INTRODUCTION
The joint U.S.-Mexico Workshop on International, Long-term Ecology and Biodiversity Research was designed to bring together leading biologists from the U.S. and Mexico with mutual research interests from a variety of subdisciplines. The primary objectives of the workshop were to establish new collaborations between researchers from the U.S. and Mexico and to open new directions for international research. Participants shared mutual research interests which involve questions that must be addressed on a bro ad geographic scale and which involve a wide range of habitat types. Participants from the U.S. had experience with long-term multidisciplinary research projects and most are associated with NSF sponsored Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites. Participants from Mexico represented a wide diversity of research sites in Mexico and had expertise across many disciplines which typically were long-term in duration. Associations developed through the workshop are helping to promote the development of collaborative, long-term research pro jects that will span research sites in the U.S. and Mexico and which will extend LTER research into Mexico.
The workshop consisted of two meetings. The first of the two meetings was held in Puerto Vallarta, and at the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve in Jalisco, Mexico from 4 through 8 January 1997. The second meeting was held 1-5 April 1997 at the Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research Site at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. The workshop was hosted by Drs. Gerardo Ceballos ( gceballos@miranda.ec ologia.unam.mx ), Jennifer K. Frey (jkfrey@unm.edu), and Terry L. Yates (tyates@sevilleta.unm.edu), all of whom may be cont acted for additional information.
MEETING I AGENDA
Arrival Hotel Fiesta Americana in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
18:00 Opening no-host social
Dinner
Gerardo Ceballos: Welcome/Introduction
Terry Yates: Welcome/Introduction
Rudolfo Dirzo: "Tropical research with potential to long-term research"
Guy Cameron: "Implications of habitat quality and fragmentation for conservation planning"
Debra Coffin: "Cross-site studies of grassland dynamics using experiments and simulation models"
Gerardo Ceballos: "Long-term patterns of population and community ecology of small mammals in tropical deciduous forests"
John Vande Castle: "New technologies in ILTER"
Rudolf Nottrott: "Approaches to facilitating global scientific collaboration: establishing regional and thematic ILTER information servers on the internet"
Lunch
Jennifer Frey: "Implications of short- and long-term climate change on the ecology and evolution of mammals"
Manual Maass: "Long-term ecosystem research in a tropical deciduous forest"
Scott Gardner: "Using parasites as probes for biological diversity"
Armando Equihua: "Ecological research at a pine forest station in central Mexico"
David Lightfoot: "Regional studies of small mammal disturbance to natural vegetation, community studies of arthropods, and climate change in Chihuahuan Desert"
Dinner
Breakfast
Robert Parmenter: "Long-term ecological research at the Sevilleta National wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico"
James Gosz: "International long term ecological research: priorities, opportunities and implications for interactions with Mexico"
General discussion: Long-term ecological research
Lunch
Travel to Chamela
Check into motel
Travel to Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve station
Andrea Garcia: "Long-term research in herpetile communities"
Rodrigo Medellin: "Ecology and conservation in the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas"
David Lightfoot for Laura Huenneke: "Desertification and biodiversity changes in Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems"
Robert Waide: "Long-term ecological research in the wet tropics"
Terry Yates: "Climate changes and rodents: developing a predictive model for emerging infections"
Dinner
Breakfast
Travel to Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve Station
Discussion of date for Meeting II at Sevilleta LTER site
Discussion of the Establishment of LTER sites in Mexico
Discussion of Mexico LTER mission statement
Discussion of type of Mexico LTER network
Discussion of criteria for LTER site selection
Lunch
Discussion of possible collaborative research projects with entire group
Discussion of specific collaborative research projects in subgroups
Travel to Estacin de Biolog¨a Chamela
Tour of the Chamela Watershed Project led by Manual Maass
Dinner
Breakfast
Travel to stacin de Biolog¨a Chamela
Felipe Noguera: "The Chamela Biological Station" with tour of field station
Travel to Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve
Tour of Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve
Dinner
Breakfast: Summary discussion and concluding remarks
Travel to Puerto Vallarta
Departure
MEETING II AGENDA
Arrival Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
18:00 Social and bar-b-que
Breakfast
Terry Yates: Greeting
Jim Gosz: "LTER/ILTER: the future"
Overview of agenda and introduction of participants
Rodrigo Medellin: "CONACyT"
Break
Christine French: "NSF"
Miguel Equihua: "Regional system of trust funds in Mexico"
Craig Black: "US-Mexico Foundation for Science and Technology"
Bob Parmenter: "Sevilleta LTER"
Dinner
Tour Sevilleta LTER
Dinner at Val Verde Steakhouse
Breakfast
Depart for Jornada LTER site
Lunch
Tour Jornada LTER site
Depart for Sevilleta
Dinner
Breakfast
Gerardo Ceballos: "Discussion of network of long-term ecological research sites in Mexico"
Break
Subgroup discussions (Mexican LTER Proposal and Research Proposal)
Lunch
Marco Lazcano: "Reserva Ecologica El Eden"
Miguel Equihua: "Institute of Ecology"
Lucina Hernandez: "Mapimi Biosphere Reserve"
Andres Garcia: "Seasonality and the amphibian and reptile community at Chemela"
