Ecological Fieldwork Research Articles

Beyond samplism: Rethinking the field in exposure science.

Given the many forms of environmental pollution that have accompanied the global spread of industrial capitalism, there is an urgent need to carry out extensive assessments of the potential toxicity of many compounds on human and nonhuman populations. However, the scientific procedures developed to carry out such assessments present several critical shortcomings that greatly diminish their capacity to protect populations at risk. Through an ethnographic analysis of two field campaigns centered on the assessment of polluted sites in northern Chile, this article will reveal that these campaigns are embedded in what we can call samplism. Contrary to approaches that see fieldwork as generative spaces for knowledge creation, samplism radically simplifies the field into a neutral space for the collection of singular and well-defined lab-bound samples. However, samplism entails that multiple field phenomena relevant for assessing pollution levels are left completely unaccounted for, which greatly diminishes exposure science's overall capacity to help improve the lives of those in need. Thus, exposure science urgently needs todevelop more capacious forms of engagement with the field, an ecological fieldwork that truly represents the complexity of forces and processes behind contemporary processes of pollution and damage.

Becoming-with the bog born: emotional collectives in ecological fieldwork

AbstractFieldwork in ecology education does things. By employing Donna Haraway’s concept becoming-with companion species and Cathrine Hasse’s emotional collectives to explore fieldwork practice on a bog in Sweden, a piece of the doings will be told. The aim of this study is to explore how ecology fieldwork affords emotional engagement and facilitates growth of ecological literacy in the emotional collectives of students, teachers and nonhumans to become-with each other. The study is based on an overnight field trip with upper-secondary students experiencing black grouse lekking and the ecology of a bog. The empirical material consists of video and audio recordings. In the study, becoming-with is operationalised through the notion of emotional collectives. The result shows three orientations of becoming-with: mimetic, anthropomorphic and fact oriented. Overall, this is a story of fieldwork as a practice of producing companion species; how becoming-with companion species works in practice, how companion species come to matter as emergent ecological literacy.

A photographic key to the adult female biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides) of Florida, USA

The biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides) are a diverse group of blood-feeding flies that includes numerous pest and vector species. Major gaps exist in our knowledge of the biology and ecology of the majority of Culicoides spp., due in part to a lack of keys for identifying the biting midges of a given region. In Florida, USA, The Sand Flies of Florida (Blanton and Wirth, 1979) has been a foundational resource for biting midge identification since its publication. The identification keys to the 47 biting midge species (and one subspecies) in The Sand Flies of Florida are not illustrated, however, and frequently rely upon microscopic features (spermathecae, antennal sensory pattern, number of teeth on mandible) as discriminating characters. Here we provide an updated photographic key to 49 nominal species of Culicoides from Florida, USA. The revised key orders characters so that species of nuisance, medical or veterinary importance can be reliably identified without slide mounting, an aspect that should facilitate ecological field work. Synoptic tables summarize the taxonomic affinity, distribution, abundance, seasonality, and medical / veterinary importance of the Culicoides spp. from Florida, compiled from published sources.

Between a Bird-in-the-Hand and Species Data in the Bank: Intermittent Care in Conservation Science

Intense interspecies engagements are central to the work of ecologists, as they seek to understand our rapidly changing world. To explore researcher-bird engagements in ecological fieldwork, we use a lens of care. Taking as a starting point the widely shared photos of bird-in-the-hand that portray situations where individual birds become sources of data about populations, we show the significance of complex care work in ethically and epistemically loaded moments. Crucial knowledge about survival, biodiversity loss and animal welfare emerges at the intersection of multispecies care for individuals, for populations and for knowledge infrastructures. We put forth the concept of intermittent care to explain the changing concerns for individual birds here-and-now or for populations of the future. Attention to care therefore helps unravel how ecological knowing depends on entanglements between humans, nature, and technologies that take shape through a constant negotiation of different strands and matters of multispecies care.

Uneven Geographies of the Embodied Effects of Water Insecurity Among Women Irrigators in Northern Ghana

The linkages between water insecurity and human health have been of long-standing research interest to geographers, especially those studying the human–environment dimensions of health. This article contributes to this scholarship by demonstrating how insecure access to irrigation water produces differentiated bodily effects for women. Data for the article come from empirical field work using interviews, focus group discussions, drone-based participatory mapping, and community validation workshops. Grounded in the literature on embodiment and intersectional feminist political ecology and through the firsthand experiences of women and their struggles to secure irrigation water, the article makes two main contributions. First, it demonstrates how drones could be innovatively integrated into qualitative and political ecology field work to better understand human–environment interactions. Second, it shows that space and time are critical to understanding the differentiated embodied experiences of water insecurity. More specifically, different irrigators experience different bodily effects depending on where their irrigated fields are located. Compared to women with plots near irrigation canals, the article shows that those with plots further afield experience more debilitating pains in the limbs, waist, and hips as they struggle to secure water. Overall, the article’s findings highlight how the uneven geographies of access to irrigation water warrant closer attention by scholars studying hydrosocial relations and health. Key Words: embodiment, feminist political ecology, intersectionality, participatory mapping, water security.

