joseph H. Blanchard, graduate student, Oregon State University Francis P. Bowles, Research Systems Consultant Christopher P. Crockett, native aquatic biologist, Division of Wildlife Resources Carlos Eduardo P. Cerri, Universidad de São Paulo Emily F. Gaines, graduate student, University of Utah Lee W. Cooper, University of Adrian C. Green, laboratory manager, U. S. Geological Survey V. V. Gordeev, Russian Academy of Sciences Christie L. Haupert, environmental data technician, University of Alaska, Fairbanks Carmella R. Lombardi, Independent Consultant Suilou Huang, associate technical staff, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Michael Sutherland, Sutherland &Associates J. Michael Johnson, fisheries manager,Virginia Marine Resources Commission Brooke Kaye, Peace Corps James W. McClelland, assistant professor, University of Texas, Austin Lorna Street, graduate student, University of Edinburgh Photos: Tom Kleindinst, Adrian Green, Sue Donovan, Martha Vinton J. Valentine, director of GIS, University of Southern Maine Scanlon, Mac Lee, Jim Laundre, Paul Frankson, Chris Crockett, Chad Norris, Fin Linh, and Cole Banning.

Ecosystems Center Report 2006 23 Donors to the John E. Hobbie Scientific Endowment

Jayne and Tom Abbott Hugh and Bev Ducklow Keisuke Koba Debra Peters John and Lynn Aber Kate Eldred Edward Kowalski Bruce Peterson Goran Agren Dave and Lois Epel James Kremer Lawrence Pomeroy Merryl Alber John Farrington Virginia Kuykendall Carol Pooser and Rob Greenberg Alison and Bob Ament Ben Felzer Kate Labrador Edna Pressler Farooq Azam Stuart Findlay Aimlee and Ezra Laderman James Raich and Ann Russell Michele and Frank Bahr Gerald Fine and Victoria LeFevre Homer and Mary Lane Ed Rastetter Nicholas Baker Jacques Finlay and Sarah Hobbie James Laundre and Bonnie Kwiatkowski Peter Raymond Talbot Baker Kevin Fitzpatrick David and Fay LaVigne Kathleen Regan and Jeffrey Lesh Rolf and Edda Bandle Ken Foreman and Anne Giblin Cindy Lee Andrea Ricca Edward Barker David Foster Tanya Leise Christian Roop Elizabeth Barrows Charles Frame Charles Leverone Frans and Marga Rowaan Mary Beckwith Ivy Frances Ann Lezberg Parke Rublee Bill and Paula Beers Brian Fry Gene Likens David Rudnick Donald and Virginia Belanger Timothy Gainey Madeleine Littman Charlotte Ryan Neil Bettez and Gretchen Gettel Jim and Nancy Galloway Edward Locke David Ryan Breck and Linda Bowden Patricia Garrity George and Harmon Logan Mike Ryan and Linda Joyce Frank and Mardi Bowles Cameron and Margaret Gifford Thomas Lovejoy Anne Sawyer Albert and Deborah Bradley Heidi Golden Chris Luecke Shirley Scaife Peg Brandon Robert Golder Berry Lyons Debbie and Jack Scanlon Lawson Brigham Charles Goldman Raymond MacDonald Mary Schiffman Kenneth Brink Joshua Goldstein Sally MacIntyre Josh Schimel Eleanor Bronson-Hodge Arthur and Ilse Gorbach John Magnuson Tom and Susan Schmidt John and Elaine Brouillard Laura Gough and Henry Lamousin Guido and Isabelle Majno Elisabeth and Gary Schwarzman David Bryant and Donna Nimec Susan and Tom Goux Charles Martin Mary Ann Seifert Gurdon Buck Adrian Green Jack Martinelli and Nancy Couts Gus and Ellie Shaver Deborah Burgess Tom and Ginny Gregg David McGuire Kate Shaw Ingrid Burke and William Lauenroth Joslyn Gurley Robert McKane Thomas Sikina John and Sally Burris Arnold Hanawalt Peggy McKibben Charles Simenstad Liz Burrows William Harrison Jerry and Lalise Melillo Ruth Slocum Bruce and Patrice Buxton Valerie Haskins Rolf Miller Fred and Peggy Smith Karen Buzby Gregory and Pamela Hinkle Aaron Mills and Linda Blum William Speck and Evelyn Lipper Zoe Cardon Larry Hinzman Ruel and Alice Mohnkern Sven and Anna Spoerri Frank and Sheila Carotenuto Charles and Young Hobbie Mary Ann Moran John and Evelyn Steele Edward Carpenter David and Jeanne Hobbie James Morris Paul and Pam Steudler Stephen and Susan Carpenter Erik and Alison Hobbie Chip and Susan Morse Marc Stieglitz Alvarus Chan John and Olivann Hobbie Wallace Myers John and Barbara Sullivan Jane Chance Lawrence and Layna Hobbie Knute Nadelhoffer and Barbara Billings Dorothy Swanson Dick and Alice Chappell Eileen Hofmann Robert and Jeanne Naiman Kris Tholke Penny Chisholm George Holman Chris Neill and Linda Deegan Suzanne Thomas Tucker Clark Kelly Holzworth Kristine Neville Mary Toomey David Clarke Frederick Homan Scott Nixon Mead Treadwell Alec Clowes and Susan Detweiler Chuck and Nina Hopkinson Cathy Norton Jane Tucker Peggy Clowes Mary Hopkinson Harriet Nurse David and Nancy Twichell The Clowes Fund, Inc. Bob Howarth and Roxanne Marino Steven Oberbauer Eleanor and Kevin Uhlinger Eric Cody Jeffrey and Karen Hughes John and Marion O’Brien Joseph Vallino Bruce Cohen Robert Illgen Lynda Oehme Garret VanWart Jon Cole Christina Jacobi Dennis Ojima and Jill Baron Charles Vörösmarty Paul Colinvaux and Llewellya Hillis Kristine Johnson Lorrence and Beverly Otter Richard and Doris Waring Bruce and Teresa Corliss The Robert Wood Johnson Fdn. Peter Ouellette Dorothy Wass Chris Crockett Marilyn Jordan Richard and Barbara Palson Ann and Lynn Wilke Sally Cross David Karl Yude Pan Mathew Williams Peter Crossley Samuel Kelsey Jack and Ruth Pearce Mike Williams Rich and Gini Cutler Richard Kent Russell Peck Nancy Woolford Devra Lee Davis David Kicklighter John and Cecilia Pehle John Worcester Michael Dolan Otto Kinne Nancy Pendleton Yuriko Yano David Dow George Kipphut Polly Penhale Linda and Erik Zettler Charles and Kimberley Driscoll George Kling Qianlai Zhuang and Shaomin Hu

The Dalton Highway connects Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. This gravel road, built during construction of the Alaskan oil pipeline, provides access to the tundra, streams, and lakes of the North Slope, the site of ecological research by the Ecosystems Center for the past 32 years. (Photo: John Hobbie.)

24 Ecosystems Center Report 2006 Sources of Support for Research and Education

The annual operating budget of the Ecosystems Center for 2006 was $7,950,000. Approximately 80% of the income of the center comes from grants for basic research from government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The other 20% comes from gifts and grants from private foundations, including support for the Semester in Environmental Science, as well as from institutional support for administration and income from the center’s reserve and endowment funds.

These non-governmental funds provide flexibility for the development of new research projects, public policy activities, and educational programs.

The combined total value of the center’s reserve fund and endowment at the end of 2006 was $5,750,000. Income from the reserve fund and endowment helps defray the Revenue costs of operations, writing proposals, consulting for government agencies, and the center’s seminar program.  'OVERNMENT'RANTS The Ecosystems Center is grateful for the support it has  received from the following corporations and foundations 0RIVATE over the past five years:  /THER Anderson-Rogers Foundation, Inc.  Blum-Kovler Foundation, Inc. %COSYSTEMS#ENTER2ESERVE&UND The Clowes Fund, Inc.  Fred Harris Daniels Foundation, Inc. #ONTRIBUTIONS Arthur Vining Davis Foundation  -", ExxonMobil Foundation Harken Foundation Horizon Foundation, Inc. The Kohlberg Foundation, Inc. Massachusetts Environmental Trust Expenses The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Catherine Filene Shouse Foundation The Starr Foundation The Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust The Worthington Family Foundation, Inc.  /PERATING

 3UBCONTRACTS

 /VERHEAD

 0ERSONNEL The Ecosystems Center MBL 7 MBL Street Woods Hole, MA 02543-1301 www.MBL.edu