“Who has a right to say what focus is the legitimate focus?” Tennessee Williams and Julia Margaret Cameron’s Theatrical Portraits of Women

In the production notes preceding The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams said: “Everyone should know nowadays the unimportance of the photographic in art: that truth, life, or reality is an organic thing which the poetic imagination can represent or suggest, in essence, only through transformation, through changing into other forms than those which were merely present in appearance.” In spite of Williams’s emphasis on the limitations of literal representation, some of his most famous female characters were created in a tradition similar to that of portraits of women by the Victorian-era photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. Both Cameron and Williams made portraits of women that encouraged an understanding of and allowance for multiple truths. This thesis explores the parallels between Williams’s theatrical “portraits” and Cameron’s “theatrical” portraits, and demonstrates that both artists empowered women characters with the ability to perform truth that is much larger than (and frequently contradicts) that which is “merely present in appearance.” This discussion examines the visual techniques that Cameron used in her portrait photographs in order to illuminate the ways Williams built similar performances in his scripts, and then tracks women characters from four of Williams’s plays— “Portrait of a Madonna,” A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Sweet Bird of Youth—tracing a progression of their power through their dialogue, Williams’s stage directions, and his writings about the characters and plays

Interactions Among Environmental Drivers: Community Responses to Changing Nutrients and Dissolved Organic Carbon

Biological communities are frequently exposed to environmental changes that cause measurable responses in properties of the community (hereafter called environmental drivers). Predicting how communities respond to changing environmental drivers is a fundamental goal of ecology. Making predictions, however, can be very difficult, particularly when multiple environmental drivers change simultaneously and there are interactions among the drivers. We investigated the effects of the interaction between changes in nutrient loading and changes in colored dissolved organic matter (measured as dissolved organic carbon, DOC) on the dynamics of phytoplankton communities over a 7‐yr period. In 1991, Long Lake, a small seepage lake in northern Michigan, was divided vertically, from sediment surface to water surface, with plastic curtains as part of a whole‐lake experiment. The accompanying changes in hydrology led to increases in DOC concentration in one of the basins. Nutrients were added to both basins from 1993 to 1997, causing dramatic changes in phytoplankton community composition. We used multivariate autoregressive models to help interpret the patterns of phytoplankton community composition observed during the experiment. DOC and nutrient addition had diverse effects on phytoplankton: some taxonomic and morphological groups were directly affected by the changes in DOC and nutrients, whereas other groups experienced indirect effects via their interactions with groups that were directly affected. Model results suggest that there was an interaction between the effects of DOC and nutrients for many groups of phytoplankton, such that differences in DOC concentration accounted for differences between basins in response to nutrient addition. The effects of DOC can be explained by changes in physical structure (e.g., thermocline depth and transparency) and water chemistry (e.g., pH) that accompanied changes in DOC concentration. The interaction between DOC and nutrients suggests that predicting community responses to multiple drivers cannot be achieved by simply adding up the effects of single drivers

Interactions among environmental drivers: Community responses to changing nutrients and dissolved organic carbon

Biological communities are frequently exposed to environmental changes that cause measurable responses in properties of the community (hereafter called environmental drivers). Predicting how communities respond to changing environmental drivers is a fundamental goal of ecology. Making predictions, however, can be very difficult, particularly when multiple environmental drivers change simultaneously and there are interactions among the drivers. We investigated the effects of the interaction between changes in nutrient loading and changes in colored dissolved organic matter (measured as dissolved organic carbon, DOC) on the dynamics of phytoplankton communities over a 7-yr period. In 1991, Long Lake, a small seepage lake in northern Michigan, was divided vertically, from sediment surface to water surface, with plastic curtains as part of a whole-lake experiment. The accompanying changes in hydrology led to increases in DOC concentration in one of the basins. Nutrients were added to both basins from 1993 to 1997, causing dramatic changes in phytoplankton community composition. We used multivariate autoregressive models to help interpret the patterns of phytoplankton community composition observed during the experiment. DOC and nutrient addition had diverse effects on phytoplankton: some taxonomic and morphological groups were directly affected by the changes in DOC and nutrients, whereas other groups experienced indirect effects via their interactions with groups that were directly affected. Model results suggest that there was an interaction between the effects of DOC and nutrients for many groups of phytoplankton, such that differences in DOC concentration accounted for differences between basins in response to nutrient addition. The effects of DOC can be explained by changes in physical structure (e.g., thermocline depth and transparency) and water chemistry (e.g., pH) that accompanied changes in DOC concentration. The interaction between DOC and nutrients suggests that predicting community responses to multiple drivers cannot be achieved by simply adding up the effects of single drivers

Ecological history affects zooplankton community responses to acidification

The effects of ecological history are frequently ignored in attempts to predict community responses to environmental change. In this study, we explored the possibility that ecological history can cause differences in community responses to perturbation using parallel acidification experiments in three sites with different pH histories in the Northern Highland Lake District of Wisconsin, USA. In Trout Lake, high acid neutralizing capacity had historically buffered changes in pH. In contrast, the two basins of Little Rock Lake (Little Rock-Reference and Little Rock-Treatment) had experienced seasonal fluctuations in pH. Furthermore, the two lake basins were separated with a curtain and Little Rock-Treatment was experimentally acidified in the late 1980s. In each site, we conducted mesocosm experiments to compare zooplankton community dynamics in control (ambient pH) and acidified (pH 4.7) treatments. Zooplankton community responses were strongest in Trout Lake and weakest in Little Rock-Treatment suggesting that ecological history affected responses to acidification. In part, variation in community sensitivity to acidification was driven by differences in species composition. However, the results of a reciprocal transplant experiment indicated that changes in the acid tolerance of populations during past acidification events may make zooplankton communities less sensitive to subsequent pH stress. Our study highlights the role that ecological history may play in community-level responses to environmental change