Centering Transgender And Gender Non-conforming Experience, Access, & Safety in Ecological Fieldwork.

Efforts to make ecological sciences more diverse, equitable, and inclusive require us to identify who is being left out and take action to rectify harmful situations. Recruitment of trainees from underrepresented groups alone is insufficient without ensuring a safe and supportive environment where we can flourish. Fieldwork is a critical component and often a requirement for career advancement in ecological sciences, but for transgender and gender non-conforming (TGnC) individuals, it can be disproportionately harmful. TGnC individuals face barriers and gendered violence before, during, and after fieldwork, and our experiences are often lost in current discussions of underrepresented groups in the field. In this article, I discuss the importance of an intersectional framework that focuses on planning, open communication, and trust, to address both the barriers TGnC trainees' experience with travel, accommodations, and access to medical care, along with their experiences of perceived and actual violence by colleagues and strangers. Additionally, I propose direct actions that those in power, such as Principal Investigators, field station managers, and mentors, can take to ensure a safe and welcoming fieldwork environment that supports TGnC trainees' physical, emotional, and professional well-being.

Best practices for LGBTQ+ inclusion during ecological fieldwork: Considering safety, cis/heteronormativity and structural barriers

Abstract LGBTQ+ individuals face unique barriers to participation in ecology. Such barriers are particularly relevant during fieldwork, including physical and discriminatory risks, increased isolation and noninclusive infrastructure. To make science and fieldwork more accessible to LGBTQ+ people, we must consider safety and survival needs along with personal LGBTQ+ affirmation. In this paper, we discuss alleviating barriers to participation in field ecology, identify best practices for institutions and provide advice for LGBTQ+ field researchers and heterosexual advocates. Synthesis and applications. We recommend that mentors and institutions take action on the safety, financial, medical and administrative support needed by field researchers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or other marginalized gender and sexual identities (LGBTQ+) field researchers. We also suggest that LGBTQ+ field ecologists prioritize their wellbeing and safety, and recommend maintaining connection to LGBTQ+ communities and identities during isolating fieldwork.

Ghosts and monsters: Reconstructing nature on the site of the Berlin Wall.

In this paper I seek to develop a larger argument from a small place that no longer exists. Since 2004 I regularly visited a wasteland or Brache, located on the site of the former Berlin Wall, before a process of enclosure and erasure that culminated in the construction of luxury apartments. I draw on my engagement with this temporary space, as a source of reverie and also as a site for ecological fieldwork, in order to reflect on the meaning of urban nature under the speculative dynamics of capitalist urbanisation. I consider the intersections between memory, place, and ecology as part of a wider engagement with 'spectral ecologies' in the urban realm. I suggest that affective interpretations of urban nature should seek to develop a conceptual dialogue between ethnographic insights and structural analysis of urban environmental change.

FILLING THE GAP: MOLTING BEHAVIOR OF COLIMA WARBLERS AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERSTUDIED NORTH AMERICAN SONGBIRDS

We implemented stable isotope analysis to evaluate the molt behavior of the Colima warbler (Leiothlypis crissalis), an understudied migratory songbird occurring in Mexico and recently discovered breeding in the southern part of Texas, USA. We built a geostatistical model showing variation in deuterium precipitation values (d2Hp) across a latitudinal gradient within the Colima warbler breeding range in northeastern Mexico. Then, based on stable isotope ratios of deuterium in feathers (d2Hf), we assigned wintering Colima warblers captured in Central Mexico to possible molting areas near the southwestern portion of the species' breeding range. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first field study documenting Colima warbler captures and recaptures within the Parque Ecológico de la Ciudad de México, near the mountain ranges surrounding the Basin of Mexico. Overall, our study demonstrates the potential of winter ecology fieldwork in conjunction with molecular study techniques, such as stable isotope analysis, for revealing the migratory and molting behavior of warblers with restricted distribution ranges.

