Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America最新文献

{"title":"Candidates for the Fall 2026 ESA Election","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70094","url":null,"abstract":"<p>\u0000 \u0000 </p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70094","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149083899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How High-Performance Sports Helped Me Manage ADHD Symptoms and Boost Research Productivity","authors":"Luisa Maria Diele-Viegas","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70087","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This autoethnographic essay examines how participation in high-performance sports became a transformative tool for managing the cognitive and emotional challenges associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) within the context of academic life. Drawing from my lived experience as a neurodivergent scientist, I reflect on the impact of pandemic-induced isolation in 2020, which disrupted my long-standing habit of physical activity and intensified my ADHD symptoms. The return to regular physical exertion through CrossFit and long-distance running in 2021 marked a turning point in reclaiming mental clarity, emotional regulation, and research productivity. These practices provided not only a physiological outlet for excess energy but also a structured space of mental stillness in contrast to the overwhelming pace of academic demands. Through embodied discipline and the routine of early-morning training, I discovered a sustainable strategy to navigate neurodivergence within the high-pressure academic landscape. This narrative invites broader reflection on how personal coping strategies rooted in the body can intersect with questions of access, inclusion, and performance in scholarly environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70087","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149083928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ESA Governing Board Spring 2026 Meeting Minutes Ecological Society of America Washington, DC and Zoom Meeting May 26–27, 2026","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70093","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tuesday, May 26, 2026&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;President Groffman presiding, meeting called to order at 10:00 a.m. EST&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A. Adopt Agenda&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u0000 &lt;b&gt;Motion to Adopt Meeting Agenda:&lt;/b&gt;\u0000 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Governing Board moved to adopt the Spring 2026 meeting agenda. The motion was moved by Kelly Ramirez and seconded by Angee Doerr. All aye. The motion passed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;B. Consent Agenda&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;No objections were made. The consent agenda was approved.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A. Report of the President (Groffman)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;President Groffman reflected on how well the ESA staff has faced some novel and ongoing external challenges. Examples include the ESA Policy team's effort to lead a letter to US Congress in support of the USDA Forest Service, which was co-signed by over 20 other Societies, and the ESA Membership staff's implementation of new strategies for recruiting and engaging members. ESA now occupies their new space at the AAAS building.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;B. Report of the Executive Director and Staff&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The ESA investment policy states that ESA will target a percentage of its investments to be invested in environmentally and socially responsible (ESG) funds and that target will be set by the Governing Board. A prior board set the target at 20% and in November 2021, they increased the target to 25% for just the Towneley investment accounts. The Finance Committee recommends that ESA increase the total investment portfolio target from 20% to 25%, changing the ESG target for the Merrill Lynch investment account to 25%. The Board and staff discussion indicated that there are a limited number of ESG options restricting a higher target.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u0000 &lt;b&gt;Motion:&lt;/b&gt;\u0000 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Finance Committee presented the proposed FY2026-2027 budget, which shows a net operating income of $36,302. A new Marketing and Communications staff position is expected to have a positive impact on revenue generating Publications and Membership efforts. Another new position will reallocate an existing grant staff to Marketing and Communications. Additional expense changes include the required Association Management Software (AMS) upgrade and the reduced expense for the new office space. Membership and meeting participation is expected to be similar to prior year. Remaining grant funds are approaching expiration, but new grant applications have been submitted and are awaiting approval. ESA received another 5-year commitment from Vickie Moore to help support the SEEDS program. While the projected FY2026-2027 budget shows a net operating income, the office space expense is expected to increase when the current sublet agreement ends on June 29, 2027. Continued grant staffing expenses are contingent on the approval of submitted grant applications.