Journal of The Torrey Botanical Society, Jul 1, 2018
Lilium michiganense Farw. (Michigan lily) is a rare species native to the even rarer tallgrass pr... more Lilium michiganense Farw. (Michigan lily) is a rare species native to the even rarer tallgrass prairie biome. In Iowa, extensive conversion of native prairie lands for agriculture has led to tallgrass plant communities existing only in scattered fragments. Fragmented landscapes provide challenges for animal-pollinated species, especially for rare plant species. Unfortunately, there is little published literature about the reproductive biology of many species, including the Michigan lily. We recorded pollinators of Michigan lily in three remnant prairies in northwest Iowa. We also examined nine 10-310-m tallgrass prairie plots, including Michigan lilies for plant species composition, because that may influence pollinator availability. Species composition (analysis of similarity, R ¼ 0.93, P ¼ 0.04) of the three prairies was significantly different. Species flowering coincident with Michigan lilies were both bee-and butterfly-pollinated species (floral visitors/pollinators were recorded on individual flowers of Michigan lilies only). This suggests that plant-species composition is not a limiting factor in pollination for the Michigan lily. Indicator species analysis identified distinct indicator species for each prairie; however, neither those species nor the most abundant animal-pollinated species were flowering at the same time as the Michigan lily. The observed pollinator of Michigan lily was the nonnative honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) with an 89% success rate. No other floral visitors to the lilies were observed throughout the study. Additional studies are needed to test for differences in pollinator availability and abundance because of annual weather variability.
The OSN was founded on the principle of an "open-philosophy," with core efforts focused on suppor... more The OSN was founded on the principle of an "open-philosophy," with core efforts focused on supporting the development of a perpetual human network generating science curricula through team efforts of universities, science institutions, educators, and students. Layered alongside the human network, OSN formed a virtual network of resources using an open-group evaluation model similar to open-source software (Figure 1). Unlike a static repository of information, the web-based system's technological capabilities are flexible enough to house the collective knowledge of both expert and user and change as knowledge and needs evolve. The broad project goals were threefold: 1) Build an interdisciplinary network to advance undergraduate biology education specifically as it regards the promotion or inclusion of ethnobiologically-based content. 2) Build a web portal to facilitate continual exchange of educational techniques, materials, and experiences across institutional and international borders. 3) Develop curriculum models that engage educators and students in scientific inquiry through Ethnobiology. In line with these goals, OSN has hosted 15 collaborative workshops, engaging a wide diversity of individuals, including botanists, ecologists, anthropologists, ethnobiologists, foresters, undergraduate students, graduate students, and ethnobiology educators in community colleges, universities, Native American colleges, and botanical research institutions. The collective outcomes of these network building events are extensive, and most notably include:
The impact of ancient Maya forest gardens on modern tree species composition in NW Belize
Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize... more Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize Nanci Jane Ross, Ph.D. University of Connecticut 2008 The objective of this dissertation is to assess the impact of ancient ...
Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya
tree-dominated home... more Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya
tree-dominated home gardens (i.e., ‘‘forest gardens’’), which contained a diversity of tree species used for daily household needs, on the modern tree species composition of a Mesoamerican forest. Researchers have argued that the ubiquity of these ancient gardens throughout Mesoamerica led to the dominance of species useful to Maya in the contemporary forest, but this pattern may be localized depending on ancient land use. The tested hypothesis was that species composition would be significantly different between areas of dense ancient residential structures (high density) and areas of little or no ancient settlement (low density). Sixty-three 400-m2 plots (31 high density and 32 low density) were censused around the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve in northwestern Belize. Species composition was significantly different, with higher abundances of commonly utilized ‘‘forest garden’’ species still persisting in high-density forest areas despite centuries of abandonment. Subsequent edaphic analyses
only explained 5% of the species composition differences. This research provides data on the long-term impacts of Maya forests gardens for use in development of future conservation models. For Mesoamerican conservation programs to work, we must understand the complex ecological and social interactions within an ecosystem that developed in intimate association with humans.
The authors thank M. Merello, L. Peters, and J. Solomon at the Missouri Botanical Garden (MO) and... more The authors thank M. Merello, L. Peters, and J. Solomon at the Missouri Botanical Garden (MO) and M. Vincent at the Turrell Herbarium, Miami University (MU) for herbarium materials; M. Adams and J. McKnight for persimmon archaeology references; A. Strong, A. Miller, C. Buising, and M. Renner for manuscript comments; C. Dao and J. Honts for help with sample preparation; and two anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.
