6 days to go ...

Resource ecology: the ecology of trophic interactions between consumers and their resources.

Spatial ecology: effects of space and scale on the dynamics of individual species and on the structure and dynamics of multiple species assemblages

Analysis of 13C/12C isotope ratios in soil samples from a forested hillside between Tulsa and Stillwaer are likely to reveal δ 13Cvalues of -26 per mil near the surface and δ 13C values closer to -14 per mil deeper in the soil. These values are negative because .... The most likely explanation for the change in values (less negative) with depth is ...

Recent models indicate organic N may be an important component of the N cycle as opposed to classical N cycling models that assume inorganic N is the sole source of N available to plants. Moxdzer et al. (2010) suggest that ...

Hawth's tool for Kernel Density Estimates and Minimum Convex Polygons ... ARC GIS 9.3 ... resource selection ...

Grassland bird populations are declining because of lack of appropriate habitat and the intrusion of cross fencing and shrubs onto rangelands...

Just a few of the things that are floating around in my brain today on my last Tuesday in America as I sit and try to motor through my final exam for Biogeochemistry and Global Ecology. 6 days of solid production of maps, final GIS analysis and working my way through my first scientific paper to be submitted through the summer. This semester was a 10/10 in comparison to last year in many ways. As sad as I am to leave America again, it is time to go home. I leave here with so much more knowledge of what I don't know and what I want to know, of being more skeptical than ever before, of reflecting solidly before I speak, of listening hard to all the information I am presented with, of lighting fires in my advanced prescribed burn class with John Weir. I leave here reluctantly because being in this world of rangeland science, fire ecology, in depth ecological research has become part of who I am. I know so much more about range management and ecosystem processes that I am eager to contribute back to the management of the land at home.

The journey here in America and with my PhD is almost hard to described. It's the biggest brain overload I've ever had in my life, it's being competitive with some of the most intelligent thinkers in North America and it's a lot about personal growth and development that I hope will contribute to science and management in the not so distant future!

I look forward to coming home to Canada and that just means that I will also look forward to my return for my last semester in America in the Fall of 2012... onwards!