Break
Subgroup discussions continued
Dinner
Breakfast
GIS computer demonstration
Lunch
Subgroup proposal development
Breakfast
Group meeting: Mexican LTER logistics
Lunch
Subgroup proposal development
Pre-dinner social
Dinner
Closing fiesta
Breakfast
Departure
I. Mexican Long-term Ecological Research network (MLTER)
A) MISSION
2. Create a legacy of well designed and documented experiments and observations for future generations of society.
B) NETWORK TYPE
2. National: Comparisons within and across biomes.
3. International: Comparison within and across biomes in different geographical areas.
4. Representation of major biomes in Mexico with some replicated sites.
C) CORE AREAS
2. Patterns and control of water, carbon and nutrient dynamics in ecosystems
3. The role of biodiversity in the structure and functioning of ecosystem
4. Patterns and frequency of ecosystem disturbance
5. Effect of climate change on the structure and functioning of ecosystems
6. Interactions at the interface level between managed and natural ecosystems
7. Defining criteria for ecosystem management and conservation
D) IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY (background and monitoring topic areas)
2. soil characteristics
3. input/output fluxes
4. diversity per unit area
5. abundance of key populations
6. primary productivity
7. land use
E) CONCEPTUAL AND TECHNICAL TOOLS
2. data base management
3. geographic information systems
4. modelling
5. plot, watershed, landscape
6. equipment
7. reference and voucher collections
F) CRITERIA FOR SITE SELECTION:
2. Commitment to sharing of the resulting data and its long-term management.
3. Participation of a Higher Level Institution, and evidence of its commitment
4. Institutional longevity or security of site for the future.
5. Adequate infrastructure and logistics
6. Existing knowledge base (availability of long-term databases)
G) NETWORKING STRUCTURE AND OPERATION
2. Executive Committee: managment of MLTER network, will consist of representatives from each sites
3. Advisory Board: assist Executive Committee in setting policy, will consist of representatives of CONACYT, CONABIO, CONAP, SEMARNAP, INEGI, U.S. LTER network, and other agencies and ecologists.
4. Network Coordinator: will establish and organize communication and technical support among sites as well as promoting the MLTER and finding additional support.
5. Site Coordinators: selected by site to maintain communication with network and among site scientists.
6. Headquarters: a central office to provide services to all sites; network coordinator will be responsible and supervise a Secretary and a Central Data Manager.
II. Reciprocal effects of human and natural ecosystems on water resources in Mexico and the United States
The relationship between global-scale climate patterns and regional climate patterns remains unclear. However, the ability to predict variation in local weather patterns and concomitant ecological effects over regional scales would greatly improve our a bility to mitigate these effects. The effects of global phenomena on local weather is often manifested through changes in the quantity, timing, or duration of precipitation. Variation in precipitation patterns can have significant impacts on plant produ ctivity and phenology, which may be transmitted up the food chain to herbivore, carnivore and parasite populations. These population fluctuations may negatively impact the services that natural ecosystems provide to humans, including the provision of dri nking water, protection of soil, and control of parasites and disease organisms. Under extreme climatic fluctuations, reductions in biodiversity may lead to the permanent loss of these ecosystem services. The increasing demand for water by humans exacer bates these effects.
We propose to evaluate the effect of fluctuating water availability on local ecosystems over a broad range of conditions on both sides of the U.S-Mexico border. The goal of the proposed study is to provide information that will facilitate the wise manag ement of water resources in order to preserve adequate supplies for humans while maintaining services provided to humans by natural ecosystems. In order to achieve this goal, we intend to conduct a series of measurements and experiments on representative ecosystems from southern Mexico through the southwestern U.S. The results of these experiments will improve our ability to predict local effects of global weather patterns, including timing of droughts, pest outbreaks, and epidemics of human and livesto ck diseases.
