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Academic & Professional Books  Reference  Career and Professional Development

Becoming an Ecologist Career Pathways in Science

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By: John A Wiens(Author)
280 pages
Becoming an Ecologist
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  • Becoming an Ecologist ISBN: 9780231218054 Paperback Jan 2025 Out of stock with supplier: order now to get this when available
    £22.00
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  • Becoming an Ecologist ISBN: 9780231218047 Hardback no dustjacket Jan 2025 Out of stock with supplier: order now to get this when available
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About this book Contents Customer reviews Biography Related titles

About this book

What forces influence a person's decision to pursue a career in science? And what factors determine which among the many possible pathways a budding scientist chooses to follow?

John A. Wiens traces his journeys through several subfields of ecology --  and, in so doing, gives readers an inside look at how science actually works. He shares stories from his development as an ornithologist, community ecologist, landscape ecologist, and conservation scientist that convey the excitement of doing ecology. Recounting the serendipities, discoveries, and joys of this branching career, Wiens explores how an individual's background and interests, life's contingencies, the influences of key people, and the culture of a discipline can all shape a scientist's trajectory. Becoming an Ecologist illustrates why ecologists ask the questions they do, how they go about answering them, and what they do when the answers are not what they expected.

Bringing together personal narrative with practical guidance for aspiring ecologists, this book provides a window onto a dynamic scientific field – and inspiration for all readers interested in building a career by following their passion for the natural world.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Charting Pathways
1. In the Beginning: Emerging of Interests
2. Molding of Interests
3. Starting on the Pathway to Becoming a Scientist
4. Defining a Pathway
5. Beginning an Academic Career
6. Expanding My View of Grassland Birds
7. Extending the Pathway: The International Biological Program
8. Scrambling for an Explanation: Climatic Instability and Ecological Crunches
9. Detouring to Another Pathway: Modeling Bird Bioenergetics
10. Moving from Grasslands to the Arid Shrubsteppe
11. Challenging the Paradigm
12. Changing Places: Pathways and Practicalities
13. Testing the Paradigm: Are Australian Bird Communities Different?
14. Shifting Directions in the Shrubsteppe
15. Finding Things Out: Field Experiments in the Shrubsteppe
16. Becoming a Landscape Ecologist
17. Dealing with Scale
18. Following the Landscape Ecology Pathway
19. Traveling Along Pathways with Students
20. Pulled onto a Seabird Pathway
21. Dealing with Advocacy: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
22. Shifting Pathways to Conservation
23. Bolstering Conservation Science in the Nature Conservancy
24. Doing Conservation Science
25. Writing into Retirement
Conclusions: What Are the Lessons for Today's Aspiring Ecologists?

Appendix: Scientific Names of Species Mentioned in Text
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

John A. Wiens turned a childhood interest in birds into a career in ecology. He served on the faculties of Oregon State University, the University of New Mexico, and Colorado State University, where he is a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He then worked for the Nature Conservancy as chief scientist. His work emphasizes the ecology of birds, landscape ecology, and conservation.

New
By: John A Wiens(Author)
280 pages
Media reviews

"This book explores what it means to be an ecologist, showing that it is a lifelong venture that can entail many pathways. Providing examples from his own journey, Wiens conveys deep knowledge about how an ecologist's career can change over time, just as the field of ecology has developed over the years."
– Virginia H. Dale, research professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and corporate fellow emeritus, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

"In Becoming an Ecologist, Wiens offers insightful reflections on why he did, or did not, take certain pathways along his distinguished scientific career. His perspectives on past debates and current issues in ecology, as well as his roles in shaping the trajectories of several disciplines, are of special significance. Becoming an Ecologist is informative, important, interesting, and vivid. The suggestions and advice Wiens provides throughout the book will be helpful to the next generations of scientists in general and ecologists in particular."
– Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability, University Distinguished Professor, and director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Michigan State University

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