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. download pdf here
B.A. in Ecological Artistry
- Hiram College, 2000
Courses Taught:
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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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BIO 430 - Urban Ecosystems
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NATSC 203 - Humans, env. change and sustainability syllabus
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CORE 101 - Science: Discoveries in Context
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syllabus
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SUST 101 - Introduction to Sust. Studies - syllabus
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SUST 401 - Working toward Sustainability
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.B. 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
Recent Presentations:
2011. Working toward Sustainability: A capstone course about environmental citizenship and effective communication. Annual Meeting of the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
2011. What does it mean to be environmentally literate? With Meg Lowman and Teresa Mourad. Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. abstract
2010. "This I believe": Pedagogical approaches for exploring environmental worldviews and controversies in ecology classrooms. Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. abstract
2009. Ecosystem services in urban soils: What do they do and what do we want them to do? Biannual meeting of the Soil Ecology Society.
2009. Introduction to ecological landscaping: An overview of issues and a conceptual framework. Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. abstract
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
Co-organized meeting symposia or sessions:
2011. Teaching workshop: How does soil ecology fit within environmental literacy and citizenship? Biannual meeting of the Soil Ecology Society.
2009. Urban soil ecology and ecosystem services. Biannual meeting of the Soil Ecology Society.
2009. Your big backyard ecosystem: Lawns and gardens as foci for understanding urban ecology and sustainability. With co-organizer Chris Martin. Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
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.
Board of Trustee memberships:
Save Bristol Harbor
Audubon Society of Rhode Island
Last updated: October 18, 2011
