New discipline of aeroecology introduced

In the history of science and technology, an infrequent combination of empirical discoveries, theories and technology developments converge that make it possible to recognize a new discipline. Past examples include marine biology, biomechanics and astrobiology with more recent developments of nanotechnology and bioinformatics -- all disciplines that are now well established in the lexicon of modern science and technology.

Aeroecology is one such emerging discipline, notes Thomas H. Kunz, Boston University Professor of Biology and Director of the Center of Ecology and Conservation Biology and the lead author of "Aeroecology: probing and modeling the aerosphere," a research report in Integrative and Comparative Biology, based on a symposium sponsored by the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in January 2008.

Kunz, who is best known for his extensive research on bats, will explain how aeroecology embraces and integrates the domains of atmospheric science, earth science, geography, ecology, computer science, computational biology, and engineering.

The unifying concept that underlies aeroecology is its focus on the planetary boundary layer of Earth's atmosphere, or aerosphere, that supports the myriad airborne organisms that, in large part, depend upon this fluid environment for their existence. Organisms that use the aerosphere, specifically arthropods, birds and bats, are also influenced by an increasing number of anthropogenic or man-made conditions and structures, notably lighted towns and cities, air pollution, skyscrapers, aircraft, radio and television towers, plus a recent proliferation of communication towers and wind turbines that dot Earth's landscape.

In addition, human-altered landscapes increasing are characterized by deforestation, intensive agriculture, urbanization, and assorted industrial activities that are rapidly and irreversibly transforming the quantity and quality of available terrestrial and aquatic habitats that airborne organisms rely upon. These conditions are known to influence navigational cues, sources of food, water, nesting and roosting habitats -- factors that can in turn alter the structure and function of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the assemblages of organisms therein.

Kunz adds, "Climate change and its expected increase in global temperatures, altered circulation of air masses, and effects on local and regional weather patterns are expected to have profound impacts on the foraging and migratory behavior of insects, birds and bats."

"In contrast to organisms that depend strictly on terrestrial or aquatic existence, those that routinely use the aerosphere are almost immediately influenced by changing atmospheric conditions (e.g. winds, air density, precipitation, air temperature) sunlight, polarized light, moonlight and geomagnetic and gravitational forces… as Kunz notes.

Ecologists who study animals that use the aerosphere face three important challenges:

1) To discover best methods for detecting the presence, taxonomic identity, diversity, and activity of organisms that use this aerial environment,

2) To identify ways to integrate relevant environmental variables at different temporal and spatial scales, and

3) To determine how best to understand and interpret behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary responses of organisms in the context of complex meteorological conditions and patterns within both natural and anthropogenically-altered environments.

"Appropriate integration of diverse tools and concepts for probing into the lives of organisms aloft can help inform important ecological and evolutionary concepts and management decisions associated with the spread of invasive species, emergence of infectious diseases, altered biodiversity, and the sustainability of terrestrial, aquatic, and aerospheric environments," states Kunz.