Source: NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV submitted to NRP
THE ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF SPECIES IN THE HUMAN-DOMINATED WORLD
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0206070
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2011
Project End Date
Jul 1, 2013
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
(N/A)
RALEIGH,NC 27695
Performing Department
Biology
Non Technical Summary
Little is known about the species with which we most intimately live, whether they be the bacteria on our bodies or the insects in our backyards. Through a series of ambitious, global, projects, we propose to understand the stories of the ecology and evolution of these species and how and when they influence (whether for good or bad) human health and well being.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
72201991070100%
Knowledge Area
722 - Zoonotic Diseases and Parasites Affecting Humans;

Subject Of Investigation
0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
In this project we aim to engage citizens in science and, in the process, begin to understand the stories of the ecology and evolution of the species that live around us, everywhere. In doing so, we hope to influence the decisions made about the management of the species living around us. In addition, we will publish articles in high profile journals and in popular publications such as magazines and books.
Project Methods
We will diverse methods from biogeography, ecology, evolution, biomathematics, genetics and other fields to resolve the stories of the species of interest.

Progress 10/01/11 to 07/01/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Our projects reach millions of readers, tens of thousands of participants and hundreds of collaborators. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? postdocs, students and technicians are involved in every aspect of our engagement with the public. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dozens of talks, many events, tens of articles, several dozen TV and radio interviews. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We engaged millions of readers, tens of thousands of participants and hundreds of collaborators through more than fifty popular audience articles, dozens of talks more than twenty events and more.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Species loss on spatial patterns and composition of zoonotic parasites NC Harris, RR Dunn Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280 (1771) 2013 How many and which ant species are being accidentally moved around the world? V Miravete, N Roura-Pascual, RR Dunn, C G�mez Biology letters 9 (5), 20130540 2013 Environmental and historical imprints on beta diversity: insights from variation in rates of species turnover along gradients MC Fitzpatrick, NJ Sanders, S Normand, JC Svenning, S Ferrier, AD Gove, RR Dunn Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280 (1768) 2013 Toward a Mechanistic Understanding of Linguistic Diversity MC Gavin, CA Botero, C Bowern, RK Colwell, M Dunn, RR Dunn, RD Gray, KR ... BioScience 63 (7), 524-535 2013 Using physiology to predict the responses of ants to climatic warming SE Diamond, CA Penick, SL Pelini, AM Ellison, NJ Gotelli, NJ Sanders, RR Dunn Integrative and comparative biology, ict085 1 2013 Home Life: Factors Structuring the Bacterial Diversity Found within and between Homes RR Dunn, N Fierer, JB Henley, JW Leff, HL Menninger PloS one 8 (5), e64133 3 2013 Conservation implications of divergent global patterns of ant and vertebrate diversity CN Jenkins, B Gu�nard, SE Diamond, MD Weiser, RR Dunn Diversity and Distributions 1 2013 Using physiology to predict ectotherm responses to environmental change SE Diamond, SL Pelini, AM Ellison, NJ Gotelli, NJ Sanders, RR Dunn INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY 53, E52-E52 2013 Tradeoffs, competition, and coexistence in eastern deciduous forest ant communities KL Stuble, MA Rodriguez-Cabal, GL McCormick, I Juri?, RR Dunn, NJ Sanders Oecologia, 1-12 1 2013 Urban Warming Drives Insect Pest Abundance on Street Trees EK Meineke, RR Dunn, JO Sexton, SD Frank PloS one 8 (3), e59687 1 2013 Environmental and historical imprints on beta diversity AD Gove, RR Dunn, MC Fitzpatrick, NJ Sanders, S Normand, JC Svenning, S Ferrier 2013 Foraging by forest ants under experimental climatic warming: a test at two sites KL Stuble, SL Pelini, SE Diamond, DA Fowler, RR Dunn, NJ Sanders Ecology and evolution 2 2013


Progress 10/01/11 to 09/30/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our group has given more than fifty talks to academic departments, public meetings, teacher groups and schools during the last year. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Our chief impacts were achieved through outreach via our yourwildlife.org program at yourwildlife.org where we have brought public science to roughly 200,000 people in the last year.

