Anna Amelia Sher | |
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Alma mater | University of New Mexico Ph.D Earlham College B.S. |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | University of Denver |
Thesis | Seedling ecology of competing riparian trees : native cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp wislizenii) and invasive salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima). (1998) |
Anna Amelia Sher is an American plant ecologist who is a professor at the University of Denver. She works on conservation and the restoration of areas invaded by Tamarix. She is the author of two textbooks, Ecology:Concepts and Applications and Introduction to conservation biology.
Sher was an undergraduate student at Earlham College, where she majored in biology and art, [1] and was first introduced to invasive plants, which she attributes to biology professor Brent Smith. [2] She moved to the University of New Mexico for graduate studies, where she worked under the supervision of Diane Marshall. [2] Her doctoral research considered the ecology of competing riparian trees: cottonwood and invasive salt cedar ( Tamarix ). [3] She completed field work at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. After earning her doctorate, Sher travelled to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where she was supported by a Fulbright Program scholarship. [1] On her return to the United States, Sher joined the University of California, Davis as a postdoctoral researcher investigating invasive grasses. [1]
In 2003, Sher moved to Denver where she was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Denver and Director of Research at the Denver Botanic Gardens. [4] She was promoted to tenured associate professor in 2008 and full professor in 2017. [5]
Sher's research considers preservation and the environmental protection and conservation, the ecology of invasive plants and ways to restore damaged ecosystems. [1] She has extensively investigated the Tamarix, an invasive, exotic tree species of West America. [2]
Sher was the second female full professor in the history of her department, and the third in the division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at DU. She was the first mother to both achieve tenure and be promoted to full in her division. She would go on to found the STEM Women Faculty Association and lead a cross-campus team to address inequalities for faculty in the sciences. [6]
Dr. Sher has published dozens of scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals; this work has been cited thousands of times. A current list of publications and citations can be found on her Google Scholar page. Her ORCID ID is https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6433-9746 . The following are a sample of some of her better known works (* indicates student co-authors. Note that first and last positions in author lists typically indicate person who did most of the writing and the one who is the senior/supervising PI, respectively):
Sher is a member of 500 Queer Scientists. She was the first member of her department to be out. [12] Sher and her wife, Fran, were the first couple in Denver to receive a civil union. [4] Together they have one son. [13]
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamaris River in Hispania Tarraconensis (Spain).
Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interruption and action. Ecological restoration can reverse biodiversity loss, combat climate change and support local and global economies.
Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests, have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vitality and renewal. Many plant species in fire-affected environments use fire to germinate, establish, or to reproduce. Wildfire suppression not only endangers these species, but also the animals that depend upon them.
Daniel Simberloff is an American biologist and ecologist. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1969. He is currently Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Tennessee, editor-in-chief of the journal Biological Invasions, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone,riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".
Scottsdale Reserve is a 1,328-hectare (3,280-acre) nature reserve on the Murrumbidgee River in south-central New South Wales, Australia. It is 79 kilometres (49 mi) south of Canberra, and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Bredbo. It is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia (BHA), which purchased it in 2006. The purchase was supportive of projects aiming to connect existing fragmented remnant habitat such as K2C. Since the 1870s up until 2006, the land was used for agriculture – primarily sheep grazing with some minor cropping. A significant component of the Reserve has been cleared of native vegetation.
Tamarix ramosissima, commonly known as saltcedarsalt cedar, or tamarisk, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems, feathery, pale green foliage, and characteristic small pink flowers.
Diorhabda carinulata is a species of leaf beetle known as the northern tamarisk beetle, which feeds on tamarisk trees from southern Russia and Iran to Mongolia and western China. This beetle is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk, an invasive species in arid and semiarid ecosystems.
Diorhabda elongata is a species of leaf beetle known as the Mediterranean tamarisk beetle (MTB) which feeds on tamarisk trees from Portugal and Algeria east to southern Russia. The MTB is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk, an invasive species in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.
Diorhabda carinata is a species of leaf beetle known as the larger tamarisk beetle which feeds on tamarisk trees from Ukraine, eastern Turkey and Syria east to northwest China, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, extending as far south as southern Iran. It is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk, an invasive species in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.
Diorhabda sublineata is a leaf beetle known as the subtropical tamarisk beetle (STB). The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1849. It feeds on tamarisk trees from Portugal, Spain and France to Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Iraq. It is used in North America as a biological pest control agent against saltcedar or tamarisk, an invasive species in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.
Canebrake Ecological Reserve is a 6,700-acre (27 km2) nature reserve in the South Fork Valley of Kern County, 20 miles (32 km) east of Lake Isabella, California. It is located in the Southern Sierra Nevada region.
Riparian-zone restoration is the ecological restoration of riparian-zonehabitats of streams, rivers, springs, lakes, floodplains, and other hydrologic ecologies. A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth; the habitats of plant and animal communities along the margins and river banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by aquatic plants and animals that favor them. Riparian zones are significant in ecology, environmental management, and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their habitat biodiversity, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grassland, woodland, wetland or sub-surface features such as water tables. In some regions the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, or riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone.
Woody plant encroachment is a natural phenomenon characterised by the increase in density of woody plants, bushes and shrubs, at the expense of the herbaceous layer, grasses and forbs. It predominantly occurs in grasslands, savannas and woodlands and can cause biome shifts from open grasslands and savannas to closed woodlands. The term bush encroachment refers to the expansion of native plants and not the spread of alien invasive species. It is thus defined by plant density, not species. Bush encroachment is often considered an ecological regime shift and can be a symptom of land degradation. The phenomenon is observed across different ecosystems and with different characteristics and intensities globally.
Arturo Gómez-Pompa is a tropical biologist, a scientific advisor for the Tropical Research Center of the Universidad Veracruzana (CITRO), and a professor emeritus of botany at the University of California, Riverside. He made various contributions to the field of tropical ecology through the creation of databases used in botanical research, and he contributed to the research on the domestication of tropical trees.
Nancy Huntly is an American ecologist based at Utah State University, where she is a Professor in the Department of Biology and director of the USU Ecology Center. Her research has been on biodiversity, herbivory, and long-term human ecology. She started her position at USU in 2011, after serving as a Program Officer in the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation. Prior to that she was a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University (Pocatello).
Erika S. Zavaleta is an American professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Zavaleta is recognized for her research focusing on topics including plant community ecology, conservation practices for terrestrial ecosystems, and impacts of community dynamics on ecosystem functions.
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