Reed F. Noss (born 23 June 1952), a conservation biologist since the beginning of the field in the early 1980s, is a writer, photographer, and speaker. He retired in 2017 as Provost's Distinguished Research Professor, Pegasus Professor, and Davis-Shine Professor at the University of Central Florida. [1] [2] He is President and Chief Scientist for the Florida Institute for Conservation Science, Chief Science Advisor for the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative, and Chief Science Advisor for the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance. [3] Noss' published work consists of over 350 published or in press scientific articles, book chapters, and major reports and eight published books, with another book in preparation. [4]
Noss has a B.S. in Education from the University of Dayton, a M.S. in Ecology from the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida. [1] Noss earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Wildlife and Range Sciences in the school of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida in 1988 under the co-advisory of Larry D. Harris and Ronald L. Labisky and completed his dissertation: Effects of edge and internal patchiness on habitat use by birds in a Florida hardwood forest. [5]
Noss has put in over 40 years of work in developing the ideas of conservation biology and has become an important figure in conservation planning and management as well as his work promoting naturalist education. [1] [6] [7] [8] [9] Noss has been the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Conservation Biology (1993-1997), President of the Society for Conservation Biology (1999-2001), President of the North America Section of the Society for Conservation Biology (2006-2008), Governor-appointed member to the State of Florida’s Acquisition and Restoration Council (2006-2007), and the Vice Chair of the Adaptation for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources Advisory Committee at the Climate Change Science Program (2007-2009). [1] [10]
Noss was professor of conservation biology and ecology, as well as the Director of Science and Planning in Conservation Ecology Laboratory at the University of Central Florida. His work encompasses the science of species and ecosystem vulnerability to sea-level rise, disturbance ecology, climate adaptation strategies, and ecosystem conservation and restoration. [1] [11]
Noss has testified three times before U.S. congressional committees, most recently to the House Committee on Natural Resources Oversight Hearing on “Defining Species Conservation Success: Tribal, State and Local Stewardship vs. Federal Courtroom Battles and Sue-and-Settle Practices,” on June 4, 2013. [12]
Books written or edited by Noss: [1] [13]
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link)List of awards, elections, and special recognitions: [1] [13]
Noss has been publishing on conservation biology since the early 1980s, shortly after the first texts that used the name appeared. He is especially well known for his work developing concepts and approaches for regional and continental-scale conservation planning and reserve network design. By the late 1990s, he was collaborating with conservation biologist, Michael E. Soulé to refine the conservation idea of rewilding. According to their paper "Rewilding and Biodiversity: Complementary Goals for Continental Conservation" Soulé and Noss identified the driving factors of rewilding as "cores, corridors, and carnivores". [20]
In more recent decades, Noss has spoken about the decline of educational opportunities in natural history, and the diminishing exposure that students have to it. [21]
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on Earth and dominate the landscape worldwide. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands. They cover 31–69% of the Earth's land area.
Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on natural and social sciences, and the practice of natural resource management.
Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in terms of any one ideology.
Applied ecology is a sub-field within ecology that considers the application of the science of ecology to real-world questions. It is also described as a scientific field that focuses on the application of concepts, theories, models, or methods of fundamental ecology to environmental problems.
Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair already damaged ecosystems rather than take preventative measures. Ecological restoration can reverse biodiversity loss, combat climate change, and support local economies.
Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. It attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include wildlife conservation, gamekeeping and pest control. Wildlife management draws on disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry, biology, ecology, climatology and geography to gain the best results.
Simon Asher Levin is an American ecologist and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the director of the Center for BioComplexity at Princeton University. He specializes in using mathematical modeling and empirical studies in the understanding of macroscopic patterns of ecosystems and biological diversities.
The Earth Institute Center for Environmental Sustainability, formerly known as the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC), consists of two institutions located at Columbia University. The first is an Earth Institute which started as the first Earth Institute in 1995. The second is the Secretariat of the Consortium for Environmental Research and Conservation, established in cooperation with The Earth Institute, the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Botanical Garden, the Wildlife Conservation Society and EcoHealth Alliance on biodiversity conservation.
Richard J. Hobbs FAA, is an Emeritus Professor, ARC former Australian Laureate Fellow and ecologist at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Highly-Cited author who has written extensively in the areas of vegetation dynamics and management, ecosystem fragmentation, ecosystem rehabilitation and restoration, landscape ecology, and conservation biology. His research focused on managing ecosystems in a rapidly changing world and the implications of environmental and biological change for conservation and restoration.
Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and restoring natural processes. It differs from other forms of ecological restoration in that rewilding aspires to reduce human influence on ecosystems. It is also distinct from other forms of restoration in that, while it places emphasis on recovering geographically specific sets of ecological interactions and functions that would have maintained ecosystems prior to human influence, rewilding is open to novel or emerging ecosystems which encompass new species and new interactions.
The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) is a research center under the Office of Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) whose mission is to preserve regional biodiversity and restore ecosystems on campus lands. CCBER has three main functions: curation and preservation of natural history collections, native coastal ecosystem and habitat restoration on campus lands, and education and outreach for both UCSB students and local community schools.
Gary Tabor is an American environmentalist with over 30 years' experience working on behalf of large scale conservation internationally as well as 12 years as a leader within the U.S. environmental philanthropic community. Tabor is known for his role as a catalyst in forwarding progress through large landscape conservation, pioneering the fields of Conservation Medicine and EcoHealth, and advising agencies and organizations about contemporary environmental issues.
Jamuna Sharan Singh is an Indian ecologist, academic and a former professor of botany and ecological sciences at Banaras Hindu University. He is known for his studies on the grassland ecosystems which are reported to have assisted in the better management of tropical grasslands. He is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, The World Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1980, for his contributions to biological sciences.
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.
Ingrid C. "Indy" Burke is the Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. She is the first female dean in the school's 116 year history. Her area of research is ecosystem ecology with a primary focus on carbon cycling and nitrogen cycling in semi-arid rangeland ecosystems. She teaches on subjects relating to ecosystem ecology, and biogeochemistry.
Shahid Naeem is an ecologist and conservation biologist and is a Lenfest Distinguished professor and chair in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology at Columbia University. Naeem is the author of Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Well-Being, and has published over 100 scientific articles.
Adina Merenlender is a Professor of Cooperative Extension in Conservation Science at University of California, Berkeley in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Department, and is an internationally recognized conservation biologist known for land-use planning, watershed science, landscape connectivity, and naturalist and stewardship training.
Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration is a 2022 book by Laura J. Martin, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Williams College. The book explains how ecological restoration became a global pursuit. Martin defines restoration as "an attempt to co-design nature with non-human collaborators." Wild by Design calls for the unification of ecological restoration and social justice.
James R. Karr is an ecologist, ornithologist, conservation biologist, stream ecologist, academic, and author. He is a Professor Emeritus of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle.
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