The knotty politics of ginseng conservation and management in Appalachia

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a long-lived understory species in Appalachian forests and the most valuable medicinal plant in North America. Indeed, "digging" for ginseng roots is an important livelihood strategy throughout Appalachia. Increasingly, however, concern for ginseng populations is escalating, and state and federal policies have introduced new harvesting restrictions, as well as new law enforcement efforts that target ginseng diggers. Here I am interested in troubling the high-profile narrative that ginseng populations are crashing due to the unscrupulous practices of Appalachian diggers. I draw on ecological research, historical documents, and my own ethnographic fieldwork to argue that we need a fuller understanding of both ginseng population demographics and the potential causes for ginseng decline before we embrace a narrative that disenfranchises those who depend on and, in many cases, have helped steward this enigmatic plant. This research speaks to growing tensions between rural livelihoods and conservation efforts worldwide.

Intentional mentoring should increase inclusivity in ecology

AbstractHigh‐quality mentoring relationships can be pivotal to recruitment, retention, and long‐term persistence in ecology majors and careers. The graduate–undergraduate student mentoring relationship can become uniquely important during activities like ecological fieldwork. However, graduate students often have little experience as research mentors, which can lead to negative research experiences for undergraduate mentees. Given the potential for mentoring relationships to impact people's decisions on pursuing ecological studies and/or careers, we created and piloted a mentoring professional development program designed around intentional mentoring. Intentional mentoring requires that mentors preemptively identify what skills and knowledge their mentee should develop as well as the practices to help mentees develop these competencies. Our rationale for using intentional mentoring was that it has the potential to increase mentors' and mentees' awareness of issues around diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice in research experiences, in addition to developing professional competencies. To evaluate our program, we conducted focus group interviews with graduate and undergraduate student participants following a multi‐week mentoring training workshop, the primary aspect of the program. Participants described an increased valuation of intentional mentoring and a desire to be more intentional in their mentoring relationships. Graduate student mentors described an increased desire to be more intentional mentors, whereas undergraduate mentees described an increased desire to seek mentors with whom they could develop intentional relationships. Undergraduates also better recognized the importance of academic mentors. Based on our evaluation, we posit that intentional mentoring can increase the retention and persistence of students with diverse identities in ecology by fostering a sense of belonging. We advocate the implementation of mentoring training workshops as a part of academic ecological programs to increase inclusion in our discipline.

KOSMOS: An Open Source Underwater Video Lander for Monitoring Coastal Fishes and Habitats.

Background: Monitoring the ecological status of coastal ecosystems is essential to track the consequences of anthropogenic pressures and assess conservation actions. Monitoring requires periodic measurements collected in situ, replicated over large areas and able to capture their spatial distribution over time. This means developing tools and protocols that are cost-effective and provide consistent and high-quality data, which is a major challenge. A new tool and protocol with these capabilities for non-extractively assessing the status of fishes and benthic habitats is presented here: the KOSMOS 3.0 underwater video system. Methods: The KOSMOS 3.0 was conceived based on the pre-existing and successful STAVIRO lander, and developed within a digital fabrication laboratory where collective intelligence was contributed mostly voluntarily within a managed project. Our suite of mechanical, electrical, and software engineering skills were combined with ecological knowledge and field work experience. Results: Pool and aquarium tests of the KOSMOS 3.0 satisfied all the required technical specifications and operational testing. The prototype demonstrated high optical performance and high consistency with image data from the STAVIRO. The project’s outcomes are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA license. The low cost of a KOSMOS unit (~1400 €) makes multiple units affordable to modest research or monitoring budgets.

Niche Overlap between <i>Pongo pygmaeus</i> wurmbii and Helarctos malayanus Raffles within Small Scale Habitat in Punggualas Area, Sebangau National Park

The Sebangau National Park is a major stronghold for Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) ranging from 6000 – 9000 individuals. In comparison with Bornean Orangutans, very little ecological fieldwork has been conducted to investigate sun bear biology, and there have been no thorough surveys of distribution or population densities. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the basic information on niche overlap between these two endangered species, specifically to quantify their relationship within the small-scale habitat in Punggualas area, SNP. Data was collected and measured during 15 – 21 June 2019; using line transects methods. A total of 6580 m was walked along 8 consecutive transects. Bear and aging sign follow Augeri protocols. A total 18 printed mark-claw and 17 Orangutan nests was measured according to the mentioned methodology. The relationships between signs use binary logistic regressions (StatPlus for Mac) and PCA model (using R), while interspecific relationships use Co-Occurrence modeling, ESP for Windows. The results showed that there is no difference between bear sign and orangutan nest (c2: 26.249; df :1, p-value : 0.001); While the results on habitat selection between transects is failed to reject the null hypothesis (c2 = 0.29; df :1, p-value : 0.490). The Mann-Whitney U test, also confirmed no distinctive overlap between the Orangutan and the Sun Bear (Z: 0.84; p-value: 0.40). The co-occurrence simulations also revealed significant results (C-Score = 1.00), by means both target animals co-existed in the habitat. Obviously, the Orangutan and Sun Bear occupy the same habitat. There is no distinctive overlap between them in terms of tree species selection and having a close interrelationship in terms of feeding ground, whereas the fruiting is not available. The only distinctive difference is that the Bear sign was tend hindering waterlogged terrain.

