tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145485148350066537.post7339408906976635558..comments2024-03-20T14:44:25.360-07:00Comments on Adventures in Biodiversity Science: Dispatch from AlbuqerqueBiodudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14725715394632389624noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145485148350066537.post-42844861631321313292009-08-05T12:13:06.790-07:002009-08-05T12:13:06.790-07:00Thanks for the update Michael. Sounds like you ar...Thanks for the update Michael. Sounds like you are having an interesting time. <br /><br />Here in Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island, I'm mulling over many of the same issues, except the warfare ecology one. <br /><br />The town is (once again) experiencing a water shortage with stage 2 water restrictions in effect. A desert location such as Albuquerque understandably has water issues, but this is a town in the middle of the temperate rainforest! And while the locals stop flushing their toilets and go without bathing, the tourists get pampered with high-end spa treatments. It's a crazy dichotomy.<br /><br />I'm also preparing to head out for some canopy sampling in Clayoquot Sound, and I am reminded at how 'sexy' that research is. Yet, with a soil ecology background, I find it ironic that when I do the same research on the ground no one cares. <br /><br />Yes, sexy study systems will get attention, but I also think that their own sexiness can hold back progress in the field. I've been frustrated with much of canopy research being exploratory and observational rather than driven by mechanistic questions and hypotheses. What I call a "Hey what's over here? Hey what's over here?" approach.<br /><br />I look forward to the fall when the whole lab will be back together again - with new additions! - and we can recap all our crazy summer adventures in biodiversity science.<br /><br />Tofino out.Zoëhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18010597439938256713noreply@blogger.com