Person: Farnsworth, Elizabeth Jean
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Farnsworth
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Elizabeth Jean
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Farnsworth, Elizabeth Jean
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Publication Next-Generation Field Guides(University of California Press, 2013) Farnsworth, Elizabeth Jean; Chu, Miyoko; Kress, W. John; Neill, Amanda K.; Best, Jason H.; Pickering, John; Stevenson, Robert D.; Courtney, Gregory W.; VanDyk, John K.; Ellison, AaronTo conserve species, we must first identify them. Field researchers, land managers, educators, and citizen scientists need up-to-date and accessible tools to identify organisms, organize data, and share observations. Emerging technologies complement traditional, book-form field guides by providing users with a wealth of multimedia data. We review technical innovations of next-generation field guides, including Web-based and stand-alone applications, interactive multiple-access keys, visual-recognition software adapted to identify organisms, species checklists that can be customized to particular sites, online communities in which people share species observations, and the use of crowdsourced data to refine machine-based identification algorithms. Next-generation field guides are user friendly; permit quality control and the revision of data; are scalable to accommodate burgeoning data; protect content and privacy while allowing broad public access; and are adaptable to ever-changing platforms and browsers. These tools have great potential to engage new audiences while fostering rigorous science and an appreciation for nature.Publication Targeted Sampling Increases Knowledge and Improves Estimates of Ant Species Richness in Rhode Island(Humboldt Field Research Institute, 2014) Ellison, Aaron; Farnsworth, Elizabeth JeanOnly 0.7% of 28,205 known New England ant specimens (1861–2011) were from Rhode Island. Consequently, apparent ant species richness of Rhode Island counties was lower than expected based on simple biogeographic models. Collections from two poorly sampled areas—Block Island and Tiverton—and from the 2013 Rhode Island Natural History Survey's BioBlitz increased Rhode Island's ant specimens by 46%) and its ant species richness from 48 to 57. Both Washington and Newport counties now have ant species richness more in line with New England-wide species-environment predictions. The extrapolated number of Rhode Island ant species is 66, but the upper bound of the 95% confidence interval is 93 species and the total species accumulation curve has not reached an asymptote. Future collection efforts should continue to add ant species to the Rhode Island list, especially if collections are targeted in the state's north and southeast regions, and its southwest pine barrens.Publication The Relative Contributions of Seed Bank, Seed Rain, and Understory Vegetation Dynamics to the Reorganization of Tsuga Canadensis Forests After Loss due to Logging or Simulated Attack by Adelges tsugae(Canadian Science Publishing, 2012) Farnsworth, Elizabeth Jean; Barker-Plotkin, Audrey; Ellison, AaronProfound changes are occurring in forests as native insects, nonnative insects, or pathogens irrupt on foundation tree species; comprehensive models of vegetation responses are needed to predict future forest composition. We experimentally simulated hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand) infestation (by girdling trees) and preemptive logging of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière) and compared vegetation dynamics in replicate 90 m × 90 m treatment plots and intact hemlock stands from 2004 to 2010. Using Chao–Sørensen abundance-based similarity indices, we assessed compositional similarities of trees, shrubs, forbs, and graminoids among the seed bank, seed rain, and standing vegetation over time and among treatments. Post-treatment seed rain, similar among treatments, closely reflected canopy tree composition. Species richness of the seed bank was similar in 2004 and 2010. Standing vegetation in the hemlock controls remained dissimilar from the seed bank, reflecting suppressed germination. Recruits from the seed rain and seed bank dominated standing vegetation in the logged treatment, whereas regeneration of vegetation from the seed bank and seed rain was slowed due to shading by dying hemlocks in the girdled treatment. Our approach uniquely integrates multiple regeneration components through time and provides a method for predicting forest dynamics following loss of foundation tree species.Publication The Loss of Species: Mangrove Extinction Risk and Geographic Areas of Global Concern(Public Library of Science, 2010) Polidoro, Beth A.; Carpenter, Kent E.; Collins, Lorna; Duke, Norman C.; Ellison, Joanna C.; Fernando, Edwino S.; Kathiresan, Kandasamy; Koedam, Nico E.; Livingstone, Suzanne R.; Miyagi, Toyohiko; Moore, Gregg E.; Nam, Vien Ngoc; Ong, Jin Eong; Primavera, Jurgenne H.; Salmo, Severino G., III; Sanciangco, Jonnell C.; Sukardjo, Sukristijono; Yong, Jean Wan Hong; Ellison, Aaron; Farnsworth, Elizabeth Jean; Wang, YaminMangrove species are uniquely adapted to tropical and subtropical coasts, and although relatively low in number of species, mangrove forests provide at least US $1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services and support coastal livelihoods worldwide. Globally, mangrove areas are declining rapidly as they are cleared for coastal development and aquaculture and logged for timber and fuel production. Little is known about the effects of mangrove area loss on individual mangrove species and local or regional populations. To address this gap, species-specific information on global distribution, population status, life history traits, and major threats were compiled for each of the 70 known species of mangroves. Each species' probability of extinction was assessed under the Categories and Criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Eleven of the 70 mangrove species (16%) are at elevated threat of extinction. Particular areas of geographical concern include the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America, where as many as 40% of mangroves species present are threatened with extinction. Across the globe, mangrove species found primarily in the high intertidal and upstream estuarine zones, which often have specific freshwater requirements and patchy distributions, are the most threatened because they are often the first cleared for development of aquaculture and agriculture. The loss of mangrove species will have devastating economic and environmental consequences for coastal communities, especially in those areas with low mangrove diversity and high mangrove area or species loss. Several species at high risk of extinction may disappear well before the next decade if existing protective measures are not enforced.