Surprises - large, unexpected changes from apparently small causes -- are common in systems of people and nature. Are these surprises a consequence of the complexity or nonlinearity of natural-social systems? Or can they be explained by simpler processes? Our research addresses this question for systems composed of lakes, their shoreline (riparian) vegetation and land use, and social and economic organizations of lake users. We will study the self-organization of lake users and associated characteristics of shoreline and lake ecosystems. We will determine whether thresholds in riparian organization set the stage for an important class of surprises - collapses of economically important game fish stocks. We will test the possibility that nonlinear dynamics can be used to design manipulations that remove invading crayfish from a lake. If successful, our experiment will cause a self-sustaining removal of an invasive species - a path-breaking ecological restoration.
Proposal
Workshops
Biocomplexity Retreat 25-29 February, 2004
Coarse Woddy Habitat workshop 23-25 September 2003
Biocomplexity Retreat 21-23 February, 2003
Presentations
Ecological Economics, Bill Provencher
Cross-Lake Comparisons
Introduction: Cross-lake comparison, Tim Kratz
Understanding CWH dynamics in northern Wisconsin, Anna Sugden-Newbery
The environmental controls of macrophyte community structure, Mara Finkelstein
Effects of abiotic and biotic variables on fish communities, Pieter Johnson
Sparkling Lake Manipulation
Removal of the Rusty Crayfish from Sparkling Lake, WI, Katie Hein
Smelt Removal in Sparkling Lake, WI, Stacy Lischka
Sparkling Lake Biomanipulation, Brian Roth
Biocomplexity Retreat 1-3 march, 2002
Presentations