Publications

  • Hulcr, J.;Latimer, A. M.;Henley, J. B.;Rountree, N. R.;Fierer, N.;Lucky, A.;Lowman, M. D.;Dunn, R. R.;, "A Jungle in There: Bacteria in Belly Buttons are Highly Diverse, but Predictable", Plos One, vol. 7, (2012), p. ., " " Published
  • Hulcr, J.;Rountree, N. R.;Diamond, S. E.;Stelinski, L. L.;Fierer, N.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Mycangia of Ambrosia Beetles Host Communities of Bacteria", Microbial Ecology, vol. 64, (2012), p. 784-793., " " Published
  • Lessard, J. P.;Borregaard, M. K.;Fordyce, J. A.;Rahbek, C.;Weiser, M. D.;Dunn, R. R.;Sanders, N. J.;, "Strong influence of regional species pools on continent-wide structuring of local communities", Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, vol. 279, (2012), p. 266-274., " " Published
  • McGlynn, T. P.;Diamond, S. E.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Tradeoffs in the Evolution of Caste and Body Size in the Hyperdiverse Ant Genus Pheidole", Plos One, vol. 7, (2012), p. ., " " Published
  • Patrick, M.;Fowler, D.;Dunn, R. R.;Sanders, N. J.;, "ical Montane Cloud Forest", Biotropica, vol. 44, (2012), p. 472-478., " " Published
  • Pelini, S. L.;Diamond, S. E.;MacLean, H.;Ellison, A. M.;Gotelli, N. J.;Sanders, N. J.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Common garden experiments reveal uncommon responses across temperatures, locations, and species of ants", Ecology and Evolution, vol. 2, (2012), p. 3009-3015., " " Published
  • Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A.;Stuble, K. L.;Guenard, B.;Dunn, R. R.;Sanders, N. J.;, "Disruption of ant-seed dispersal mutualisms by the invasive Asian needle ant (Pachycondyla chinensis)", Biological Invasions, vol. 14, (2012), p. 557-565., " " Published
  • Canner, J. E.;Dunn, R. R.;Giladi, I.;Gross, K.;, "Redispersal of seeds by a keystone ant augments the spread of common wildflowers", Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology, vol. 40, (2012), p. 31-39., " " Published
  • Colwell, R. K.;Dunn, R. R.;Harris, N. C.;, "Coextinction and Persistence of Dependent Species in a Changing World", Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Vol 43, vol. 43, (2012), p. 183-203., " " Published
  • Costanza, J. K.;Hulcr, J.;Koch, F. H.;Earnhardt, T.;McKerrow, A. J.;Dunn, R. R.;Collazo, J. A.;, "Simulating the effects of the southern pine beetle on regional dynamics 60 years into the future", Ecological Modelling, vol. 244, (2012), p. 93-103., " " Published
  • Guenard, B.;Dunn, R. R.;, "A checklist of the ants of China", Zootaxa, vol. , (2012), p. 1-+., " " Published Guenard, B.;McCaffrey, K. A.;Lucky, A.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Ants of North Carolina: an updated list (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)", Zootaxa, vol. , (2012), p. 1-36., " " Published
  • Diamond, S. E.;Nichols, L. M.;McCoy, N.;Hirsch, C.;Pelini, S. L.;Sanders, N. J.;Ellison, A. M.;Gotelli, N. J.;Dunn, R. R.;, "A physiological trait-based approach to predicting the responses of species to experimental climate warming", Ecology, vol. 93, (2012), p. 2305-2312., " " Published
  • Diamond, S. E.;Sorger, D. M.;Hulcr, J.;Pelini, S. L.;Del Toro, I.;Hirsch, C.;E.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Who likes it hot A global analysis of the climatic, ecological, and evolutionary determinants of warming tolerance in ants", Global Change Biology, vol. 18, (2012), p. 448-456., " " Published
  • Diamond, S. E.;Sorger, D. M.;Hulcr, J.;Pelini, S. L.;Sanders, N. J.;Ellison, A. M.;Gotelli, N. J.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Predicting regional and global responses of ants to climate change", Integrative and Comparative Biology, vol. 52, (2012), p. E45-E45., " " Published
  • Guenard, B.;Weiser, M. D.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Global models of ant diversity suggest regions where new discoveries are most likely are under disproportionate deforestation threat", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 109, (2012), p. 7368-7373., " " Published
  • Hulcr, J.;Dunn, R. R.;, "The sudden emergence of pathogenicity in insect-fungus symbioses threatens naive forest ecosystems", gs of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, vol. 278, (2011), p. 2866-2873., " " Published
  • Hulcr, J.;Latimer, A. M.;Henley, J. B.;Rountree, N. R.;Fierer, N.;Lucky, A.;Lowman, M. D.;Dunn, R. R.;, "A Jungle in There: Bacteria in Belly Buttons are Highly Diverse, but Predictable", Plos One, vol. 7, (2012), p. ., " " Published
  • Hulcr, J.;Rountree, N. R.;Diamond, S. E.;Stelinski, L. L.;Fierer, N.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Mycangia of Ambrosia Beetles Host Communities of Bacteria", Microbial Ecology, vol. 64, (2012), p. 784-793., " " Published Lessard, J. P.;Borregaard, M. K.;Fordyce, J. A.;Rahbek, C.;Weiser, M. D.;Dunn, R. R.;Sanders, N. J.;, "Strong influence of regional species pools on continent-wide structuring of local communities", Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, vol. 279, (2012), p. 266-274., " " Published
  • McGlynn, T. P.;Diamond, S. E.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Tradeoffs in the Evolution of Caste and Body Size in the Hyperdiverse Ant Genus Pheidole", Plos One, vol. 7, (2012), p. ., " " Published
  • Patrick, M.;Fowler, D.;Dunn, R. R.;Sanders, N. J.;, "ical Montane Cloud Forest", Biotropica, vol. 44, (2012), p. 472-478., " " Published
  • Pelini, S. L.;Diamond, S. E.;MacLean, H.;Ellison, A. M.;Gotelli, N. J.;Sanders, N. J.;Dunn, R. R.;, "Common garden experiments reveal uncommon responses across temperatures, locations, and species of ants", Ecology and Evolution, vol. 2, (2012), p. 3009-3015., " " Published
  • Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A.;Stuble, K. L.;Guenard, B.;Dunn, R. R.;Sanders, N. J.;, "Disruption of ant-seed dispersal mutualisms by the invasive Asian needle ant (Pachycondyla chinensis)", Biological Invasions, vol. 14, (2012), p. 557-565., " " Published


Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This year, our collective group gave over forty talks for scientists and the public, completed a television show about species that interact with humans (estimated to have been viewed by two million people), gave 39 interviews on radio and TV about the ecology and evolution of species that interact with human and began the process of developing, in collaboration with the Museum of Natural Sciences, long term projects on science education and outreach. In addition, our research has advanced understanding in the ecology and evolution of species that interact with humans through journal articles and articles for general audiences. This year, our group published 35 articles for general audiences (including articles in Discover Magazine, Scientific American, National Geographic and Natural History) and one book in addition to twelve scientific publications. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
We had many specific results from our scientific research, but perhaps the broadest outcome from our research has been the development of two large citizen science projects that allow citizens to participate in science and make discoveries (www.schoolofants.org and www.yourwildlife.org). Together these projects have reached hundreds of thousands of people this year and allowed more than ten thousand people to directly do science.

Publications

  • Machac, A.; Janda, M.; Dunn, R.R.; Sanders, N.J. 2011. Elevational gradients in phylogenetic structure of ant communities reveal the interplay of biotic and abiotic constraints on diversity. In press.
  • Hulcr, J.; Dunn, R.R. 2011. The sudden emergence of pathogenicity in insect-fungus symbioses threatens naive forest ecosystems. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. vol. 27 82866-2873
  • Pelini, S.L.; Boudreau, M.; McCoy, N.; Ellison, A.M.; Gotelli, N.J.; Sanders, N.J.; Dunn, R.R. 2011. Effects of short-term warming on low and high latitude forest ant communities. In press.
  • Pelini, S.L.; Bowles, F.P.; Ellison, A.M.; Gotelli, N.J.; Sanders, N.J.; Dunn, R.R. 2011. 2011. Heating up the forest: open-top chamber warming manipulation of arthropod communities at Harvard and Duke Forest. Methods in Ecology and Evolution.
  • Jenkins, C.N.; Sanders, N.J.; Andersen, A.N.; Arnan, X.; Bruhl, C.A.; Cerda, X.; Ellison, A.M.; Fisher, B.L.; Fitzpatrick, M.C.; Gotelli, N.J.; 2011. Global diversity in light of climate change: the case of ants. In press.
  • Diamond, S.E.; Sorger, D.M.; Hulcr, J.; Pelini, S.L.; Toro, I.D.; Hirsch, C.; Oberg, E.; Dunn, R.R.; 2011. Who likes it hot A global analysis of the climatic, ecological, and evolutionary determinants of warming tolerance in antsGlobal Change Biology. in press.
  • Zelikova, T.J.; Sanders, N.J.; Dunn, R.R. 2011. The mixed effects of experimental ant removal on seedling distribution, belowground invertebrates, and soil nutrients. Ecosphere. vol2


Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the lab, we have collectively given more than seventy talks to various public and scientific groups over the past year. We have collectively published thirty scientific articles (only the subset on which the PI is a coauthor appear below). Dunn has written a new book (The WIld Lives of Our Bodies) with an initial release of 25,000 that is being published in both English and Japanese. Together, in the lab, we have written 16 articles for general audiences in the last year, including articles in National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American and others. We have forged strong alliances with the Museum of Natural Sciences that allow direct outreach to the many visitors to the museum and involvement in program development. We have already developed two large-scale programs with the museum, one about the life that lives around school yards and can be studied scientifically by school children and the other about the beneficial (or simply commensal) species that live on human bodies. Our research in the lab has also been featured widely in the news media, with ten separate papers from the lab having been covered in the news this year, with covered in hundreds of news outlets. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: General public, conservation practitioners, and public health scientists along with our scientific colleagues. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Our projects have contributed significantly to outreach and education. We have reached millions of readers through magazine articles and books. We have developed programs for communication and doing science with schools. In addition, we have done science that influences and concerns how people lives there lives. Our focus in recent years has been on understanding the future of life in the context of global change, whether that means which species are moving into cities, which species are being favored (or disfavored) by global warming, or how new introductions of species are influencing human health, forest conditions, and agriculture.

Publications

  • Lengyel S., Gove A.D., Latimer A.M., Majer J.D., and Dunn R.R. 2010. Convergent evolution of seed dispersal by ants, and phylogeny and biogeography in flowering plants: A global survey. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 12 (1), pp. 43-55.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2010. Mapping of Ecosystem Disservices: The Unspoken Reality that Nature Sometimes Kills us Biotropica 42.DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00698.
  • Dunn, R. R., Davies, T. J., Harris, N. C., and M. C. Gavin. 2010. Global drivers of human pathogen richness and prevalenceProc. R. Soc. B September 7, 2010 277:2587-2595; published online before print April 14, 2010, doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0340
  • Gotelli, Nicholas J., Aaron M. Ellison, Robert R. Dunn, and Nathan J. Sanders. 2011. Counting ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Biodiversity sampling and statistical analysis for myrmecologists. Myrmecological News 15:13-19.
  • McGlynn, T., M. D. Weiser, and R. R. Dunn. 2010. More individuals but fewer species: testing the more individuals hypothesis in a diverse tropical fauna. Biol. Lett. published online before print March 3, 2010, doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0103
  • Weiser, M. D., Sanders, N. J., Agosti, D., Andersen, A. N., Ellison, A. M., Fisher, B. L., Gibb, H., Gotelli, Gove, A. D., Gross, K., Guenard, B., Janda, M., Kaspari, M., Lessard, J. P., Longino, J. T., Majer, J. D., Menke, S. B., McGlynn, T. P., Parr, C. L., Philpott, S. M., Retana, J., Suarez, A. V., Vansconcelos, H. L., Yanoviak, S. P. and R. R. Dunn. 2010. Canopy and litter ant assemblages share similar climate species density relationship sBiol. Lett. published online before print May 12, 2010, doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0151
  • Pećarević M, Danoff-Burg J, Dunn RR, 2010 Biodiversity on Broadway Enigmatic Diversity of the Societies of Ants (Formicidae) on the Streets of New York City. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13222. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013222
  • Menke, SB, Guenard B, Sexton JO, Weiser MD, Dunn RR, Silverman J (2010). Urban areas may serve as habitat and corridors for dry-adapted, heat tolerant species; an example from ants. Urban Ecosystems.
  • Guenard, B and Dunn RR (2010) A new (old), invasive ant in the hardwood forests of Eastern North America and its potentially widespread impacts. PLoS ONE.
  • Menke SB, Booth W, Dunn RR, Schal C, Vargo EL, et al. (2010) Is it easy to be urban Convergent success in urban habitats among lineages of a widespread native ant. PLoS ONE 5(2): e9194. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009194


Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: There have been three primary kinds of outputs from this project--publications (below), public talks (more than 20 given in the lab this year), popular audience articles (below), and radio interviews. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audience, in addition to my scientific peers, is the general public who I reach through general audience writing, presentations and radio interviews. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Primary impacts.. My largest impacts have been through popularization of science, including one book, a dozen popular audience articles and more than twenty talks. These talks and writing collectively reached millions of people this year. My articles in National Geographic (1 published, 1 under contract) each on their own reach 3 million people. My book Every Living Thing was awarded the National Outdoor Book Award. In addition, my project has contributed to conservation planning through the increased integration of insects in to conservation planning both as a consequence of meetings (e.g., at Conservation International) and through publications with a broad reach (e.g., recent work on the extinction of parasites and mutualists and their consequences). I have done eight radio interviews this year, all with relatively broad coverage (two of them national). These interviews reach large audiences and help to inform those audiences about science, conservation and the discovery and richness of the living world.

