The first g2p2pop workshop, Navigating Climate Change, will be held in Flagstaff, Arizona from September 19-21, 2018. On day 1, three speakers will be featured. Dr. Scott Goetz, Dr. Andrew Richardson, Dr. Tom Whitham, and Dr. Stephen Jackson.
Dr. Stephen Jackson is the Director of the Department of the Interior Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and an Adjunct Professor of Geosciences and Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Arizona. He is also a Professor Emeritus of Botany at the University of Wyoming.
Dr. Jackson uses paleo-archives, such as sediment cores and tree-rings, to understand how ecosystems have responded to environmental perturbations. Recently, he and colleagues investigated vegetation dynamics in the Ozark highlands in Missouri since the last glacial maximum, about 21,000 years BP. Using sediment cores sampled for pollen, charcoal, and plant microfossils, they quantified the dominating species, rate of vegetation change, and potential reasons for turnover.
Recently, he and colleagues put forward a manuscript to Trends in Ecology and Evolution that communicated the need to account for novel species assemblages. They argued that going forward, studies should focus on the interaction of species that are invading new areas with those that have stayed in their historical range. As the climate continues to change, it is becoming increasingly important to understand these interactions as they may impact management efforts.
Dr. Jackson has put forward many perspectives papers that argue for the inclusion of paleo-ecological data into current studies and models. We look forward to hearing his perspective on how that data can be used to model genomes to phenomes to populations!