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u0000 &lt;b&gt;Motion to Adopt FY 2025–2026 Operating Budget:&lt;/b&gt;\u0000 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The ESA Governing Board approved a motion in 2021, to spend up ","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70093","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149083898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Agroecosystem Management and Productive Continuity: The Ecologist's Imperative","authors":"Mauricio Montiel Mesa","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70099","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Modern agriculture does not merely produce food; it often operates as a system that consumes and degrades its own biological infrastructure without recognition. For decades, soil has been treated as an inert substrate and the agroecosystem as a linear production line. This approach, centered on external inputs and immediate responses, allowed for short-term gains but silently eroded the functional foundation that sustains long-term productivity and resilience.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Today, we face an uncomfortable reality: the apparent stability of many agricultural systems masks a progressive loss of resilience. Soil biology—that complex network regulating nutrients, water, and plant health—has been simplified to the point of compromising its self-regulation. We are not only producing crops; we are weakening a living system whose future recovery will become increasingly costly and uncertain.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this scenario, simplistic solutions are insufficient. The transition toward sustainable agricultural models cannot be based on direct substitutions or idealism; it requires redesigning the agroecosystem from ecological principles. Ecological management does not propose abandoning productivity, but rather optimizing it through biological functionality: managing niches, strengthening interactions, and recovering the system's capacity to sustain itself (Gliessman &lt;span&gt;2014&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The use of beneficial microorganisms, biological consortia, and rhizosphere management strategies must be understood as an ecological engineering tool, not as an isolated replacement for chemical inputs. By occupying the soil's functional space, these organisms reduce vulnerability to opportunistic pathogens and activate natural defense mechanisms in plants. Consequently, the result is systemic stability, not just plant health (Jacoby et al. &lt;span&gt;2017&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Beyond the technical field, this transformation has strategic and methodological implications. Dependence on external inputs, especially industrial fertilizers, exposes production systems to economic and geopolitical risks. An agroecosystem that fails to develop its own biological capacity remains a dependent system. Strengthening soil biology allows for a transition toward functional autonomy, where fertility ceases to be a purchased product and becomes a managed, strategic resource.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;From the perspective of ecological thinking, soil biota is not an abstract component. Its deterioration generates hidden costs—ranging from the loss of nutrient-use efficiency to increased risks from climatic events—while its enhancement acts as a mechanism for structural resilience. Investing in biological functionality is an investment in operational continuity and agroecosystem stability.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Modern production systems must recognize the interdependence between sustainability and productivity. Ignoring this relationship is not just a technical error but a high-risk conceptual omission. The management of the rhizosphere and soil ","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70099","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149084133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Designed to be Forgotten: Visual Anonymization in Ecological Publishing","authors":"Ehsan Moqanaki","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70102","url":null,"abstract":"<p>For over three centuries, the visual identity of scientific journals served as a mark of institutional and disciplinary heritage. In recent years, however, an industry-wide consolidation of journal publishing has been accompanied by a convergence toward standardized, interchangeable layouts. I argue that the transition to homogeneous designs is not a technical inevitability but a production optimization, one that often subordinates reader engagement and disciplinary identity to production efficiency. Layout functions as an access structure, shaping how readers navigate and interpret the scientific record. Therefore, its impoverishment is a communicative loss, not merely an aesthetic one. I contend that ecology, a field defined by diversity at every scale, has particular reason to resist the visual anonymization of its journals and to treat layout as a meaningful dimension of scientific communication.</p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70102","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149084044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cover","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70104","url":null,"abstract":"<p><b>COVER PHOTO:</b> A newly metamorphosed Growling Grass Frog (<i>Ranoidea raniformis</i>) among reeds at the Merri Creek, Melbourne, Australia. In a study published in <i>Ecological Applications</i> (https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70217), Geoffrey Heard and colleagues draw together over 3000 surveys to show that site occupancy by this species across northern Melbourne has declined by 38% over two decades. Using occupancy modelling and simulations, they show that synergies between urbanization and the disease chytridiomycosis have driven these declines; an example of the risk interacting threats pose for wildlife conservation. This photo captures a key life stage. With high adult mortality from chytridiomycosis, consistent recruitment is vital. Yet, urbanization reduces recruitment by polluting streams and wetlands with stormwater, which increases inflows and turbidity, and reduces the cover of aquatic vegetation. This metamorph, photographed in 2016, metamorphosed from a section of the Merri Creek that is now heavily stormwater impacted, and where local Growling Grass Frog populations are only just clinging to existence. Photo credit: Geoffrey Heard.