[Ecolunch] NCEAS EcoLunch: Forest Isbell, Tuesday Feb. 14th

[Josephine Rodriguez]

Please join us for a /Tuesday/ NCEAS Ecolunch:

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*Dr. Forest Isbell, University of Minnesota*

*Causes and consequences of changes in grassland plant diversity*


**Tuesday** February 14th @ 12:15


 From Dr. Isbell:

Humans are causing many changes on a global scale, such as changes in 
nutrient availability, species origin (native vs. exotic), land use, and 
climate. There is concern that these anthropogenic influences could tip 
ecosystems over critical thresholds, leading to rapid, and potentially 
irreversible, changes in ecosystems. Furthermore, biodiversity is 
declining worldwide, and there is considerable evidence that ecosystem 
functioning (e.g., productivity, nutrient cycling) directly depends on 
biodiversity. Thus, there is concern that biodiversity declines will 
decrease the services that ecosystems provide for people. This talk will 
explore: (1) whether nutrient enrichment can cause a critical transition 
from a diverse to a depauperate grassland plant community by promoting 
an exotic species invasion, and (2) the extent to which grassland plant 
species are functionally redundant, such that their extinction will not 
influence ecosystem functioning.

Website: web.me.com/forest.isbell <http://web.me.com/forest.isbell>

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GENERAL INFORMATION: Ecolunch is usually Thursday, at 12:15 pm (brown 
bag lunch) National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, 735 
State ?St., Suite 300, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Phone: (805) 892-2500

A schedule of upcoming Ecolunch seminars is available on the web at: 
?http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/ecolunch

DIRECTIONS FROM UCSB BY BUS: You can get to NCEAS by taking the 11:40 
a.m. bus (#24x) from campus. From the transit center, walk one block 
east to

State Street and two blocks south to the Balboa Building at 735 State 
Street. To return to campus, you can take the 1:30 p.m. bus (#24x) from

the transit station and be back on campus by 1:49 p.m. Or you can take 
the 2:20 p.m. bus and arrive on campus at 2:39.

BY CAR: take Highway 101 South. Once in Santa Barbara, exit on Carrillo 
Street. Turn left onto Carrillo. Drive 5 blocks and turn right on State

Street. NCEAS is located on the right side at 735 State St., Suite 300. 
To park: Drive past NCEAS on State Street and make your first right on 
Ortega

Street. Drive 1 block and turn right on Chapala Street. Park in the 
underground Mall parking lot on your right. (First 75 minutes free). Once

you are at the Balboa Building: We are on the third floor in the lounge 
area.


-- 
Josephine Rodriguez, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)
University of California Santa Barbara
735 State St., Suite 300
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Office: 805-892-2514 Cell: 217-649-3004
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~rodriguez


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