Innovative Strategies for Teaching in the Plant Sciences, 2014
Organizing Nature "What's that called?" is a very basic question asked endlessly by children. Nam... more Organizing Nature "What's that called?" is a very basic question asked endlessly by children. Naming or categorizing reveals a common human need: to organize the world around us into recognizable units (Dougherty 1979; Lopez et al. 1997). Berlin et al. (1973) revealed that people go beyond just naming by grouping species together based on common characters, organizing our environment into hierarchical categories. A study working with both science and nonscience major undergraduates found that when presented with unknown and unidentified organisms, the students developed binomial names that often aided in creating these higher classifications (Lau et al. 2009). Classifying is integral to our understanding of our world. 8.1.1 Historical Perspectives on Classification It is no surprise, then, that classification is fundamental to the scientific study of the natural world. The first systematic attempt to classify the botanical world was by Theophrastus (c. 371-287 B.C.), a student of Aristotle. He classified plants using their morphology, life histories, and by their practical uses such as food, medicine, or fibers. The moniker "father of taxonomy," however, was given to the German botanist Carl von Linné, better known as Carolus Linnaeus, for his publication of Systema Natura in 1758. It was here that Linnaeus established the formal use of binomial nomenclature, i.e., two-word species names (genus and specific epithet). Perhaps more importantly, the Linnaean system standardized the use of an inclusive hierarchy such that each taxon was nested within a higher taxon and every species was expected to belong to a group, even if that group was, as of yet, unknown. The huge influx of new species encountered by the explosion of European exploration C. L. Quave (ed.), Innovative Strategies for Teaching in the Plant Sciences,
Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya tree-dominated home ... more Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya tree-dominated home gardens (i.e., ''forest gardens''), which contained a diversity of tree species used for daily household needs, on the modern tree species composition of a Mesoamerican forest. Researchers have argued that the ubiquity of these ancient gardens throughout Mesoamerica led to the dominance of species useful to Maya in the contemporary forest, but this pattern may be localized depending on ancient land use. The tested hypothesis was that species composition would be significantly different between areas of dense ancient residential structures (high density) and areas of little or no ancient settlement (low density). Sixty-three 400-m 2 plots (31 high density and 32 low density) were censused around the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve in northwestern Belize. Species composition was significantly different, with higher abundances of commonly utilized ''forest garden'' species still persisting in high-density forest areas despite centuries of abandonment. Subsequent edaphic analyses only explained 5% of the species composition differences. This research provides data on the long-term impacts of Maya forests gardens for use in development of future conservation models. For Mesoamerican conservation programs to work, we must understand the complex ecological and social interactions within an ecosystem that developed in intimate association with humans.
Previous research has shown that ancient Maya 'forest gardens'-tree-dominated home gardens contai... more Previous research has shown that ancient Maya 'forest gardens'-tree-dominated home gardens containing a diversity of tree species used for daily household needsstill resonate in the species composition of the modern forest. Centuries of positive interspecies interactions may enhance the reproductive and survival success of garden species selected and encouraged by experienced Maya forest gardeners. We hypothesized that such interaction may result in aggregated spatial patterns between 32 pre-selected, commonly utilized forest garden species. In this paper, we developed a novel randomization (Monte Carlo) method designed to measure and test if the spatial relationships among pairs of Maya 'forest garden' trees species differ between areas that experienced high and low ancient settlement density in northwestern Belize. A total of 28 high ancient settlement density and 27 low ancient settlement density plots containing a total of 2772 and 3134 trees, respectively, were used for this study. The analysis revealed that 58 pairs of forest garden species tended to 'cluster' together significantly more often in the high settlement density areas than would be expected in a random distribution. In low settlement density plots, only 12 pairs of species exhibited a significant clustered spatial relationship. The effect was not species specific, suggesting that some synergistic relationships, mediated by third-party agents such as dispersers, may occur at the community level. The impacts of ancient human land use, echoing across centuries of dispersal, colonization, disturbance, and biotic and abiotic interactions, can have important implications for understanding the current biodiversity patterns and processes.
