BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//ZContent.net//ZapCalLib 1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:A Game of Thorns: How Plant Defense Shapes Predator-Prey Interactio
 ns in African Rangelands
LOCATION:Biology 136
TZID:America/Denver
DTSTART:20241022T160000
UID:2026-04-24-05-00-05@natsci.colostate.edu
DTSTAMP:20260424T050005
Description:Please join us for a seminar with University of Wyoming\\'s Pro
 fessor Jacob Goheen on Tuesday\, October 22nd at 4pm in Biology 136. Snack
 s and drinks will be provided.\nAbstract\nEcologists who work in savannas 
 and grasslands often adhere to a non-equilibrial worldview\, in which dist
 urbances (fire\, drought\, catastrophic herbivory) prevent community and e
 cosystem properties from reaching equilibria. Conversely\, many other ecol
 ogists view the world through a lens of trophic control\, in which tightly
  coupled consumer-resource interactions stabilize the local abundance\, di
 stribution\, and diversity of species. Our group has worked to understand 
 whether\, how\, and why trophic control operates in two savanna ecosystems
  in central Kenya. I will discuss some of my favorite findings from this b
 ody of research. First\, I will demonstrate that fear of predation protect
 s trees from a browsing ungulate\, thus triggering a trophic cascade throu
 gh which large carnivores make savanna tree communities less thorny. Next\
 , I will show that a plant defense—ant mutualists—creates virtual mono
 cultures of myrmecophytic trees. By killing these tiny bodyguards over vas
 t landscapes\, the recently introduced big-headed ant has transformed sava
 nna bushlands into more open landscapes\, thus reshaping interactions amon
 g lions\, plains zebra\, and buffalo. Although African savannas typically 
 are envisioned as textbook examples of non-equilibrial ecosystems\, trophi
 c control can interact with non-equilibrial dynamics to shape the abundanc
 e\, distribution\, and diversity of species within this widespread biome.\
 n\nFollow us on social media for more announcements from Biology.\n\n 	Ins
 tagram: @csubio\n 	Twitter/X: @csubiology\n 	Facebook: Department of Biolo
 gy at Colorado State University\n\nWe look forward to seeing you there!\n\
 n 4:00 pm
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR