Faculty note: Wolf, Howe publication… and a busy summer, for many

UW-Green Bay professors Amy Wolf and Robert Howe of Natural and Applied Sciences are among co-authors of the “Editor’s Choice” article in this month’s issue of the prestigious Journal of Ecology. The collaborative work, titled “Scale-dependent relationships between tree species richness and ecosystem function in forests,” involved researchers from every continent (except Antarctica). The effort was led by Dr. Ryan Chisholm, research associate of the Smithsonian Institution. Wolf and Howe also gave a presentation on forest bird sampling to more than 50 Smithsonian-affiliated researchers at an international workshop sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and Chinese Academy of Sciences at Front Royal, Va., in late July. This summer Howe and Wolf, in collaboration with Herbarium Curator Gary Fewless, former student Kathryn Corio, and graduate students Cindy Burtley and Curt Rollman, led the successful second census of the Wabikon Forest Dynamics Plot in northern Wisconsin. Participants in the field sampling included undergrads Sara Smith and Mary Quade, grad students Jesse Weinzinger and Chelsea Gunther, and nine students from other universities including Yale University, Colorado College, Humboldt State University, College of Menominee Nation, UW-Madison, UW-Stevens Point and Michigan State University). This major task required measurement and mapping of more than 46,000 individual trees. Fewless, along with Corio, oversaw the botanical aspects of the research, while Cofrin Center for Biodiversity Research Specialist Erin Giese is leading data management and data entry by UW-Green Bay students and staff. Others involved with summer research at Wabikon included Program Assistant Kim McKeefry, GIS technician Mike Stiefvater, Natural Areas Manager Josh Martinez, and students Stephanie Beilke, Hans Bremer, Austin Carter, Tom Prestby, and Nick Walton.