As 3,000 scientists arrive in Memphis, Tennessee for the Ecological Society of America's 91st Annual Meeting, many ecologists working in the state will be presenting the results of their research from the region. Below, a few of the highlights:

Past and present declines in Hemlocks and the future of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Monday August 7, 5 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall, Cook Convention Center

The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) (Adelges tsugae) has brought about drastic declines in Hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) throughout the eastern U.S. Though the initial impact brought about by this invasion has alarmed scientists, this decline is not the first of its kind. Pollen records from its native range indicate that there was a decline in hemlocks that coincided with the population explosion of the Hemlock looper moth (Lambdina fiscellaria) approximately 4800 years ago. Using the similarities from the previous decline and the current invasion, Matthew Heard (University of Georgia Athens) and Matthew Valente (University of Tennessee - Knoxville) used historical pollen records to predict what shifts in species composition might occur in the threatened areas. Heard will discuss the results and the eleven sites established in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for long-term monitoring of both canopy and understory species.

Valuation of ecosystem services of Overton Park, Memphis, TN Monday August 7, 2006, 5 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall, Cook Convention Center

Overton park, the largest green space in Memphis, provides ecosystem services as an urban forest. Often people appreciate the value of urban forests and green spaces for their recreational value, taking for granted the ecological and economic importance of these spaces. Ecosystem services in such area can include water purification, regulation of climate, and recreational values. Rosanna Cappellato and student Adam Bohnert (Rhodes College, Memphis) studied four plot
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Contact: Annie Drinkard
annie@esa.org
Ecological Society of America
7-Aug-2006