Agent-based neutral competition in two-community networks.

Competition between alternative states is an essential process in social and biological networks. Neutral competition can be represented by an unbiased random drift process in which the states of vertices (e.g., opinions, genotypes, or species) in a network are updated by repeatedly selecting two connected vertices. One of these vertices copies the state of the selected neighbor. Such updates are repeated until all vertices are in the same "consensus" state. There is no unique rule for selecting the vertex pair to be updated. Real-world processes comprise three limiting factors that can influence the selected edge and the direction of spread: (1) the rate at which a vertex sends a state to its neighbors, (2) the rate at which a state is received by a neighbor, and (3) the rate at which a state can be exchanged through a connecting edge. We investigate how these three limitations influence neutral competition in networks with two communities generated by a stochastic block model. By using Monte Carlo simulations, we show how the community structure and update rule determine the states' success probabilities and the time until a consensus is reached. We present a heterogeneous mean-field theory that agrees well with the Monte Carlo simulations. The effectiveness of the heterogeneous mean-field theory implies that quantitative predictions about the consensus are possible even if empirical data (e.g., from ecological fieldwork or observations of social interactions) do not allow a complete reconstruction of all edges in the network.

Consequences of land-use change and the wildfire disaster of 2017 for the central Chilean biodiversity hotspot

Central Chile is an important biodiversity hotspot in Latin America. Biodiversity hotspots are characterised by a high number of endemic species cooccurring with a high level of anthropogenic pressure. In central Chile, the pressure is caused by land-use change, in which near-natural primary and secondary forests are replaced and fragmented by commercial pine and eucalyptus plantations. Large forest fires are another factor that can potentially endanger biodiversity. Usually, environmental hazards, such as wildfires, are part of the regular environmental dynamic and not considered a threat to biodiversity. Nonetheless, this situation may change if land-use change and altered wildfire regimes coerce. Land-use change pressure may destroy landscape integrity in terms of habitat loss and fragmentation, while wildfires may destroy the last remnants of native forests. This study aims to understand the joint effects of land-use change and a catastrophic wildfire on habitat loss and habitat fragmentation of local plant species richness hotspots in central Chile. To achieve this, we apply a combination of ecological fieldwork, remote sensing, and geoprocessing to estimate the spread and spatial patterns of biodiverse habitats under current and past land-use conditions and how these habitats were altered by land-use change and by a single large wildfire event. We show that land-use change has exceeded the wildfire’s impacts on diverse habitats. Despite the fact that the impact of the wildfire was comparably small here, wildfire may coerce with land-use change regarding pressure on biodiversity hotspots. Our findings can be used to develop restoration concepts, targeting on an increase of habitat diversity within currently fire-cleared areas and evaluate their benefits for plant species richness conservation.

How Identity Enriches and Complicates the Research Process: Reflections from Political Ecology Fieldwork

Among political ecologists, long-term ethnographic immersion is one of the key approaches to conducting fieldwork. This article reflects on how a researcher’s identity enriches or complicates the immersed fieldwork process. Drawing on fieldwork in West Africa, it illuminates the challenges confronted when men conduct research into women’s experiences. It sheds specific light on effects on the data gathering process, the data gathered, and ethical concerns. Overall, the article suggests why political ecologists need to seriously consider issues around fieldworkers’ identity and the quality of fieldwork relations with research subjects. Central to the reflections here are issues concerning hermeneutic complexities, especially when research assistants are relied on to understand the everyday, embodied, and emotional aspects of nature–society relations. The article argues that although local-level social relations have long been part of political ecology research, the ability to undertake fieldwork itself is also shaped by researcher–researched social relations that are often less recognized. Although these reflections provide lessons for political ecology research more broadly, the insights here particularly seek to inform emerging work on “new” feminist political ecology, which tends to focus on data collection at less visible scales, particularly the body and the household.