Publications

  • R.R. Dunn, N.J. Sanders, B. Guenard and M.D. Weiser. 2009. Geographic gradients in the diversity, abundance, size, and ecological consequences of ants. Ant Ecology, L. Lach C. Parr and K. Abbot, editors (Invited). Oxford University Press.
  • Sanders NJ, Dunn RR, et al. 2009. A diversity of elevational diversity gradients. In Data mining for global trends in mountain biodiversity Edited by Korner C and Spehn E (Invited).
  • Dunn, RR (2009). If co-extinctions are common, why are so many species specialists In Holocene Extinctions. Edited by Samuel Turvey (Invited).Oxford University Press.
  • Dunn RR, Harris NC, Colwell RK, Koh LP, Sodhi, NS. 2009. The sixth mass (co)-extinction--are most endangered species parasites and mutualists. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.
  • Dunn, R.R., N.J. Sanders, S.B. Menke, M.D. Weiser, M.C. Fitzpatrick, E. Laurent, J.-P. Lessard, D. Agosti, A. Andersen, C. Bruhl, X. Cerda, A. Ellison, B. Fisher, H. Gibb, N. Gotelli, A. Gove, B. Guenard, M. Janda, M. Kaspari, J.T. Longino, J. Majer, T.P. McGlynn, S.B. Menke, C. Parr, S. Philpott, M. Pfeiffer, J. Retana, A. Suarez, H. Vasconcelos. 2009. Climatic Drivers of Hemispheric Asymmetry in Global Patterns of Ant Species Richness. Ecology Letters.
  • Lessard J-P, Dunn RR, Sanders NJ. 2009. Spatial variation in the abiotic environment mediates local interactions and shapes ground-dwelling ant assemblages. Insectes Sociaux 56(2): 149-156.
  • Lengyel S, Gove AD, Latimer AM, Majer JD & Dunn RR. 2009. Ants sow the seeds of global diversification in flowering plants. PloS ONE 4(5): e5480. Available online free at http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.00 05480
  • Gotelli, N + 15 authors including Dunn RR. 2009. Patterns and causes of species richness: a general simulation model for macroecology. Ecology Letters. 12 (9) 873-886.
  • Gove, AD, Fitzpatrick, MD, Majer, JD, Dunn RR. 2009. Dispersal traits linked to range size through range location, not dispersal ability, in Western Australian angiosperms. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 18(5): 596-606.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009. Stalking the Umwelt. Wilson Quarterly. Dunn, R. R. 2009. You are the Last Great Frontier. North Carolina State Magazine. Dunn, R. R. 2009. Why People are Rude. Smithsonian Magazine. Dunn, R. R. 2009. The (Undigested) Milk of the Land. Natural History. Dunn, R. R. 2009. Love is in the Air. National Geographic. Dunn, R. R. 2009. World Domination. Natural History. Dunn, R. R. 2009. The Rarest Habitat on Earth. Natural History. Dunn, R. R. 2009. A Clouded View of Evolution. Natural History. Dunn, R. R. 2009. Darwin and the Dodo. American Scientist. Dunn, R. R. 2009. The Super-collaborators. Natural History. Dunn, R. R. 2009, Wild Goose Chase. Smithsonian Magazine. Dunn, R. R. 2009, Why Fall Turns. Scientific American.


Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: My chief output this year (other than publications and grant success) has been in the development of a pair of long-term field projects for climate change research. These two field projects involve faculty from eight institutions and constitute, to my knowledge, the largest scale manipulation of temperature in a forest yet attempted. PARTICIPANTS: My existing network of collaborators includes tens of collaborators around the world. These new climate experiments add to that network, while levering in the context of the specific experiments. In the physical lab, participants include: Nyeema Harris-PhD student, Benoit Geunard-PhD Student Neil McCoy-Masters Student (recently completed his masters, now working as a technician) Judith Canner-PhD Student, Mike Weiser-Postdoc, Sean Menke-Postdoc, Dave Lubertazzi-Visiting science, Szabolcs Lengyel-Visiting Scientist, Gregor Yanega-visiting scientists, 4 undergraduate students, Aaron Gove-Former Postdoc (now at Curtin University) and Matt Fitzpatrick my former PhD student (now faculty at the University of Maryland). TARGET AUDIENCES: My broadest audience is reached through my popular writing. I now write for Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine, Natural History Magazine, BBC Wildlife Magazine and several others and in addition have published a book intended for popular audiences on biological discovery, Every Living Thing. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
During the last year our work has continued to focus on climate, while expanding from our initial focus on ants to think about invertebrates more generally, including disease vectors, parasites and pathogens. We are getting a much better understanding of the extent to which the ecological systems of the US in general and North Carolina in particular will be affected by climate-mediated changes in insect communities. Recent work in our lab suggests that ant abundance, for example, could increase fourfold in many habitats in the state by 2100. Our experiments will help us test the probability that these predictions will be born out and to better understand their consequences. Understanding how such factors interact and their relative importance is a first step in mitigating their effects. Below are listed my peer-reviewed publications published in the last year or newly in press. In addition, my popular book on biological discovery was recently published and I am now under contract for a new popular book on how changes in our relationship to nature affect our health and well-being.

Publications

  • Fitzpatrick MC*, Gove AD, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR. 2008. Climate change, plant migration, and range collapse in a global biodiversity hotspot: The Banksia (Proteaceae) of Western Australia. Global Change Biology 14: 1337-1352.
  • Dunn, RR, Gove, A, Barraclough, TG, Givnish, TJ, Majer, JD. 2008. Convergent evolution of an ant-plant mutualism across plant families, continents and time. Evolutionary Ecology Research.
  • Every Living Thing. Dunn, R.R. 2008. The story of humanity's unending quest to discover every living thing in our natural world-from the unimaginably small in the most inhospitable of places on earth to the unimaginably far away in ancient sea beds on Mars. Featured in the book are the stories of Anton Leuwenhoek, Carl Linnaeus, Terry Erwin, Dan Janzen, Carl Woese, Lynn Margulis and others. Published by Smithsonian/Harper Collins in January of 2009 (100,000 words). For reviews of the book see: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~rrdunn/Every%20Living%20Thing%20(Reviews).html
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009. The Rarest Habitat on Earth. Natural History.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009. A Clouded View of Evolution. Natural History.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009. Darwin and the Dodo. American Scientist.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009. The Supercollaborators. Natural History.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009. The Tide of Ants. Natural History.
  • R.R. Dunn, N.J. Sanders, B. Guenard and M.D.Weiser. 2009. Geographic gradients in the diversity,abundance, size, and ecological consequences of ants. Ant Ecology, L. Lach C. Parr and K. Abbot, editors (Invited). Gove, A.D., Dunn, R.R. and Majer, J.D. 2008 The importance of species range attributes and reserve configuration for the conservation of angiosperm diversity in Western Australia. Biodiversity and Conservation 17: 817-831
  • Sanders NJ, Dunn RR, et al. 2009. A diversity of elevational diversity gradients. In Data mining for global trends in mountain biodiversity Edited by Korner C and Spehn E (Invited).
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009 (or 2010), The Pollinated Life. National Geographic.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009, Wild Goose Chase. Smithsonian.
  • Zelikova TJ*, Dunn RR, Sanders NJ. 2008. Variation in seed dispersal by ants along an elevational gradient in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Acta Oecologica 34: 000-000.
  • Fitzpatrick MC*, Dunn RR, Sanders NJ. 2008. Datasets matter, but so do evolution and ecology: A response to Peterson and Nakazawa. Global Ecology and Biogeography 17: 562-565.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2009, Why Fall Turns. Scientific American.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2008, The Microbial Earth. Scientific American.
  • Dunn, R. R. 2008, Trouble with Diversity. Seed Magazine.


Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07

Outputs
OUTPUTS: My chief output this year (other than publications and grant success) has been in the form of developing global networks of researchers interested in understanding patterns of ant diversity. Our main global network, which I lead, now includes more than 25 researchers from 15 countries. This network will greatly facilitate the expansion of our understanding of the factors that govern the composition, diversity, and effects of ant communities at a global scale. PARTICIPANTS: My global collaborations include a network of tens of collaborators around the world. In the physical lab, participants include: Benoit Geunard-PhD Student Neil McCoy-Masters Student Judith Canner-Masters Student Matt Fitzpatrick-PhD Student Mike Weiser-Postdoc Sean Menke-Postdoc Dave Lubertazzi-Research Technician/Postdoc Szabolcs Lengyel-Visiting Scientist 4 undergraduate students Aaron Gove-Former Postdoc, still active in the lab Pajaro Morales-Adjunct in the Lab TARGET AUDIENCES: My broadest audience is reached through my popular writing. I now write for Scientific American and Natural History, both of which have ultimate readerships approaching 500,000 to a million.

