News
August 2011: UC Davis affliates present research at the Ecological Society of America's Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas
The theme is "Earth Stewardship: Preserving and enhancing the earth's life-support systems". According to the ESA website, "Human society currently faces global-scale issues including climate change, loss of biodiversity, population pressures, food production, energy acquisition, and resource use that threaten the earth's life-support systems. Resolution of these issues will require integration of knowledge from many sources and simultaneous consideration of multiple problems, in contrast to the individualistic approach to problems commonly used in the past. Ecologists are challenged to provide a scientific basis for addressing these issues and to lead in developing a sense of earth stewardship." See the 96th ESA Annual Meeting site for details. Abstracts will be posted soon.
September 2010: The Graduate Group in Ecology Earns Top Marks in the National Research Council’s Assessment of Doctoral Programs!
UC Davis’s Ecology Program is in the pinnacle of the rankings of a large group of 94 graduate programs in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Rankings were given in ranges in this report, and our scores for a variety of indicators were consistently at or near the top of the many competitive programs that participated. Criteria included faculty productivity, student performance and placement, and reputation in the field, among others. The NRC’s findings confirm that UC Davis continues to be just about the best place on the planet to train the ecologists of the future. US News and World Report also ranks UC Davis as one of the top three graduate programs in the nation for ecology and evolutionary biology. See the US News site for details.
March 2010: Celebrating 10 women in wind and solar energy
This article includes Jan Hamrin, founder and president of the Center for Resource Solutions, on a list of women who are shaping the future of wind and solar energy. Hamrin earned her Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis.
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/in_the_news/full_text/view_clip.lasso?id=30609
October 2009: Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Amber Mace, Ph.D. (Marine Ecology '05) as Assistant Secretary for Coastal Matters and Executive Director of the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC).
The OPC will ensure that California maintains healthy, resilient, and productive ocean and coastal ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations. The Council was created pursuant to the California Ocean Protection Act (COPA), which was signed into law in 2004 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The OPC is guided by principles included in COPA.
April 2009: GGE students Mark Elbroch, Ben Janes, Annie Schmidt, and Marit Wilkerson; as well as incoming student Carmen Cortez are awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
Mark Elbroch will be studying community stability and intraguild predation in a Patagonian food web. Annie Schmidt’s research will involve the contrasting responses of Cassin’s auklet and Brandt’s cormorant populations to climate change. Marit Wilkerson’s work will focus on the invasion potential of linear biodiversity features, such as habitat corridors.
April 2009: GGE students Phil Sandstrom, Gerard Carmona Catot, and Sabra Purdy win top student poster awards at the American Fisheries Society Meeting, Cal-Neva Chapter
Phil Sandstrom won first place for his poster on acoustic tag retention in steelhead trout. Gerard Carmona Catot took the second place prize for his work on Eagle Lake trout restoration. Sabra Purdy placed third for her poster on Sierran mountain meadows. For more information about the conference, click here.
April 2009: GGE student Esther Cole awarded a Phi Beta Kappa Scholarship
Esther Cole will use her award to study amphibian population dynamics in temperate and tropical latitudes. For more information about Phi Beta Kappa Scholarships, click here.
April 2009: GGE Alum Raina Plowright is awarded a David H. Smith Fellowship in Conservation Research
Raina Plowright’s research will explore climate change, wildlife corridors, and health consequences in the US Northern Rockies. To see the press release, click here.
April 2009: GGE students Mara Evans and Tim Waring are named as Professors for the Future Fellows
Mara Evans and Tim Waring will use these fellowships to help them prepare for challenging careers in the university environment. For more information about the Professors for the Future Program, click here.
April 2009: GGE Alum Brent Sewall wins the Merton Love Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Ecology and Evolution
Brent Sewall was honored for his dissertation work “Ecology and conservation of frugivores in Madagascar and the Comoros Islands.” For more information on Brent, click here.
March 2009: GGE student Kelly Garbach wins a $10,000 grant from Brita's College Filter For Good Eco-Challenge
Kelly Garbach will use the Brita grant to plant trees on the UC Davis farm, measure their soil filtration effects and use the results to help educate the public on the importance of forest conservation. For more information click here.
March 2009: GGE professor Mary Cadenasso receives a $575,000 award from the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program
Professor Mary Cadenasso received the prestigious award for her projected entitled “Spatial heterogeneity and ecosystem function in an urban landscape: an integrated research, teaching, and community engagement program.” For more information on the award and project click here.
March 2009: Three GGE students, Brian Cheng, Kerry Nickols, and Evelyne Kuo win presentation and poster awards for the 2008 Western Society of Naturalists meeting in Vancouver, B.C.
Brian Cheng won the award for best student paper in the Genetics and Population Biology Section. Kerry Nickols won an honorable mention for student papers in the Physiology and Organismal Biology Section. Evelyne Kuo won an honorable mention for student posters. For more information on their papers/posters click here.
February 2009: GGE student Chris Mallek is awarded the first place student speaking award from the California Native Plant Society
GGE student Chris Mallek was awarded first prize in the Student Oral Presentation Contest at the California Native Plant Society 2009 Conservation Conference. For more about the conference click here.