The OSN was founded on the principle of an "open-philosophy," with core efforts focused on suppor... more The OSN was founded on the principle of an "open-philosophy," with core efforts focused on supporting the development of a perpetual human network generating science curricula through team efforts of universities, science institutions, educators, and students. Layered alongside the human network, OSN formed a virtual network of resources using an open-group evaluation model similar to open-source software (Figure 1). Unlike a static repository of information, the web-based system's technological capabilities are flexible enough to house the collective knowledge of both expert and user and change as knowledge and needs evolve. The broad project goals were threefold: 1) Build an interdisciplinary network to advance undergraduate biology education specifically as it regards the promotion or inclusion of ethnobiologically-based content. 2) Build a web portal to facilitate continual exchange of educational techniques, materials, and experiences across institutional and international borders. 3) Develop curriculum models that engage educators and students in scientific inquiry through Ethnobiology. In line with these goals, OSN has hosted 15 collaborative workshops, engaging a wide diversity of individuals, including botanists, ecologists, anthropologists, ethnobiologists, foresters, undergraduate students, graduate students, and ethnobiology educators in community colleges, universities, Native American colleges, and botanical research institutions. The collective outcomes of these network building events are extensive, and most notably include:
The impact of ancient Maya forest gardens on modern tree species composition in NW Belize
Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize... more Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize Nanci Jane Ross, Ph.D. University of Connecticut 2008 The objective of this dissertation is to assess the impact of ancient ...
The impact of ancient Maya forest gardens on modern tree species composition in NW Belize
Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize... more Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize Nanci Jane Ross, Ph.D. University of Connecticut 2008 The objective of this dissertation is to assess the impact of ancient ...
Journal of The Torrey Botanical Society, Jul 1, 2018
Lilium michiganense Farw. (Michigan lily) is a rare species native to the even rarer tallgrass pr... more Lilium michiganense Farw. (Michigan lily) is a rare species native to the even rarer tallgrass prairie biome. In Iowa, extensive conversion of native prairie lands for agriculture has led to tallgrass plant communities existing only in scattered fragments. Fragmented landscapes provide challenges for animal-pollinated species, especially for rare plant species. Unfortunately, there is little published literature about the reproductive biology of many species, including the Michigan lily. We recorded pollinators of Michigan lily in three remnant prairies in northwest Iowa. We also examined nine 10-310-m tallgrass prairie plots, including Michigan lilies for plant species composition, because that may influence pollinator availability. Species composition (analysis of similarity, R ¼ 0.93, P ¼ 0.04) of the three prairies was significantly different. Species flowering coincident with Michigan lilies were both bee-and butterfly-pollinated species (floral visitors/pollinators were recorded on individual flowers of Michigan lilies only). This suggests that plant-species composition is not a limiting factor in pollination for the Michigan lily. Indicator species analysis identified distinct indicator species for each prairie; however, neither those species nor the most abundant animal-pollinated species were flowering at the same time as the Michigan lily. The observed pollinator of Michigan lily was the nonnative honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) with an 89% success rate. No other floral visitors to the lilies were observed throughout the study. Additional studies are needed to test for differences in pollinator availability and abundance because of annual weather variability.
The OSN was founded on the principle of an "open-philosophy," with core efforts focused on suppor... more The OSN was founded on the principle of an "open-philosophy," with core efforts focused on supporting the development of a perpetual human network generating science curricula through team efforts of universities, science institutions, educators, and students. Layered alongside the human network, OSN formed a virtual network of resources using an open-group evaluation model similar to open-source software (Figure 1). Unlike a static repository of information, the web-based system's technological capabilities are flexible enough to house the collective knowledge of both expert and user and change as knowledge and needs evolve. The broad project goals were threefold: 1) Build an interdisciplinary network to advance undergraduate biology education specifically as it regards the promotion or inclusion of ethnobiologically-based content. 2) Build a web portal to facilitate continual exchange of educational techniques, materials, and experiences across institutional and international borders. 3) Develop curriculum models that engage educators and students in scientific inquiry through Ethnobiology. In line with these goals, OSN has hosted 15 collaborative workshops, engaging a wide diversity of individuals, including botanists, ecologists, anthropologists, ethnobiologists, foresters, undergraduate students, graduate students, and ethnobiology educators in community colleges, universities, Native American colleges, and botanical research institutions. The collective outcomes of these network building events are extensive, and most notably include:
The impact of ancient Maya forest gardens on modern tree species composition in NW Belize
Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize... more Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize Nanci Jane Ross, Ph.D. University of Connecticut 2008 The objective of this dissertation is to assess the impact of ancient ...
Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya
tree-dominated home... more Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya
tree-dominated home gardens (i.e., ‘‘forest gardens’’), which contained a diversity of tree species used for daily household needs, on the modern tree species composition of a Mesoamerican forest. Researchers have argued that the ubiquity of these ancient gardens throughout Mesoamerica led to the dominance of species useful to Maya in the contemporary forest, but this pattern may be localized depending on ancient land use. The tested hypothesis was that species composition would be significantly different between areas of dense ancient residential structures (high density) and areas of little or no ancient settlement (low density). Sixty-three 400-m2 plots (31 high density and 32 low density) were censused around the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve in northwestern Belize. Species composition was significantly different, with higher abundances of commonly utilized ‘‘forest garden’’ species still persisting in high-density forest areas despite centuries of abandonment. Subsequent edaphic analyses
only explained 5% of the species composition differences. This research provides data on the long-term impacts of Maya forests gardens for use in development of future conservation models. For Mesoamerican conservation programs to work, we must understand the complex ecological and social interactions within an ecosystem that developed in intimate association with humans.
The authors thank M. Merello, L. Peters, and J. Solomon at the Missouri Botanical Garden (MO) and... more The authors thank M. Merello, L. Peters, and J. Solomon at the Missouri Botanical Garden (MO) and M. Vincent at the Turrell Herbarium, Miami University (MU) for herbarium materials; M. Adams and J. McKnight for persimmon archaeology references; A. Strong, A. Miller, C. Buising, and M. Renner for manuscript comments; C. Dao and J. Honts for help with sample preparation; and two anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.
Innovative Strategies for Teaching in the Plant Sciences, 2014
Organizing Nature "What's that called?" is a very basic question asked endlessly by children. Nam... more Organizing Nature "What's that called?" is a very basic question asked endlessly by children. Naming or categorizing reveals a common human need: to organize the world around us into recognizable units (Dougherty 1979; Lopez et al. 1997). Berlin et al. (1973) revealed that people go beyond just naming by grouping species together based on common characters, organizing our environment into hierarchical categories. A study working with both science and nonscience major undergraduates found that when presented with unknown and unidentified organisms, the students developed binomial names that often aided in creating these higher classifications (Lau et al. 2009). Classifying is integral to our understanding of our world. 8.1.1 Historical Perspectives on Classification It is no surprise, then, that classification is fundamental to the scientific study of the natural world. The first systematic attempt to classify the botanical world was by Theophrastus (c. 371-287 B.C.), a student of Aristotle. He classified plants using their morphology, life histories, and by their practical uses such as food, medicine, or fibers. The moniker "father of taxonomy," however, was given to the German botanist Carl von Linné, better known as Carolus Linnaeus, for his publication of Systema Natura in 1758. It was here that Linnaeus established the formal use of binomial nomenclature, i.e., two-word species names (genus and specific epithet). Perhaps more importantly, the Linnaean system standardized the use of an inclusive hierarchy such that each taxon was nested within a higher taxon and every species was expected to belong to a group, even if that group was, as of yet, unknown. The huge influx of new species encountered by the explosion of European exploration C. L. Quave (ed.), Innovative Strategies for Teaching in the Plant Sciences,
Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya tree-dominated home ... more Ecology and ethnobotany were integrated to assess the impact of ancient Maya tree-dominated home gardens (i.e., ''forest gardens''), which contained a diversity of tree species used for daily household needs, on the modern tree species composition of a Mesoamerican forest. Researchers have argued that the ubiquity of these ancient gardens throughout Mesoamerica led to the dominance of species useful to Maya in the contemporary forest, but this pattern may be localized depending on ancient land use. The tested hypothesis was that species composition would be significantly different between areas of dense ancient residential structures (high density) and areas of little or no ancient settlement (low density). Sixty-three 400-m 2 plots (31 high density and 32 low density) were censused around the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve in northwestern Belize. Species composition was significantly different, with higher abundances of commonly utilized ''forest garden'' species still persisting in high-density forest areas despite centuries of abandonment. Subsequent edaphic analyses only explained 5% of the species composition differences. This research provides data on the long-term impacts of Maya forests gardens for use in development of future conservation models. For Mesoamerican conservation programs to work, we must understand the complex ecological and social interactions within an ecosystem that developed in intimate association with humans.
Previous research has shown that ancient Maya 'forest gardens'-tree-dominated home gardens contai... more Previous research has shown that ancient Maya 'forest gardens'-tree-dominated home gardens containing a diversity of tree species used for daily household needsstill resonate in the species composition of the modern forest. Centuries of positive interspecies interactions may enhance the reproductive and survival success of garden species selected and encouraged by experienced Maya forest gardeners. We hypothesized that such interaction may result in aggregated spatial patterns between 32 pre-selected, commonly utilized forest garden species. In this paper, we developed a novel randomization (Monte Carlo) method designed to measure and test if the spatial relationships among pairs of Maya 'forest garden' trees species differ between areas that experienced high and low ancient settlement density in northwestern Belize. A total of 28 high ancient settlement density and 27 low ancient settlement density plots containing a total of 2772 and 3134 trees, respectively, were used for this study. The analysis revealed that 58 pairs of forest garden species tended to 'cluster' together significantly more often in the high settlement density areas than would be expected in a random distribution. In low settlement density plots, only 12 pairs of species exhibited a significant clustered spatial relationship. The effect was not species specific, suggesting that some synergistic relationships, mediated by third-party agents such as dispersers, may occur at the community level. The impacts of ancient human land use, echoing across centuries of dispersal, colonization, disturbance, and biotic and abiotic interactions, can have important implications for understanding the current biodiversity patterns and processes.
