Ecological Perspectives in Sustainability

On March 31 and April 2, 2016, the 17th annual Ecological Integration Symposium at Texas A&M University will explore the ecological and social challenges we face toward achieving sustainability in a human-dominated landscape.

Through a day of plenary talks hosted by world renowned researchers, we will explore these themes from an interdisciplinary perspective.  During a symposium of student talks and poster presentations, we will showcase student research that integrates themes of ecology, evolutionary biology, conservation, and sustainability.

This year, we will be hosting a day of speaker presentations at Rudder Theater on March 31, and student presentations on the 4th floor of Rudder Tower on April 1.  Confirmed speakers include Dr. Jayne Belnap, research ecologist with the USGS; Dr. Ruth Defries, professor at Columbia University; Dr. Lisa Naughton-Treves, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Dr. Stuart Pimm, professor at Duke University; and Dr. Peter Vitousek, professor at Stanford University.  (See Web site links in the Speakers section below)

Continuing the tradition of EIS since its inception in 2000, we are a graduate student-run organization.  We are grateful to our sponsors for their support and to the faculty, students and public that have been supporting EIS throughout the years.  We look forward to hosting you this year.

Registration Forms

Registration will close on Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm.

• Student Presentation Registration  –  CLOSED
• Judge Registration – CLOSED
• Volunteer Registration — CLOSED

Speakers — Updates!  Videos added

• Jayne Belnap
  “Biocrusts as the critical zone in dryland ecosystems: what does the future hold?”   [Video]
• Ruth Defries
  “Humans, Nature and Ecology in an Urbanizing World”    [Video]
  
• Lisa Naughton-Treves
  Paying for Forest Conservation Where Land Ownership is Unclear – Lessons from Ecuador”    [Video]
  
• Stuart Pimm
  “What must we know about biodiversity to conserve it?”    [Video]
  
• Peter Vitousek
  “Pacific Islands as Model Systems for Human-Environment Interactions”    [Video]
  
• Speaker bios (single page)
• Speaker schedule with bios and abstracts [PDF]
• Entire 17th annual symposium [YouTube]

Schedule

• Plenary Talks (Thursday, March 31)
• Student Presentations (Friday, April 1)