Night and Day: Is Restoration Ecology in the Dark?

Before electricity, night was something akin to the deep sea: just as we could not descend much below the water surface, we also could not investigate the night for more than a short distance, and for a short period of time. Things changed with two inventions: the Bathysphere to plumb the ocean floor, and electricity to light the night for sustained exploration. Exploration led to dominance, and night has become indistinguishable from day in many parts of the world. The benefits of electric light are myriad, but so too are the possible detriments of loss of dark at night, including poor sleep, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and mood disorders. Our primordial physiological adaptation to the night and day cycle is being flummoxed by the maladaptive signals coming from electric lighting around the clock. The topic of sleep and health has finally attained scientific respect, but dark and health is not yet fully appreciated.

Download Full-text

The Obligation to Choose

10.1093/oso/9780198815976.003.0002 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel Crossland

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Close Attention ◽

The Past ◽

Light Quanta ◽

Early Twentieth Century ◽

Wave Particle Duality ◽

Night And Day ◽

Scientific Ideas

Chapter 1 explores Woolf’s writings up to the end of 1925 in relation to scientific ideas on wave-particle duality, providing the ‘retrospect of Woolf’s earlier novels’ which Michael Whitworth has suggested shows that she was working ‘in anticipation of the physicists’. The chapter as a whole challenges this idea of anticipation, showing that Woolf was actually working in parallel with physicists, philosophers, and artists in the early twentieth century, all of whom were starting to question dualistic models and instead beginning to develop complementary ones. A retrospect on wave-particle duality is also provided, making reference to Max Planck’s work on quanta and Albert Einstein’s development of light quanta. This chapter pays close attention to Woolf’s writing of light and her use of conjunctions, suggesting that Woolf was increasingly looking to write ‘both/and’ rather than ‘either/or’. Among other texts, it considers Night and Day, Mrs Dalloway, and ‘Sketch of the Past’.

Download Full-text

Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Restoration Ecology: A Call to Listen Deeply, to Engage with, and Respect Indigenous Voices

Restoration Ecology ◽

10.1111/rec.13381 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jake M. Robinson ◽

Nick Gellie ◽

Danielle MacCarthy ◽

Jacob G. Mills ◽

Kim O'Donnell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽

Restoration Ecology ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Indigenous Voices

Download Full-text

Night and Day: Night First Book

Night and Day ◽

10.1515/9781644690482-004 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 45-272

Keyword(s):

Night And Day

Download Full-text

A simple standardized protocol to evaluate the reliability of seed rain estimates

Seed Science Research ◽

10.1017/s0960258520000392 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

André J. Arruda ◽

Fernando A.O. Silveira ◽

Elise Buisson

Keyword(s):

Restoration Ecology ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Size Dependence ◽

Seed Rain ◽

Proof Of Concept ◽

Sticky Traps ◽

Standardized Protocol ◽

Funnel Trap ◽

Seed Trap ◽

Cross Site

Abstract Seed dispersal has key implications for community dynamics and restoration ecology. However, estimating seed rain (the number and diversity of seeds arriving in a given area) is challenging, and the lack of standardization in measurement prevents cross-site comparisons. Seed trap effectiveness and accuracy of seed sorting methods are key components of seed rain estimates in need of standardization. We propose and describe a standardized protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of two seed trap types (sticky and funnel traps) and the accuracy of a seed sorting method. We used widely available seeds (arugula, quinoa, sesame and sunflower) to produce a gradient of seed size, weight and colour. Proof-of-concept was tested in a tropical grassland, where traps were set for 30 days. Our results suggest that we underestimate dispersal of seeds with less than 2 mm width that can be easily mistaken for debris and soil particles or that fail to adhere to sticky traps. Seeds on sticky traps may be more vulnerable to removal by wind and rain, whereas seeds in funnel traps are more susceptible to decay. We found no evidence of observer bias on seed sorting for funnel trap samples. However, accuracy on seed sorting for funnel trap samples tended to decline for seeds with less than 2 mm width, suggesting a size-dependence in seed retrieval success. Our standardized protocol addressing trap effectiveness and seed sorting methods will increase the reliability of data obtained in seed rain studies and allow more reliable comparisons between datasets.

Download Full-text