Hastings will deliver his free public lecture, “Time: The Next Frontier in Ecology,” at 6 p.m. He will give a technical lecture, “Spatial Population Dynamics and Control of Spatial Populations,” at 4 p.m.
The same-day, consecutive lectures are hosted by HSU’s College of Natural Resources and Sciences. The lecture series takes its name and funding from Roland Lamberson, Professor of Mathematics at Humboldt State from 1980 to 2004. His contributions to date have totaled more than $50,000 toward building the lecture endowment.
In his public lecture, Hastings will discuss the importance of ecological time scales and their central role in developing predictions about the impact of global change. He will also explain the importance of time in framing practical issues, among them the management of renewable resources and the conservation and restoration of biodiversity.
“Ecological models and theory have typically focused on long-time behavior or short-term behavior, while ignoring the more ecologically-relevant intermediate time scales that play an essential part in dealing with ecological issues,” Hastings says.
In his technical talk at 4 p.m., Hastings will address two related issues in spatial ecology: the dynamics of spatial spread and the optimal control of the spread of invasive species.
Hastings is regarded as one of the most respected theoretical ecologists in the discipline today. His work integrates ecology and evolutionary biology, and he is the recipient of the Robert H. MacArthur Award, the highest honor accorded by the Ecological Society of America. Hastings is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Regarding the annual lecture series, Steven Smith, HSU’s Interim Dean of the College of Natural Resources and Sciences, said, “Professor Lamberson has made substantial contributions in the application of mathematics to ecology and natural resources and he continues his research. His generous private support allows us to showcase and attract renowned scholars to campus to share their research with our community of faculty, students and community members.”
For details, contact Professor Dugaw at (707) 826-4251 or Dugaw@humboldt.edu