Athens, Ga. – Jianguo Liu, who received his doctorate in ecology from the University of Georgia in 1992 and is now director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability at Michigan State University, will present a seminar on his new book Sources, Sinks and Sustainability on Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. in the Odum School of Ecology auditorium.
The seminar will be followed by a book signing and reception honoring Liu and former UGA ecology director H. Ronald Pulliam, whose influential 1988 paper “Sources, sinks, and population regulation” inspired Liu’s book. Liu, who studied under Pulliam, now holds the Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability and is a University Distinguished Professor at MSU.
Sources, Sinks and Sustainability, published by Cambridge University Press, is an anthology of essays from more than 50 leading researchers from around the world. It explores the profound-and still growing-impacts of Pulliam’s paper on the field of ecology and beyond. Researchers in disciplines as diverse as microbiology, economics, public health, law and international relations have found Pulliam’s source-sink model relevant to their work, as have natural resource managers and conservation organizations.
Liu’s book grew out of a successful symposium he organized on the occasion of Pulliam’s retirement from UGA. Held at the 2008 annual meeting of the U.S. Regional Association of the International Association of Landscape Ecology, the symposium featured speakers-including a number of Pulliam’s former students and postdoctoral associates-who presented papers on research and applied science inspired by Pulliam’s 1988 paper.
At the time of his retirement, Pulliam was a Regents Professor in Ecology. Among many other accomplishments, he served as president of the Ecological Society of America, director of the National Biological Service and, from 1996 to 1997, science adviser to the Secretary of the Interior. He has more than 70 publications-including papers, articles and books-to his credit.
The seminar and reception are free and open to the public.