The OSN was founded on the principle of an "open-philosophy," with core efforts focused on suppor... more The OSN was founded on the principle of an "open-philosophy," with core efforts focused on supporting the development of a perpetual human network generating science curricula through team efforts of universities, science institutions, educators, and students. Layered alongside the human network, OSN formed a virtual network of resources using an open-group evaluation model similar to open-source software (Figure 1). Unlike a static repository of information, the web-based system's technological capabilities are flexible enough to house the collective knowledge of both expert and user and change as knowledge and needs evolve. The broad project goals were threefold: 1) Build an interdisciplinary network to advance undergraduate biology education specifically as it regards the promotion or inclusion of ethnobiologically-based content. 2) Build a web portal to facilitate continual exchange of educational techniques, materials, and experiences across institutional and international borders. 3) Develop curriculum models that engage educators and students in scientific inquiry through Ethnobiology. In line with these goals, OSN has hosted 15 collaborative workshops, engaging a wide diversity of individuals, including botanists, ecologists, anthropologists, ethnobiologists, foresters, undergraduate students, graduate students, and ethnobiology educators in community colleges, universities, Native American colleges, and botanical research institutions. The collective outcomes of these network building events are extensive, and most notably include:
The impact of ancient Maya forest gardens on modern tree species composition in NW Belize
Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize... more Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize Nanci Jane Ross, Ph.D. University of Connecticut 2008 The objective of this dissertation is to assess the impact of ancient ...
The impact of ancient Maya forest gardens on modern tree species composition in NW Belize
Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize... more Page 1. The Impact of Ancient Maya Forest Gardens on Modern Tree Species Composition in NW Belize Nanci Jane Ross, Ph.D. University of Connecticut 2008 The objective of this dissertation is to assess the impact of ancient ...
Uploads
Papers by Nanci Ross
tree-dominated home gardens (i.e., ‘‘forest gardens’’), which contained a diversity of tree species used for daily household needs, on the modern tree species composition of a Mesoamerican forest. Researchers have argued that the ubiquity of these ancient gardens throughout Mesoamerica led to the dominance of species useful to Maya in the contemporary forest, but this pattern may be localized depending on ancient land use. The tested hypothesis was that species composition would be significantly different between areas of dense ancient residential structures (high density) and areas of little or no ancient settlement (low density). Sixty-three 400-m2 plots (31 high density and 32 low density) were censused around the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve in northwestern Belize. Species composition was significantly different, with higher abundances of commonly utilized ‘‘forest garden’’ species still persisting in high-density forest areas despite centuries of abandonment. Subsequent edaphic analyses
only explained 5% of the species composition differences. This research provides data on the long-term impacts of Maya forests gardens for use in development of future conservation models. For Mesoamerican conservation programs to work, we must understand the complex ecological and social interactions within an ecosystem that developed in intimate association with humans.
tree-dominated home gardens (i.e., ‘‘forest gardens’’), which contained a diversity of tree species used for daily household needs, on the modern tree species composition of a Mesoamerican forest. Researchers have argued that the ubiquity of these ancient gardens throughout Mesoamerica led to the dominance of species useful to Maya in the contemporary forest, but this pattern may be localized depending on ancient land use. The tested hypothesis was that species composition would be significantly different between areas of dense ancient residential structures (high density) and areas of little or no ancient settlement (low density). Sixty-three 400-m2 plots (31 high density and 32 low density) were censused around the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve in northwestern Belize. Species composition was significantly different, with higher abundances of commonly utilized ‘‘forest garden’’ species still persisting in high-density forest areas despite centuries of abandonment. Subsequent edaphic analyses
only explained 5% of the species composition differences. This research provides data on the long-term impacts of Maya forests gardens for use in development of future conservation models. For Mesoamerican conservation programs to work, we must understand the complex ecological and social interactions within an ecosystem that developed in intimate association with humans.