1/21/04

Katie Smith Jackson, 334/844-4877

UTAH RESEARCH ECOLOGIST TO PRESENT WEAVER LECTURE AT AUBURN

John Bissonett

AUBURN -- John A. Bissonette, leader of the Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, will present the winter Weaver Lecture at Auburn University on Jan. 30.

The topic of Bissonett's presentation will be "The Lost Dimension in Landscape Ecology." He will speak at the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center auditorium at 3 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Bissonette, a research ecologist based in Logan, Utah, has studied extensively the issue of habitat fragmentation and its impact on wildlife species. Habitat fragmentation is the breaking up of a continuous habitat or land-use type into smaller, isolated pieces. The term, most commonly used in relation to forestland, generally refers to human activities, such as logging and urbanization, which fragment undisturbed habitat, but it also relates to the impact of natural processes, such as fire.

Many, if not most, wildlife species have been impacted by habitat fragmentation, but studies regarding the repercussions have had widely varied results. In his lecture, Bissonette will discuss his theories as to why the studies seem to provide diverse answers, including the neglect by some scientists to differentiate between the spatial arrangement of land and the amount of habitat available.

Bissonette, who also is a professor in the Department of Forestry, Range, and Wildlife Sciences at Utah State University, received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Vermont and Yale University, respectively, and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. His research interests include behavioral ecology and the effects of roads on fragmentation of landscape pattern and animal response.

In addition to many peer-reviewed papers, Bissonette has co-authored and edited several books, including: Road Ecology: Science and Solutions Wildlife and Landscape Ecology: Effects of Pattern and Scale and Landscape Ecology and Resource Management: Linking Theory with Practice.

Bissonette's lecture is sponsored by the AU School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and is made possible by an endowment from Earl H. and Sandra H. Weaver of Brewton, long-time supporters of Auburn and forestry.

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CONTACT: 334/844-1006.