Impacts
During the last year our work has become increasingly focused on understanding how climate change affects ant communities. Our work has shown that ant communities are disproportionately sensitive to changes in climate and hence useful indicators (canaries in the proverbial mine) for the impacts of climate change. Our new understanding of the relationship between ants and climate has led to two Department of Energy grants, both focused on further understanding this relationship. Ultimately, the impact of this new area of researchc in the lab will be the ability to weigh the relative importance of climate change and other factors (such as invasive species) for North Carolina and more generally. Understanding how such factors interact and their relative importance is a first step in mitigating their effects. Below are listed my peer-reviewed publications published in the last year or newly in press. In addition I have published twelve popular articles this year and have just finished a popular book on the biological unknown and biological discovery.

Publications

  • Sanders NJ, Crutsinger GM*, Dunn RR, Majer JD, Delabie JHC (2007) An ant mosaic revisited: dominant ant species disassemble arboreal ant communities but co-occur randomly. Biotropica 39: 422-427
  • Dunn RR, Parker C, Geraghty M**Sanders NJ (2007) Reproductive phenologies in a diverse temperature ant fauna. Ecological Entomology 32: 135-142
  • Dunn, R.R., Danoff-Burg, J (2007) Road size and Carrion Beetle Assemblages in a New York Forest. Journal of Insect Conservation. XX: XXX-XXX.
  • Fitzpatrick MC *, Weltzin JF, Sanders NJ, Dunn, RR (2007) The biogeography of prediction error: Why doesn't the introduced range of the fire ant predict its native range or vice versa? Global Ecology and Biogeography 16: 24-33
  • Dunn, RR, Gove, A, Barraclough, TG, Givnish, TJ, Majer, JD (2008) Convergent evolution of an antplant mutualism across plant families, continents and time. Evolutionary Ecology Research.
  • Lessard J-P, Dunn RR, Sanders NJ (2008) Rarity and diversity in ant assemblages in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Southeastern Naturalist (Invited).
  • Dunn, RR (invited). 2008 If co-extinctions are common, why are so many species specialists? (Book Chapter).
  • Dunn, RR, Sanders, NJ (invited). 2008 Ant communities along gradients. What we know and where we should go. (Book Chapter).
  • Sanders, NJ, Kaspari, M, Dunn, RR (invited). 2008 Diversity along elevational and latitudinal gradients. Are there general rules? Ecography.
  • PUBLISHED IN 2007
  • Gove, A, Majer, JD, Dunn, RR (2007) A keystone ant species promotes seed dispersal in a "diffuse" mutualism.
  • Dunn RR, et al. (22 co-authors) (2007) Global Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Biodiversity and Biogeography, A New Database and its Possibilities. Myrmecological News 11: 000-000.
  • Geraghty MJ**, Dunn, RR, Sanders NJ (2007) Bergmann's rule in ants: are patterns along latitudinal and elevational gradients congruent? Myrmecological News 11: 000-000.
  • Dunn RR, Parker C, Sanders NJ (2007) Null models and temporal patterns of diversity: assessing the biotic and abiotic controls on ant community structure. Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 91: 191-201
  • Sanders NJ, Lessard J-P**, Fitzpatrick, MC*, Dunn RR (2007) Temperature, but not productivity or geometry, predicts elevational diversity gradients in ants across spatial grains. Global Ecology and Biogeography doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01714.x


Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/06

Outputs
During the past year I have made good progress toward the goals of the project. I have applied for six grants for additional funding for the project. In addition to the grants funded and papers published (see below), I have realized several additional goals which facilitate further work. I have generated a global database of ant diversity and distribution that includes data for more than 4000 sites globally. This database, which I run, includes collaborators in 15 countries. I have established long-term field sites in North Carolina for the study of seed dispersal by ants and extinction dynamics. On those sites we have documented the presence of a new invasive ant species and I am beginning to understand the consequences of that species for patterns of diversity and distribution. More generally, I have made large strides in understanding patterns of distribution and diversity and the consequences of those patterns, particularly in the southeastern U.S.

