96th ESA Annual Meeting (August 7 -- 12, 2011)

OOS 49 - The Fire-Grazing Interaction: An Integral Ecosystem Process

Friday, August 12, 2011: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
12A, Austin Convention Center
Organizer:
Brady W. Allred
Co-organizer:
Stephanie L. Eby
Moderator:
Brady W. Allred
Fire and grazing are two important disturbances that affect a large proportion of ecosystems. These disturbances play a critical role in the establishment and maintenance of native grasslands, savannas, and woodlands. While commonly examined separately, the ecological interactions between the two are vital and have a defining role across complex landscapes. The goals of this session are to establish a discussion of the science and management of fire-grazing interactions, recognizing their importance and prevalence, and discussing how fire and grazing must be implemented to provide more effective conservation and stewardship. Ecologists and land managers will present their research and experiences to collectively synthesize fire-grazing interactions. These interactions are global ecological processes that occur in all fire prone systems, ranging from Australia to Africa to North America. The mechanisms and effects of fire-grazing interactions range from broad scale animal behavior to finer scale plant community structure and invertebrate populations, ultimately defining the important role that the interaction has within the system. To better understand this process, and to implement effective conservation and stewardship practices, it is important to recognize generalities that span continents. By doing so, we can accumulate knowledge that will improve our land management, helping us to conserve biodiversity and other important ecological processes and functions while maintaining agricultural and social objectives. This session will synthesize fire-grazing interactions from around the world by integrating a variety of locations and perspectives.
8:00 AM
Pyric Herbivory: The fire-grazing interaction as a critical ecological process
Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Oklahoma State University; Brady W. Allred, University of Montana; David M. Engle, Oklahoma State University; Dwayne Elmore, Oklahoma State University
8:20 AM
Allometric scaling: Body size and fire-grazing interactions in an East African savanna
Ryan Sensenig, Goshen College; Montague W. Demment, University of California; Emilio A. Laca, University of California
8:40 AM
Divergence in savanna grassland community responses to fire and grazing in North America and South Africa
Melinda Smith, Colorado State University; A.K. Knapp, Colorado State University; Scott L. Collins, University of New Mexico; Navashni Govender, Scientific Services Kruger National Park; Kevin Kirkman, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Richard W.S. Fynn, University of Botswana; Deron E. Burkepile, Florida International University; Nicole Hagenah, University of Kwazulu-Natal; Katherine Matchett, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Dave Thompson, SAEON; Sally E. Koerner, Colorado State University; Kevin Wilcox, University of Wyoming; Catherine E. Burns, San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
9:00 AM
Pyric herbivory in Artemisia shrubland of the southern Great Plains, North America
Stephen Winter, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Samuel Fuhlendorf, Oklahoma State University; Carla Goad, Oklahoma State University; Craig Davis, Oklahoma State University; Karen Hickman, Oklahoma State University; David Leslie, US Geological Survey
9:20 AM
Arthropod distributions, abundances and species interactions in tallgrass prairie respond to habitat heterogeneity resulting from fire-grazing interactions
Anthony Joern, Kansas State University; Angela Laws, Kansas State University; Jesus E. Gomez, Kansas State University
9:40 AM
9:50 AM
Savanna home companions: Fire, pastoralism, drought, and birds in East Africa
Nathan Gregory, Institute for Wildlife Studies; Ryan Sensenig, Goshen College; David S. Wilcove, Princeton University
See more of: Organized Oral Session