The Secret Life of Seeds--Sybille Haeussler

Movers and shakers in natural resources management typically focus on big, top-down drivers of ecological change: climate, wildfires, clearcutting, charismatic megafauna. But complex systems science teaches that we must also pay attention to small things, like seeds, that may actually rule (or save) the world. As a field ecologist drawn to details, Sybille has had the luxury of spending a 50-year career closely observing Nature, with a surprising amount of time actually studying seeds. She highlights some nuggets uncovered along the way, before delving into local results from a 10-year, 3-phase international research project that is studying seed predation to reveal mechanisms underlying important geographic patterns in ecology and evolution. Sybille Haeussler is a retired forest ecologist and Smithers community-based research scientist. She has a BSF in Forest Biology (UBC 1980), MSc in forest Ecology (OSU 1987) and PhD in sciences de l’environnement (UQAM 2004). Her published research addresses the maintenance & restoration of biodiversity, resilience & complexity in terrestrial ecosystems with emphases on improving forest practices and restoring endangered ecosystems. Currently, Sybille focuses on volunteering and mentoring as a BVRC Associate Researcher and as a naturalist-educator with the BV Naturalists. Her priority is long-term monitoring of plant, animal and fungal interactions in local forests and mountains. Sybille was a founding Director of the BVRC, and served as Chair and President for many years.