Bottom-Up Perspectives on the Re-Greening of the Sahel: An Evaluation of the Spatial Relationship between Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) and Tree-Cover in Burkina Faso

The Re-Greening of the West African Sahel has attracted great interdisciplinary interest since it was originally detected in the mid-2000s. Studies have investigated vegetation patterns at regional scales using a time series of coarse resolution remote sensing analyses. Fewer have attempted to explain the processes behind these patterns at local scales. This research investigates bottom-up processes driving Sahelian greening in the northern Central Plateau of Burkina Faso—a region recognized as a greening hot spot. The objective was to understand the relationship between soil and water conservation (SWC) measures and the presence of trees through a comparative case study of three village terroirs, which have been the site of long-term human ecology fieldwork. Research specifically tests the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between SWC and tree cover. Methods include remote sensing of high-resolution satellite imagery and aerial photos; GIS procedures; and chi-square statistical tests. Results indicate that, across all sites, there is a significant association between SWC and trees (chi-square = 20.144, p ≤ 0.01). Decomposing this by site, however, points out that this is not uniform. Tree cover is strongly associated with SWC investments in only one village—the one with the most tree cover (chi-square = 39.098, p ≤ 0.01). This pilot study concludes that SWC promotes tree cover but this is heavily modified by local contexts.

Place-Based Learning with Out-of-Place Species & Students: Teaching International Students about Biological Invasions

Place-based instruction allows students to explore learned concepts while building emotional connections with the location in which they are studying. Furthermore, the case for experiential science education continues to grow, and such pedagogy may be particularly beneficial to learning in ecology and environmental science. We present an experiential, place-based pedagogy aimed at introducing international high school or undergraduate students to the concept of biological invasions. Our lesson began by introducing our class, a group of Chinese high school students in a summer program in the United States, with examples of invasive species that had previously been introduced from China into the United States or vice versa. Guided discussion then focused on plant and animal species with which the students had some familiarity and covered concepts of biological invasions more generally. Next, students participated in a field activity exploring the ecology of the invasive tumbleweed Salsola tragus, a Eurasian (including much of China) species that has invaded the United States. Through classroom and field activity, students gained understanding of biological invasions, and we believe that internalization was enhanced by connecting the lesson with students' own experiences and participation in basic scientific methods and ecological fieldwork.

Introducing a practice perspective on monitoring for adaptive management

Abstract Adaptive management (AM) is one of the most prominent ways ecologists contribute to ecosystem management, policy, and planning. AM treats management actions as experiments to monitor and learn from, creating a central role for ecologists in constructing the monitoring programs intended to guide learning. Yet, ecologists have found monitoring for AM challenging. They face a daunting series of dilemmas: How to produce monitoring programs that are responsive to management goals and provide clear signals for action, in ever‐changing social‐ecological contexts, and in light of impending deadlines, limited funding and available skills? The applied ecological literature has so far struggled to account for the ways in which these dilemmas are experienced and resolved “on the ground.” We address this problem by using contemporary practice theory to develop a practice perspective on monitoring for AM. Practice theory foregrounds the activities of science, viewing knowledge and context as products of practical action. We develop our practice perspective, rooted in pragmatist philosophy and relational thinking, through an empirical case study of a group of ecologists tasked with developing an adaptive approach to the restoration of threatened vegetation in an Australian national park. A practice perspective enables us to trace in real time the myriad experiential, situated, practical judgments made by the scientists to navigate the tricky dilemmas they encounter. We thus highlight the messy complexities of scientific knowledge production, while retaining a commitment to the value of science for management. Our work is relevant for ecologists working at the science‐policy interface because it reveals the embodied competencies essential for the production of usable knowledge. Our focus on the temporality of ecological fieldwork—the progression of monitoring in unfolding time—helps to extend practice‐based research in environmental management. By providing a relational account of practice, knowledge, and context in applied scientific research, we contribute to efforts in the environmental and sustainability sciences to develop relational understandings of people and nature. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Ecological science fieldwork and secondary school biology in England: does a more secure future lie in Geography?

AbstractFieldwork has always been an important component in the teaching of ecology in England's secondary schools where it has been delivered almost exclusively as part of the biology curriculum for nearly 70 years. However, historical evidence shows that both the quantity and quality of ecology fieldwork has been declining in recent decades at a time when the scope, complexity and interdisciplinarity of ecological science has been growing. This paper presents evidence of a continuing decline in ecology fieldwork over the past 15 years, discusses some possible causes and reviews solutions to reverse the trend. In particular, it argues that teaching scientific ecology through geography fieldwork could overcome several of the fundamental obstacles encountered in biology education. Trends in biology and geography fieldwork are compared. These show that the risks to ecology in forging a strong relationship, and increased dependency, with geography teaching are likely to be outweighed by reciprocal benefits.