Precision Biodiversity

Issue

Biodiversity is critical for the healthy and productive agricultural and natural ecosystems, and vital for human health and well-being.  However, biodiversity is declining dramatically globally, in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. The primary factors underpinning biodiversity declines are climate change, land use change, pollution, and invasive species. Conserving and expanding biodiversity in diverse ecosystems requires a detailed understanding of the natural history and ecosystem function of target species and communities, and how these respond to different conditions. Furthermore, since the primary factors driving biodiversity declines are the result of human activity, it is critical that we understand how and why people value biodiversity, and how these values and other socioeconomic factors influence their activities. This information is necessary for improving education and extension programs and developing decision support tools that can allow diverse populations to develop and deploy strategies that can improve biodiversity in their specific contexts.

SAFES members are harnessing and integrating data streams that span levels of biological organization and society.

Research teams in this initiative are working to:

1. Use genomics to comprehensively describe species and communities, and understand how populations of target species are adapting to different conditions,
2. Integrate data streams from remote sensing and climate data to evaluate land use and climate change and determine how these drive population declines and distributions,
3. Engineer computer vision and artificial intelligence systems for automated tracking of populations and ecological interactions in the field,
4. Assess how biodiversity contributes to ecosystem function and economic systems, and
5. Collect information from surveys and social media to define how different demographic and stakeholder groups value biodiversity and what factors constrain their ability to adopt practices which improve biodiversity outcomes.

Convener

Daniel Allen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Aquatic Ecology
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management

Affiliated Members

• Julian Avery, Assistant Research Professor, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
• Kathryn Bartling, Watershed Project Coordinator, Agricultural & Environment Center
• David Biddinger, Research Professor, Tree Fruit Entomology
• Natalie Boyle, Assistant Research Professor*
• Elizabeth Boyer, Professor, Water Resources*
• Austin Brown, Extension Program Specialist in Small Ruminant Production & Management
• Frances Buderman, Assistant Professor of Quantitative Wildlife Ecology
• Eric Burkhart, Associate Teaching Professor, Ecosystem Science & Management*
• Bradley Cardinale, Professor, Ecosystem Science and Management*
• Estelle Couradeau, Assistant Professor, Soils and Environmental Microbiology*
• Harry Crissy, Extension Educator, Business and Community Vitality
• Melik Demirel, Professor, Engineering Science and Mechanics
• Francisco Dini Andreote, Assistant Professor, Phytobiomes*
• Paul Esker, Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Field Crop Pathology*
• Erika Ganda, Assistant Professor, Food Animal Microbiomes*
• Sarah Goslee, Adjunct Associate Professor, Agronomy, USDA-ARS*
• Heather Grab, Assistant Professor, Entomology
• Mark Guiltinan, J. Franklin Styer Professor of Horticultural Botany & Professor of Plant Molecular Biology
• Jill Hamilton, Assistant Professor, Director of the Schatz Center in Tree Molecular Genetics
• Sara Hermann, Assistant Professor,  Arthropod Ecology & Trophic Interactions*
• Kelli Hoover, Professor, Entomology
• Weiyun Hua, Assistant Teaching Professor of Agricultural & Biological Engineering
• Jason Keagy, Assistant Research Professor, Ecosystems Science Management
• Melissa Kreye, Assistant Professor, Forest Resource Management*
• Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Assistant Professor, Agricultural & Extension Education*
• Deah Lieurance, Assistant Professor of Invasive Species Biology and Management
• Margarita Lopez-Uribe, Associate Professor of Entomology
• Carolyn Lowry, Assistant Professor, Weed Ecology & Management*
• Marc McDill, Associate Professor, Forest Management
• David Miller, Associate Professor of Wildlife Population Ecology
• Tami Mysliwiec, Associate Professor of Biology, Penn State Berks*
• Belén Noroña, Assistant Professor of Geography
• Andrew Read, Professor of Biology and Entomology, Senior Vice President for Research*
• Verónica Román-Reyna, Assistant Professor, Plant Pathology
• Matthew Royer, Assistant Research Professor, Director of the Agriculture & Environment Center*
• Rui Shi, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering*
• Mary Ann Smith, Lecturer, Biology
• John Tooker, Professor, Entomology

Related Penn State Projects

• Center for Pollinator Research

Related College of Agricultural Sciences Research Impact Areas

• Biodiversity
• Landscape-Level Analyses