This presentation illustrates the reasoning behind my hypothesis, how I collected the data, the results of my analyses, and implications for conservation.
31 Comments
Suzanne
3/23/2015 12:34:17 pm
what an adventure for your dissertation work! Your presentation is clear, interesting, and compelling.
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Jenny
3/24/2015 01:35:54 am
I agree that the presentation and study are very interesting and clear.Good job!
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Jess
3/28/2015 06:09:09 am
Thanks so much! I was very rewarding to conduct such exciting research.
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Judge556
3/24/2015 01:31:03 am
The presentation and research are very interesting. I enjoyed the video. Given that bats avoid lantana bushes, the spread of the monoculture due to its invasiveness in open areas will reduce the suitable habitat for bats by preventing proper ecological succession that eventually leads to establishment of forests.? So the conclusion of effects from Lantana solely based on insects may be biased?
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Jess
3/28/2015 06:41:59 am
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on my research. I address each of your questions, point-by-point, below.
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Judge199
3/24/2015 04:46:16 am
Is there any way/any plans to try to reduce Lantana populations or to restore the areas it has invaded to forest?
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Jess
3/28/2015 06:43:37 am
Thanks for commenting!
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Judge999
3/24/2015 09:28:26 am
Great video and nice presentation! I have a couple of questions though:
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Jess
3/28/2015 06:47:50 am
Hello! Thanks for the positive feedback.
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Judge70
3/24/2015 09:41:02 am
Interesting study with important conservation implications. Has there been any evidence that lantana is actually a deterrent for the bats' prey? How would it affect prey availability? I agree with previous comments from the other judges that more detail on how data was collected and assessed is really needed to properly understand the study and its findings. Did you tag bats? Do you have an idea of your sample size? How was insect availability assessed? Did you distinguish between all insects and preferred prey insects? You've got some sizable variance on some of your bars (for example in feeding buzzes in the forest); what do you think might account for this? It seems like bats have either adapted to latana presence or have done this passively (not flying through when it's windy or warmer); do you have any hypotheses for how this might occur? If bats are able to exhibit this flexibility, how might this inform conservation efforts? It seems like latana is a bigger threat than the goats, is there any way to get the goats to eat the latana and thus solve all the bats problems?
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:02:37 am
Thanks so much for your comments.
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Judge452
3/24/2015 11:03:42 am
Jess, I found your study to be quite informative. I enjoyed how you focused on indirect versus direct effects on bat populations. I have a few questions:
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:12:06 am
Thanks so much for your positive comments!
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Judge309
3/25/2015 02:10:34 am
Very interesting project and good presentation! However, I just wonder:
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:15:31 am
Hello! I'm glad you enjoyed my presentation.
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Judge390
3/25/2015 04:31:10 am
This is some really interesting work with nice experimental design. I had a few questions some of which has already been asked by other judges.
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:19:06 am
I'm glad you found my study interesting. I hope you see the answers I provided for the other judges.
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Sigma Xi Judge CK
3/25/2015 03:08:28 pm
Congratulations on your great presentation It was neat and well made. I have similar question to the other judges so I look forward to your answers!
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:19:51 am
Thank you very much. I hope my answers to the other judges' questions satisfy your curiosity.
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Judge664
3/26/2015 01:09:14 am
You have a very interesting study. I think that the other judges have covered most of my questions but I have a couple about the insects: do you know anything about what insects the bats eat? Are they generalists or specialists? Is there a difference in what insects are present in the forest vs. Lantana, other than differences in abundance?
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:22:53 am
Greetings!
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Judge 24026
3/26/2015 11:52:01 pm
This is a very interesting study with significant conservation implications. The other judges have addressed most of my questions and I look forward to seeing your replies. Was insect diversity measured in each of the habitat types? I only see a measure of abundance, with no mention of the species captured. Did you make any direct correlations between goat foraging and bat activity?
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:27:22 am
Thanks so much for taking time to look at my presentation.
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judgeN
3/27/2015 11:00:04 pm
Nice presentation!!--especially the welcome video!. Your photographs are excellent and aid in documenting the research conducted. I have a few questions/comments:
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:33:23 am
I'm so happy you enjoyed my video and photos.
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Judge184
3/28/2015 12:52:36 am
Great work. This was clearly a big undertaking and you did a great job of planning and executing the research. I am wondering what factors facilitate the spread of Lantana and if there are vegetated areas that seem to resist the Lantana invasion. It seems that as Lantana spreads, forest seedlings would be choked out. Or maybe the opposite - could Lantana protect seedlings from goats?
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Jess
3/28/2015 07:40:32 am
Thanks a lot. The research was very difficult to conduct, but worthwhile!
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Sigma Xi judge 542
3/28/2015 07:47:47 am
Jess, it's an excellent and interesting project and presentation. You must have had a great experience in the island.
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Jess
3/29/2015 03:06:30 am
Thanks so much for reviewing my research showcase!
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Judge X
3/29/2015 04:34:43 am
Nice presentation. One general piece of advice though. When limited in time or # of slides, you may want to laser focus on a particular piece of the study and then cover it thoroughly in terms of methods and results. There seem to be a lot of questions about methodology from the other judges and this could have been alleviated if focusing on one part of the study only.
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Sigma Xi Judge688
3/29/2015 12:44:11 pm
Hi Jess, congratulations for this project, which is quite well presented in the space allotted to you, as it conveys the problem under study, your hypotheses, the techniques and analyses used to test them, and the main results, discussion and recommendations. My questions are: (1) why is seed count higher in Tinian than in Aguiguan even in the most disturbed sites? Tinian seems to be a far more disturbed island than Aguiguan; (2) Goats seem to consume more C. ramiflora and P. grandis seeds than G. marianae seeds, but which of these species are more important in the forests? (3) Do Lantana shrubs arrest forest succession? (4) Is deforestation due to land change still an issue in this island? (5) Your results show that what is really important to bats as indicated by their activity are higher forests with low tree density, which seem to be the mature forests. In this respect, what would be the amount of forest that according to your results qualifies as suitable to maintain a healthy bat community?
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About MeI'm Jess, a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee. Learn more about me at my website. Study SiteI conducted my study on a small, uninhabited island called Aguiguan (ah-gee-gwan) in the Northern Mariana Islands.
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