Role of Long-term Monitoring in Understanding the Serengeti Ecosystem

Tuesday, April 24 2012 at 9:00 AM

Location: Whitewater Room, University of Idaho Commons

The "Role of Long-term Monitoring in Understanding the Serengeti Ecosystem: Alternating Effects of the El Niño Southern Oscillation on Serengeti Ecosystem Stability" lecture will be presented by Dr. Sinclair April 24 at 9 a.m. in the Whitewater Room in the Idaho Commons.

Sinclair received a PhD from Oxford University and has spent most of his career conducting research in the Serengeti ecosystem of Central Africa studying a variety of questions: predator-prey dynamics, the function of animal migration, population regulation, trophic cascades, community ecology, optimal foraging theory, consequences of declines in biodiversity on ecosystem function, and conservation biology and policy. He has published over 100 papers in a wide variety of both applied and conceptual journals.

Sinclair will discuss the value of long-term monitoring and research for understanding patterns and processes in ecology. His research in the Serengeti ecosystem highlights concepts that apply to ecosystems everywhere. His work is a great example of research that provides advances in evolutionary ecology and also contributes to conservation and management of animal populations. Visit his website for a summary of his 30 years of research: www.zoology.ubc.ca/person/sinclair.

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