\u0000\u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure>\u0000 </p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70104","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149083886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resolution of Respect: Herbert Sukopp (1930–2026)","authors":"Ingo Kowarik,&nbsp;Norbert Müller,&nbsp;Charles Nilon,&nbsp;Peter Werner","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70101","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;On February 3, 2026, Professor Herbert Sukopp (Photo 1) passed away at the age of 95 in his hometown of Berlin. With him, we lose one of the most formative figures in the history of urban ecology—a scientist whose quiet intellectual authority helped transform how the world understands, values, and protects nature within cities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Herbert Sukopp was born in Berlin in 1930, into a city already shuddering under political and economic strain. His origins were decidedly nonacademic: his mother had worked as a nanny before her marriage in 1919, and his father, after training at various hotels abroad, spent his career at Berlin's celebrated Hotel Kaiserhof, eventually rising to the position of sommelier. It was his father who decided that Herbert should attend the &lt;i&gt;Gymnasium&lt;/i&gt;. In November 1943, the entire school was evacuated from the bombing-scarred city to the countryside. By the time Herbert returned to Berlin at the end of the war in the summer of 1945, his school lay in ruins. He was then enrolled at the &lt;i&gt;Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster&lt;/i&gt;, one of Berlin's most venerable humanistic secondary schools, with its deep roots in the classical traditions of Latin and ancient Greek scholarship. It was likely there that his characteristically open and undogmatic cast of mind was further shaped.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After completing his &lt;i&gt;Abitur&lt;/i&gt; in 1949, Sukopp immediately began teacher training at the Pädagogische Hochschule Berlin, where he also met his future wife Inge, née Köhler (1929–2022; Photo 2), whose steadfast support throughout their life together gave him the freedom to pursue his scholarly calling. Following the completion of his teacher training in 1953, he went on to study botany, geology, and sociology at the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin). In 1958, he was awarded a Doctor of Natural Sciences for his dissertation on the anthropogenic transformation of Berlin's bog vegetation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After a brief period as a research assistant at the FU Berlin's Institute for Systematic Botany and Phytogeography (1957–59), he joined the Technische Universität Berlin in 1959, initially as a research associate under Professor Ulrich Berger-Landefeldt. One year after completing his habilitation in botany with a study about anthropogenic changes to the reed vegetation on the banks of the Havel river in West Berlin, he was appointed professor at the Institute of Applied Botany in 1969. In 1974, he became head of the newly established Department of Ecosystem Research and Vegetation Science — part of the first institute of ecology at a German university, founded the previous year. Even after his retirement in 1996, Sukopp continued as Emeritus Professor, remaining productively engaged with the history of urban ecology (Sukopp &lt;span&gt;2002&lt;/span&gt;) and the flora, vegetation, and environmental history of Berlin until the end of his life (e.g., Sukopp et al. &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;His many honors included the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic ","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70101","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149084000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Growing an Inclusive Ecological Professional Society for a Diverse Environmental Workforce: Wisdom Gained to Navigate Current and Future DEIJ Challenges","authors":"Carmen R. Cid,&nbsp;Karen M. Bailey,&nbsp;Gillian Bowser,&nbsp;Maria C. Cerón-Castilla,&nbsp;Wilnelia Recart González,&nbsp;Danielle Ignace,&nbsp;Leanne M. Jablonski,&nbsp;Gaurav Kandlikar,&nbsp;Kenneth M. Klemow,&nbsp;Matthew A. McCary,&nbsp;George A. Middendorf,&nbsp;Robert Newman,&nbsp;Luanna B. Prevost,&nbsp;Bruno Soares","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70098","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a global leader in shaping the science, teaching, and culture of ecology. Since the 1980s, ESA has undergone transformational changes in its structure, governance, and how it prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) endeavors in all its functions. ESA has excelled in responding to its membership's career development needs to meet the challenges and the skill set required for a diverse environmental workforce. We discuss ESA actions that have increased focus on DEIJ and reflect on the drivers, successes, and challenges faced along the way. We, the co-authors, have developed and collaborated to implement the programming with the goal of improving ESA so that all its members feel supported and can create the network of diverse ecologists needed today. We chronicle the historical actions that have led to ESA DEIJ-dedicated offices, committees, funding resources, and governance structure changes to build support for a diverse ecological leadership. We showcase how ESA has elevated the human dimension across its mentoring programs, publications, annual meetings, and work by sections and chapters with DEIJ priorities, while acknowledging that there is still room for growth. We also reflect on the importance of pursuing DEIJ-related initiatives within and beyond ESA, despite external pressures that deter us from continuing these vital endeavors. We provide recommendations to ESA to continue developing a DEIJ-focused community of care to help ecologists address global environmental issues effectively.