The research will be conducted at four sites in Mexico and three sites in the southwestern U.S. Investigations will be conducted by a bi-national group of scientists representing major research institutions in the U.S. and Mexico. We will investigate t he influence of variation of precipitation patterns on primary productivity, habitat quality, plant and animal communities, biodiversity, and pathogens. The common theme uniting individual projects is the overriding importance of the availability of wate r for both human and natural ecosystems.
Craig Black
US/Mexico foundation for Science and Technology and
Department of Biology
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-1091
tigger@swap.com
Guy Cameron
Department of Biology
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204
Cameron@uh.edu
Gerardo Ceballos
Estacion de Biologia Chamela
Instituto de Ecologia
UNAM
Apdo. Postal 70-275
Mexico, D.F.
gceballos@miranda.ecologia.unam.mx
Debra Coffin
Natural Resource Ecology Lab
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
Deb@nrel.colostate.edu
Rudolfo Dirzo
Los Tuxlas Reserve, Veracruz
Instituto de Ecologia
UNAM
Ap. Post. 70-275
Mexico 04510 D.F.
urania@miranda.ecologia.unam.mx
Armando Equihua Martinez
Instituto de Fitosanidad
Colegio de Postgraduados
Montecillo, Edo. de Mexico 56230
equihuaa@colpos.colpos.mx
Miguel Equihua-Zamora
Instituto de Ecologia, A.C.
km 2.5 Antigua Carretera a Coatepec
Apartado Postal 63
Xalapa, Veracruz 91000
equihuam@sun.ieco.conacyt.mx
Christine French
US LTER Network Office/National Science Foundation
Department of Biology
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
cfrench@sevilleta.unm.edu
Jennifer K. Frey
Department of Biology
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
jkfrey@unm.edu
Andres Garcia Aguayo
Reserva de la Biospera Chamela-Cuixmala
Fundacion Ecologica de Cuixmala
Apdo postal 161 San Patricio
Melaque 48980
Jalisco, Mexico
Scott Lyell Gardner
Division of Parasitology
W-529 Nebraska Hall
University of Nebraska State Museum
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68588-0514
slg@unl.edu
James Gosz
US LTER Network Office
Department of Biology
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
jgosz@sevilleta,unm.edu
Lucina Hernandez
Instituto de Ecologia, A.C.
Centro Regional durango
Departamento de Fauna Silvestre
Km. 5 Carretera Mazatlan
Apartado Postal 263
Durango, Durango 34100
lucina@omanet.com.edu
Laura F. Huenneke
Department of Biology
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003
lhuennek@nmsu.edu
Marco A. Lazcano-Barrero
Reserva Ecologica El Eden, A.C.
Apartado Postal 308
Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500
mlazcano@cancun.rce.com.mx
Department of Biology
Instituto de Ecologia - Morelia
maass@servidor.unam.mx
Selva Lacondona Reserve, Chiapas
medellin@miranda.ecologia.unam.mx
Estacion de Biologia Chamela
US LTER Network Office
rnott@lternet.edu
Department of Biology
Parmentr@sevilleta.unm.edu
US LTER Network Office
JVC@lternet.edu
Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies
R_Waide@upr1.upr.clu.edu
Department of Biology tyates@sevilleta.unm.edu
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131
dlightfo@sevilleta.unm.edu
Manuel Maass
UNAM
Ap. postal 22-H
Morelia, Michoacan 58090
Mexico
Rodrigo Medellin
Instituto de Ecologia
UNAM
Ap. Post. 70-275
Mexico 04510, D.F.
Felipe A. Noguera
Instituto de Biologia
UNAM
Ap. Post. 21
San Patricio, Jalisco
Mexico 48980
Rudolf Nottrott
University of Washington
Box 352100
Seattle, Washington
Robert R. Parmenter
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
John Vande Castle
University of Washington
Box 352100
Seattle, Washington
Bob Waide
P.O. Box 363682
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936
Terry L. Yates
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131 USA
This page was created by Jennifer K. Frey (jkfrey@unm.edu), and Luis A. Ruedas (lruedas@sevilleta.unm.edu) and is maintained by John Vande Castle (jvc@lternet.edu)