Impacts
The greatest environmental impact for this year has been via the development of new climate models for plants in Western Australia and ants in the southwestern U.S. These models are being considered by policy makers (particularly in Western Australia) and will be critical for making conservation decisions. These models, which indicate many thousands of extinctions in Western Australia by 2080, have provided practical information about the areas most in need of current conservation. My greatest impact in basic science for the year is due to contributions to theory and general understanding of patterns of diversity and distribution. I have published more than ten papers on patterns of diversity and distribution this year, on organisms ranging from epiphytes to ants. Several of these papers suggest what may be important new areas for research. For example, the paper entitled "The Pigeon Paradox" suggests that because of global shifts of human populations to cities, future conservation initiatives may depend to a great extent on the interest of people living in cities in nature. This concept suggests new approaches to conservation and has already received a great deal of attention. Finally, through popular writing about the science associated with this project and more generally, I reach a much broader audience of concerned citizens than would be reached through scientific publications alone. This year I had popular publications in seven magazines which collectively reached more than a million readers.

Publications

  • Publications that are published or in press since September 2005 that were not in press or published one year ago (does not include the six publications currently in review)
  • Dunn, R.R., and J. Danoff-Burg. 2007. Road size effects on carrion beetle diversity and community structure. Journal of Insect Conservation. XX: XXX-XXX.
  • Dunn, R.R., C.R. Parker, M. Gerhaghty, and N.J. Sanders. 2006. Reproductive phenologies in a diverse temperate ant fauna. Ecological Entomology. XX: XXX-XXX.
  • Dunn, R.R., N. Sanders and C. McCain. 2006. When do empirical patterns of diversity differ from null models and why? Global Ecology and Biogeography. XX: XXX-XXX.
  • Cancela, M.C., R. R. Dunn, E. van Etten and B. Lamont. 2006. Long-distance dispersal of ant-dispersed seeds by Emus in Western Australia. Ecography. 29: 632-640.
  • Dunn, R. R., Gavin, M., Sanchez, M. and J. Solomon. 2006. The pigeon paradox or how the future of conservation depends on pests. Conservation Biology. XX-XXX.
  • Dunn, R.R., C.R. Parker and N. Sanders. 2006. Disentangling the roles of competition and the environment as drivers of phenological patterns of ant diversity. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. XX-XXX.
  • Matthew C. Fitzpatrick, M.C., Weltzin, J.F., Sanders, N.J. and R.R. Dunn. 2006. The biogeography of prediction error: Why does the introduced range of the fire ant over-predict its native range? Global Ecology and Biogeography. XX-XXX.
  • S. R. Turner, B. Pearce*, D. Rokich, R. R. Dunn, D. J. Merritt, K. W. Dixon and J. D.Majer. 2006. Broadcast seeding in post-mining restoration. Restoration Ecology, 14 (2) 267-277.
  • Dunn, R. R., Gove, A. & Majer, J. 2006. Seed dispersal mutualisms with ants and patterns of plant diversity in western Australia. (In: eds Vilela, E. F., Santos, I. A., Schoereder, J. H. Campos, L. A. O. & Serrao, J. E.). Fronteiras do conhecimento em Insetos Socais. Editora Universidade Federal de Vicosa, MG. 178 p. 2006.
  • McGlynn, T., R.R. Dunn, D.J. Salinas* and D. Clark. 2006. Soil nutrients predict rain forest litter faunal density. Biotropica. XX-XXX.
  • Kluge, J., Kessler, M., & Dunn, R. R. 2006. What drives elevational patterns of diversity? A test of geometric constraints, climate, and species pool effects for pteridophytes on an elevational gradient in Costa Rica. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 15: 358-371.
  • Dunn, R.R., R.K. Colwell, and C. Nilsson. 2006. The River Domain: Why are there so many species half way up the river? Ecography. 29 (2), 251-259
  • Dunn, R. R. December, 2006, Dig It! Natural History. Link.
  • Dunn, R. R. August, 2006, What Humans Can Learn from Social Insects. Seed Magazine. Link.
  • Dunn, R. R. In Press, 2007, The Edge of the Earth. Natural History.
  • Dunn, R. R. In Press, 2007, Guns and Butterflies. Wildlife Conservation.
  • Dunn, R. R. In Press, 2007, Backyard Scientist. National Wildlife.
  • Dunn, R. R. In Press, 2006, Primate Behavior. BBC Wildlife.
  • Dunn, R. R. In Press, 2006, In Defense of Roaches. BBC Wildlife.
  • Dunn, R.R. In Press, 2006 A Rats Nest in Eden . National Wildlife.