</p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70098","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149084007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Labor Conditions in Wildlife Fieldwork and Implications for Scientific Integrity and Safety","authors":"Elijah Hayes Lee,&nbsp;Luisa Maria Diele-Viegas","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70096","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Wildlife fieldwork underpins ecological and sustainable science, yet the labor conditions of those who conduct it remain uneven. Wildlife technicians routinely operate under hazardous conditions while working on short-term contracts with limited job security, restricted decision-making power, and insufficient structural protections. Despite the centrality of their role, technicians often lack formal mechanisms to influence safety standards and working conditions, which directly affects data quality, transparency, and the reliability of conservation outcomes, and ultimately shapes environmental decision-making and sustainable management. Strengthening labor conditions can enhance safety, reduce bias in data collection, and support the integrity of field-based sustainable research.</p>","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70096","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149084081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resolution of Respect Eugene “Geno” Wallace Schupp (1952–2026) Seed dispersal ecologist, restoration scientist, mentor","authors":"Pedro Jordano,&nbsp;José María Gómez","doi":"10.1002/bes2.70097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.70097","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Eugene “Geno” Wallace Schupp (1952–2026), plant ecologist, mentor, and long-time faculty member in the Department of Wildland Resources and in the Ecology Center at Utah State University, died on June 1, 2026, in Logan, Utah, at the age of 74. Geno is survived by his life partner, Janis Boettinger. He was a much appreciated, long-term collaborator with our research groups at Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC, Sevilla, Spain) and University of Granada and Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Granada and Almería, Spain, since late 1987. His death marks the loss of a leading figure in seed dispersal and restoration ecology, and a colleague whose integrity, generosity, and dry humor left a lasting impression on students, collaborators, and friends around the world.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Geno's path into ecology began in a childhood spent close to plants and animals. This is the crucible that many seasoned naturalists had: close to nature. Growing up as an “Army brat,” he moved among military bases yet repeatedly found his way into woods, swamps, gardens, and animal sheds. He liked to raise many different animals and tend vegetables and daylilies (later moving to cultivating chilies), resulting in a long training on how to observe the living world carefully. Those experiences instilled the patience, dedication, respect for natural history, deep knowledge of his study organisms, and eye for detail that would define and characterize his way of doing science that impacted so many of us who were privileged with a long-term collaboration with him.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A turning point came at the Florida State Fair, when a brochure describing careers in natural resources crystallized a possibility that astonished him: one could make a life by being outside, studying the plants and animals he already loved. He completed undergraduate studies at the University of South Florida where he also completed a master's degree in zoology, conducting research in Ecuador, then moved to the University of Iowa for a PhD project in tropical ecology with Prof. Henry F. Howe. After completing a PhD project at Barro Colorado Island, working on seed dispersal and regeneration strategies of understory tree species, specifically &lt;i&gt;Faramea occidentalis&lt;/i&gt;, he was an expert tropical ecologist. In late 1987, his postdoctoral training brought him to Spain on a National Science Foundation-NATO, for a 2.5-year period, he always recalled as “a life-changing experience”. During that stay, we forged a close collaboration and friendship lasting until now, as he returned to Spain almost every year for 2-month stays and three additional longer-term stays between 1990 and 2025. This special relationship with Spain also forged enduring research collaborations with many other Spanish ecologists, which would define a lasting influence on a new generation of researchers in our country, interested in plant population ecology, demography, and natural regeneration.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At Utah State University, where he","PeriodicalId":93418,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America","volume":"107 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bes2.70097","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149084181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}