Trajectories Of Zooplankton Recovery In The Little Rock Lake Whole‐Lake Acidification Experiment

Understanding the factors that affect biological recovery from environmental stressors such as acidification is an important challenge in ecology. Here we report on zooplankton community recovery following the experimental acidification of Little Rock Lake, Wisconsin, USA. One decade following cessation of acid additions to the northern basin of Little Rock Lake (LRL), recovery of the zooplankton community was complete. Approximately 40% of zooplankton species in the lake exhibited a recovery lag in which biological recovery to reference basin levels was delayed by 1–6 yr after pH recovered to the level at which the species originally responded. Delays in recovery such as those we observed in LRL may be attributable to “biological resistance” wherein establishment of viable populations of key acid-sensitive species following water quality improvements is prevented by other components of the community that thrived during acidification. Indeed, we observed that the recovery of species that thrived during acidification tended to precede recovery of species that declined during acidification. In addition, correspondence analysis indicated that the zooplankton community followed different pathways during acidification and recovery, suggesting that there is substantial hysteresis in zooplankton recovery from acidification. By providing an example of a relatively rapid recovery from short-term acidification, zooplankton community recovery from experimental acidification in LRL generally reinforces the positive outlook for recovery reported for other acidified lakes

Cultivation of Industrial Hemp on and Near Airports: Implications for Wildlife Use and Risk to Aviation Safety

Land-use planning on and near airports should consider possible revenue from land covers, associated maintenance costs, and potential for land covers to attract vertebrate species recognized as hazardous to aviation safety. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has expressed interest in recent attention given to industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.; hemp) as a revenue-producing land cover that might be cultivated on or near airports. Our purpose was to better understand the potential production value of hemp as well as its possible role in affecting aviation safety if cultivated on or near airports. Our objectives were to: (1) review the literature relative to a historical perspective of hemp cultivation in the United States, projected cultivation practices, and anticipated economic viability, (2) use our review to gather information on vertebrate use of hemp cultivars, and (3) revisit U.S. and international regulations on land covers near airports relative to attraction of species recognized as hazardous to aviation safety. We found, via review of peer-reviewed and gray literature, that hemp holds potential as an emerging crop in the United States, contributing to food, medicine, and biomass-derived products as well as evidence that birds will use, if not depredate, the crop. However, future markets promoting cultivation of hemp remain tentative. Further, there has been no objective quantification of bird and other wildlife use of hemp alone or as a component of a land cover matrix on or near airports and relative to implications for aviation safety. We make recommendations for future research on wildlife use of hemp and metrics necessary to inform aviation safety

A Practical Guide for Managing Interdisciplinary Teams: Lessons Learned from Coupled Natural and Human Systems Research

Interdisciplinary team science is essential to address complex socio-environmental questions, but it also presents unique challenges. The scientific literature identifies best practices for high-level processes in team science, e.g., leadership and team building, but provides less guidance about practical, day-to-day strategies to support teamwork, e.g., translating jargon across disciplines, sharing and transforming data, and coordinating diverse and geographically distributed researchers. This article offers a case study of an interdisciplinary socio-environmental research project to derive insight to support team science implementation. We evaluate the project’s inner workings using a framework derived from the growing body of literature for team science best practices, and derive insights into how best to apply team science principles to interdisciplinary research. We find that two of the most useful areas for proactive planning and coordinated leadership are data management and co-authorship. By providing guidance for project implementation focused on these areas, we contribute a pragmatic, detail-oriented perspective on team science in an effort to support similar projects

Typha (Cattail) Invasion in North American Wetlands: Biology, Regional Problems, Impacts, Ecosystem Services, and Management

Typha is an iconic wetland plant found worldwide. Hybridization and anthropogenic disturbances have resulted in large increases in Typha abundance in wetland ecosystems throughout North America at a cost to native floral and faunal biodiversity. As demonstrated by three regional case studies, Typha is capable of rapidly colonizing habitats and forming monodominant vegetation stands due to traits such as robust size, rapid growth rate, and rhizomatic expansion. Increased nutrient inputs into wetlands and altered hydrologic regimes are among the principal anthropogenic drivers of Typha invasion. Typha is associated with a wide range of negative ecological impacts to wetland and agricultural systems, but also is linked with a variety of ecosystem services such as bioremediation and provisioning of biomass, as well as an assortment of traditional cultural uses. Numerous physical, chemical, and hydrologic control methods are used to manage invasive Typha, but results are inconsistent and multiple methods and repeated treatments often are required. While this review focuses on invasive Typha in North America, the literature cited comes from research on Typha and other invasive species from around the world. As such, many of the underlying concepts in this review are relevant to invasive species in other wetland ecosystems worldwide

Generating community-built tools for data sharing and analysis in environmental networks

Rapid data growth in many environmental sectors has necessitated tools to manage and analyze these data. The development of tools often lags behind the proliferation of data, however, which may slow exploratory opportunities and scientific progress. The Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) collaborative model supports an efficient and comprehensive data–analysis–insight life cycle, including implementations of data quality control checks, statistical calculations/derivations, models, and data visualizations. These tools are community-built and openly shared. We discuss the network structure that enables tool development and a culture of sharing, leading to optimized output from limited resources. Specifically, data sharing and a flat collaborative structure encourage the development of tools that enable scientific insights from these data. Here we provide a cross-section of scientific advances derived from global-scale analyses in GLEON. We document enhancements to science capabilities made possible by the development of analytical tools and highlight opportunities to expand this framework to benefit other environmental networks