Assistant Professor
401-254-3890
MNS 243
Education:
Ph.D. in Ecology - Penn State University, 2006
Dissertation: Effects of urban habitat types and landscape patterns on ecological variables
at the aboveground–belowground interface. pdf
B.A. in Ecological Artistry - Hiram College, 2000
Courses Taught:
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BIO 104 - Biology II (Intro to Ecology and Evolution) - syllabus
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BIO 104L - Biology II Lab
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BIO/NATSC 385 - Soil Ecology with Lab - syllabus
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NATSC 203 - Humans, environmental change and sustainability - syllabus
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CORE 101 - Science, Technology and Society
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syllabus
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HUM 399 (aka SUST 101) - Introduction to Sustainability Studies - - syllabus
Research and Scholarship Interests:
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Soil ecology - arthropods, earthworms, C and N cycling
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Urban ecology - lawns, effects of landscape design and management on soils, biodiversity and ecosystem services, relationships among sociocultural variables (e.g., aesthetic preferences) and ecological variables
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Conservation biology - philosophical and educational dimensions of biodiversity conservation
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Relationships between art & science - scientific illustration, visual arts in science education
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Hands-on learner-centered pedagogical methods for ecology and general science
Publications:
Byrne, L.B., M.A. Bruns. 2004. The effects of lawn management on soil microarthropods. Journal of Agricultural and
Urban Entomology 21: 150-156. pdf
Bruns, M.A, L.B. Byrne. 2004. Scale model of a soil aggregate and associated organisms: A teaching tool for soil
ecology. Journal of Natural Resources and Life Science Education 33: 85-91. pdf
Byrne, L.B. 2005. Of looks, laws and lawns: How human aesthetic preferences influence landscape management,
public policies and urban ecosystems. In D. Laband, ed., Emerging Issues Along Urban-Rural Interfaces:
Linking Science and Society, pp. 42-46. Auburn University, Auburn, GA. pdf
Kim, K.C., L.B. Byrne. 2006. Biodiversity loss and the taxonomic bottleneck: Emerging biodiversity science.
Ecological Research 21: 794-810. pdf
Byrne, L.B. 2007. Habitat structure: a fundamental concept and framework for urban soil ecology.
Urban Ecosystems 10: 255-274. pdf
Baker, L., A. Brazel, L. Byrne, A. Felson, M. Grove, K. Hill, K.C. Nelson, J. Walker, V. Shandas. 2007. Effects of
human choices on characteristics of urban ecosystems. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America,
October: 404-409. pdf
Byrne, L.B., M.A. Bruns, K.C. Kim. 2008. Ecosystem properties of urban land covers at the aboveground-
belowground interface. Ecosystems 11: 1065-1077. pdf
Byrne, L. 2008. Issue introduction - Ecological landscaping: From scientific principles to public practices and
policies. Cities and the Environment 1(2): article 2, 3 pp. http://escholarship.bc.edu/cate/vol1/iss2/2/
Byrne, L.B., P. Grewal. 2008.Introduction to Ecological Landscaping: A holistic description and framework to guide
the study and management of urban landscape parcels. Cities and the Environment 1(2): article 3, 20 pp.
http://escholarship.bc.edu/cate/vol1/iss2/3/
Pavao-Zuckerman, M.A., L.B. Byrne. 2009. Scratching the surface and digging deeper: Exploring ecological
theories in urban soils. Urban Ecosystems 12: 9-20. pdf
Selected presentations:
2008. Creating ecological dynamics in the classroom through the use of learner-centered teaching activities.
Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. abstract Download presentation (ppt)
2007. Learning to see and drawing to learn: On the value of integrating art in ecological education. Annual meeting of
the Ecological Society of America. abstract
2006. The ecology of mowing and mulching: communities and ecosystem properties in urban habitats. With Mary Ann
Bruns and K.C. Kim. Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. abstract
2005. Carbon and nitrogen cycling in urban habitats. With Mary Ann Bruns and Ephraim Govere. Biannual meeting of
the Soil Ecology Society.
2005. The effects of landscape patchiness and heterogeneity on arthropod communities. With Mary Ann Bruns and
K.C. Kim. Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. abstract
2004. Biodiversity assessment and applied taxonomy: What for? With co-author K.C. Kim. Annual meeting of the
Entomological Society of America. abstract
2004. City collembolan, country collembolan: A tale of lawn and garden landscape ecology. Annual meeting of the
Ecological Society of America. abstract
2003. Ecology of the lawn: An interdisciplinary focus for ecological research and education. Pace University urban
ecology conference.
Co-organized meeting symposia:
2007. Effects of human choice on ecosystem properties. With co-organizers Larry Baker and Jason Walker. Annual
meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
2004. Applied taxonomy and biodiversity: Assessment of natural and agricultural ecosystems. With co-organizers
K.C. Kim and David J. Biddinger. Annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America.
2004. Digging deeper or scratching the surface? Exploring ecological theories in urban soils. With co-organizer Mitch
Pavao-Zuckerman. Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
Co-organized conference:
Ecological Landscaping: From Scientific Principles to Public Practices and Policies. October 28-31, 2007
See the special issue of Cities and the Environment with papers from this conference that I edited.
Last updated: April 22, 2009
