Ecologists’ Meeting Showcases UC Merced Student Researchers and Faculty

Students and faculty are converging on Long Beach this week for the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Seven students will present their research and Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe will serve as one of the meeting's keynote speakers.

This is the first time fourth-year Ph.D. candidate Jarrod L. Brown Jr. has been invited to present his sociology research. He will speak about ¿field curious? a program offered through the natural reserve system at UC Merced.

The immersive opportunity is designed to enhance undergraduate students' sense of belonging in the field and encourage them to ask questions about the natural world.

"So far there has been evidence of an increased sense of belonging in field research for the participants. Evidence is shown both in our qualitative interviews that I conduct and code thematically and within our survey data from the participants," Brown said. "I also am fortunate to see it first-hand by attending the ¿field curious? trips. It is really a great program for the students at UC Merced."

In addition to the data he has gathered, Brown will present testimonies from students who say the program has improved their academics and leadership skills and helped them see opportunities for them in fields where people of their genders and races are not typically seen.

"It makes me feel proud to know that the work I have been doing as a graduate student researcher in collaboration with Jessica Malisch (associate director of the UC Merced Natural Reserve System) and Professor Michael Findlater has been recognized," he said. "I am excited to present the work amongst ecologists and other scholars interested in similar endeavors."

Berhe is professor of soil biogeochemistry and Ted and Jan Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology. Her lecture, sponsored by the New Phytologist Foundation, is titled "Precipitation Disruption: When the Rhythm of the Rain Throws Soil Carbon Off-Beat."

Climate change is causing changes in the amounts, type and timing of precipitation, as well as more frequent extreme events. Using insights from short- and long-term rainfall simulation experiments and field observation studies across California, plus theoretical work, her talk will discuss the effect of changes in the amount and timing of precipitation on fluxes, stocks, composition and the stabilization mechanism of soil carbon, she explained.

"It's a huge honor and an incredibly big deal to be asked to deliver one of these lectures in my professional community," Berhe said.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.