Research Omnium-Gatherum

om·​ni·​um-gath·​er·​um | \ ˌäm-nē-əm-ˈga-t͟hə-rəm

: a miscellaneous collection

While the cold settles in outside, the research heats up inside at NIMBioS where a steady stream of short-term visits began this fall. Here are some of the research highlights.

NIMBioS has more than a decade of success in providing the kind of environment and support for scientific collaboration that produces results. We support visits of up to one week for groups of one to six people working on projects that conform to the NIMBioS mission to foster interdisciplinary collaborations, research and education at the interface of the quantitative and life sciences. Visits must be concluded by August 2020. Apply online today!

The NIMBioS Working Group on Remotely Sensing Biodiversity has published a book, Remote Sensing of Plant Biodiversity (Springer, 2019). The Open Access volume aims to methodologically improve our understanding of biodiversity by linking disciplines that incorporate remote sensing and by uniting data and perspectives in the fields of biology, landscape ecology, and geography. The book provides a framework for how biodiversity can be detected and evaluated—focusing particularly on plants—using proximal and remotely sensed hyperspectral data and other tools such as LiDAR.

In a paper published in The American Naturalist, the NIMBioS Working Group on Plant-Soil Feedback Theory investigates the implications for plant competition and succession with pathogens and mutualists as joint drivers of host species coexistence and turnover. Former NIMBioS postdoctoral fellow Jiang Jiang was lead author.

We were honored to host Distinguished Professor Simon Levin at NIMBioS in November. A 2016 recipient of the US National Medal of Science, Levin directs the Center for BioComplexity at Princeton University where he is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution. Levin uses mathematical modeling and empirical research to understand macroscopic patterns of ecosystems and biodiversity. Levin participated in a visiting research group and gave a seminar, which you can view in full here.

A team of undergraduate researchers from the NIMBioS 2019 Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) program received a best poster award this month at the 15th annual Regional Mathematics and Statistics Conference at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Abby Williams, a junior in mathematics at Salem College, presented the poster and in this blog post explains the value of the NIMBioS REU. Applications will be open soon for the 2020 REU program. Click here for more information about REU 2020.

NIMBioS events are free but applications are required. In some cases, support is available for travel, meals and lodging. Check the event web page for full details.

Cavender-Bares J, Gamon J, Townsend JP (eds.) 2019. Remote Sensing of Plant Biodiversity. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-33157-3 [from NIMBioS Working Group on Remotely Sensing Biodiversity]

Farrior CE. 2019. Theory predicts plants grow roots to compete with only their closest neighbours. Proc. R. Soc. B [from NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellowship]

Jiang J et al. 2019. Pathogens and mutualists as joint drivers of host species coexistence and turnover: Implications for plant competition and succession. The American Naturalist. [from NIMBioS Working Group on Plant-Soil Feedback Theory]

Kawano S. 2019. Selection gradients. In Oxford Bibliographies in Evolutionary Biology. Futuyma D (Ed). New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming. [from NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellowship]

Norberg et al. 2019. A comprehensive evaluation of predictive performance of 33 species distribution models at species and community levels. Ecological Monographs. [from NIMBioS Working Group on Biotic Interactions]

Results produced from NIMBioS research activities are important in measuring our success. Please report your publications and other products resulting from NIMBioS activities. Learn how to acknowledge NIMBioS. For the complete list of NIMBioS products, click here .