The 14th Annual Fall Ecology Symposium will feature guest speaker David Tilman of the University of Minnesota, an expert in biodiversity and a resounding voice in the food-versus-fuel debate.  Tilman is a world-renowned ecologist, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and one of the most highly cited authors in the field of environmental science.

The first of two lectures, titled “Solving the Food vs Fuel vs Environment Dilemma”, will address the current debate surrounding the use of biomass, such as grasses, corn, soybeans, as a renewable fuel source.  Tilman has researched and written extensively on this topic for avenues from the Washington Post to the journal Nature.  His lecture will focus on his assertion that grassland ecosystems, rather than corn grain ethanol or soybean biodiesel, can be utilized as a sustainable, environmentally friendly, low-carbon fuel source.

His second lecture, “Competition, Speciation and Invasion: The Universal Competitive Tradeoff Hypothesis of Biodiversity” will cover his research endeavors to uncover the links between biodiversity, the number of species, and the function of an ecosystem.

More info is available online at http://www.nelson.wisc.edu/events/event.php?id=1109