February 2009: GGE student Greta Wengert is awarded the first place student speaking award from The Wildlife Society
Greta Wengert, PhD student of Ben Sacks, won first prize in The Wildlife Society's Western Section Annual Conference Student Oral Presentation Contest. For more information on The Wildlife Society conferences click here.
January 2009: GGE Alum Phillip J. van Mantgem is interviewed on NPR's Science Friday
Phillip van Mantgem was a guest on NPR's Science Friday on January 23, where he was interviewed regarding his research on the effects of warmer temperatures on trees in the Western United States. To hear the interview click here.
December 2008: Faculty member Dr. Valerie Eviner is awarded the 2007 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers
Dr. Eviner received this prestigious award for her research on rangeland management, funded by the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. Click here for more information.
40th Anniversary in 2008!
Please fill out our Alumni Survey:As part of our 40th Anniversary in 2008, we are making a special effort to reconnect with all of our alumni. We would love to know where our alumni are and what they have been accomplishing in their career and life since graduating from the Ecology program. Please take the time to fill out the brief survey and reconnect with the Ecology Graduate Group! You can mail e-mail the form to Holly Hatfield.
Alumni Survey (pdf) Please pass the word to other alumni to reconnect!
2008: Winifred (Winnie) Blair Spurr Scholarship is established
In recognition of the GGE's 40th Anniversary, we're pleased to announce a scholarship named in honor of one of the people who shaped the GGE in its first four decades, Winnie Spurr. This award provides the winning candidate with a monetary award of $400. To learn more, click here.
Winnie was a former staff adviser for the Graduate Group in Ecology in its' formative years. She was loved by both students and faculty. In recognition of her service, both to the Ecological community at UC Davis and to the Davis community, the Graduate Group in Ecology has named a service award in her honor.
Winnie, and husband Art, were among the first who worked and saved the Arboretum from being eliminated in the early 1970's. The Spurrs were the recipients of the Distinguished Service Award given to them by the Davis Arboretum.
The Spurr award is in recognition of outstanding outreach to the general public in the field of Ecology, and is awarded to an Ecology student each year in the Spring.
2008: Conservation Management Program is established
The Conservation Management Program is a graduate training curriculum within the GGE focused on training conservation biologists and social scientists seeking professions outside of academic institutions on issues related to the conservation of biological diversity.
October 2007: Faculty member Dr. Pete Richerson is elected an AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) fellow
Read about Pete Richerson selection as fellow here.
October 2007: GGE Alum Caitlin O´Connell wins the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Young Alumni Award
Link: http://caes.ucdavis.edu/NewsEvents/Events/celebration/2007-award-of-distinction-recipients
October 2007: UC Davis Most Productive University in Conservation Research
According to a recent article in Conservation Biology, UC Davis was the most productive university in the nation in terms of Conservation research. A ranking of impact of this output place UC Davis number 3, behind Oregon State and UCSB. Combining this ranking with our number four 2008 ranking in Evolution and Ecology in US News and World Report, makes UC Davis the only University in the country ranked in the top five by both applied and basic science metrics.
September 2007: Recent grad Rick Lankau publishes his dissertation work in Science
Read the abstract of his work.
September 2007: Faculty member Dr. Peter Moyle received two prestigious awards
Peter Moyle received an award of Excellence from the American Fisheries Society and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Institute of Fisheries Research Biologists. Both are prestigious awards. Read the article about why Peter Moyle was selected.
US News and World Report's 2007 graduate program rankings: UC Davis 1st in the nation in ecology/evolutionary biology
US News and World Report ranked UC Davis as first in the nation for graduate programs in ecology/evolutionary biology in 2007! The National Research Council, ranking graduate programs in Ecology and Evolution, placed UC Davis in the top 5, nationally. The ISI ranks schools and colleges in terms of research productivity. UC Davis is the top ranked ecology program in the world.
Sarah Marie Otterstrom, Ph.D. ’04 - 2006 Emil M. Mrak International Award
Please read the article about Sarah Otterstrom in UC Davis Magazine and the spotlight on the UC Davis Alumni page.
Dr. Alan Hastings receives 2006 ESA MacArthur Award
Read about Alan Hastings and why he was selected for the award.
Fall 2006: Daughter of a GGE alum joins the GGE as a Ph.D. student
Mara Evans (seated), daughter of GGE alum Daniel C. Evans (Ph.D. 1988) entered the PhD program in Ecology this fall 2006. Mara's Mother, Julia Tully (left) received an M.S. in 1985 from the International Agricultural Development program. Mara's sister, Sierra (right), is a junior in the Anthropology Department. In addition, Mara's grandmother received a B.A. and M.S. from UC Davis, and Mara's Uncle also received a B.A. from UC Davis. When Mara and Sierra graduate this family will have a total of 10 degrees from UC Davis. Quite a UC Davis story.
May 23, 2007: 1990 Alumnus Caitlin O'Connell's book on Elephant Communications and Africa
"A tightly-woven story of human warmth, strange cultures, fabulous wildlife, and scientific discovery. Only the best science and
nature writing draws you into a whole different world, and this remarkable book does it right from page 1with grace, humility,
and all the exotic splendor of Africa."
-Carl Safina, author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Voyage of the Turtle
2004 Alumus Zeb Hogan shows off a Mekong giant catfish
Check out National Geographic's article on Zeb Hogan and his research work.