MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release
June 28, 2006

ESA Announces Award Winners

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is proud to announce the following winners for ecological achievement. The awards will be presented at ESA's 91st Annual Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee. The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, 8 August at 2:40 PM in the Cook County Convention Center.

The session will include the Keynote Address, “ Upstarts and icons: pushing the boundaries in the new millennium,” presented by Simon Levin (Princeton University). For more information about the Annual Meeting, visit the ESA website at: www.esa.org/memphis.

Eminent Ecologist Award

Daniel Simberloff

Presented annually, the Eminent Ecologist Award recognizes a senior ecologist for sustained and distinguished contributions to the ecological and biological sciences. In 2006, the award will be presented to Dan Simberloff (University of Tennessee), an “ecological iconoclast” for the past 45 years. His contributions to the field of ecology encompass island biogeography, invasive species, core-satellite models, and community ecology.

Distinguished Service Citation

Margaret Palmer

Margaret Palmer (University of Maryland - College Park) will receive the 2006 Distinguished Service Citation. This award is given to recognize long and distinguished service to the Ecological Society of America, to the larger scientific community, and to the larger purpose of ecology in public welfare. Palmer has chaired or participated in numerous committees and programs, including chairing the Society's Ecological Visions Committee, which outlined the future of ESA. Her work includes projects for the National Science Foundation on Women and Scientific Literacy, the Science Advisory Board for the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, and service on several editorial boards.

Corporate Award

Straus Family Creamery

The 2006 recipient of the Corporate Award is the Straus Family Creamery of California, in recognition of the Creamery's devotion to sustainability and land stewardship. Founded by Bill Straus in 1941, the family has been active in the Marin Conservation League and the creation of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT). MALT enabled the preservation of working agricultural landscapes in an area under intense development pressures. The farm, under the second generation of Straus', converted to organic practices. It also has applied innovative technology in every aspect of dairy farming, including creating electricity from methane gas and manure, and switching a back-up generator from diesel fuel to running on vegetable oil, with more farm equipment in the process of being converted.

George Mercer Award

Anurag Agrawal

This year's recipient, Anurag Agrawal (Cornell University), is recognized for his 2004 paper, “Resistance and susceptibility of milkweed: competition, root herbivory, and plant genetic variation,” published in the journal Ecology. The study explored the complex interactions of herbivory, competition, and genotype, presenting a “holistic” study that will elevate the understanding of plant-herbivore interactions. The Mercer Award is given annually to a researcher under 40 for an outstanding ecological paper.

William S. Cooper Award

Stephen Hubbell

The William S Cooper Award is given by the Society in honor of one of the founders of modern plant ecology. The 2006 recipient is Stephen Hubbell (University of Georgia) for his 2001 book, The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography . For the past 35 years Hubbell has explored the central questions concerning diversity and the abundance of species in ecological communities. His book has reinvigorated the debate on plant diversity patterns and the factors influencing their distribution at local, regional and global scales.

Eugene P. Odum Education Award

Claudia Lewis

The Odum Education Award recognizes annually an ecologist for outstanding work in ecological education. Claudia Lewis, Director for Education for Pinellas County, Florida, is the 2006 recipient of the Odum Education Award. A multi-lingual conservationist, Claudia has innovated education, outreach, and development programs throughout Pinellas County. Among her many achievements in reaching out to diverse audiences are her powerful materials, workshops, and the formation of several education centers. Much of her work has focused on reaching out to non-traditional audiences, from teenagers in the juvenile justice system to entire neighborhoods, and a program aimed at realtors, providing them with ecosystems knowledge and tools to empower the new residents of Florida.

Honorary Member Award

Suzanne Milton, South Africa

Suzanne Milton (University of Stellenbosch, South Africa), will receive the 2006 Honorary Member Award. This award is given annually to a distinguished ecologist who has made exceptional contributions to ecology and whose principal residence and site of ecological research are outside North America. Milton is a widely-acknowledged leader in ecology and management of semi-arid ecosystems. Her work has focused on the conservation, sustainable utilization and rehabilitation of natural vegetation, especially in southern African environments.

Sustainability Science Award

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Team

The Sustainability Science Award is given to the authors of a scholarly work that makes the greatest contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences. The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) team will receive the 2006 Sustainability Science Award. Marking the first comprehensive analysis of recent trends in the world's ecosystems and the services they provide human society, over 200 people contributed to the book as authors. MEA Director Walter Reid will accept the award on the team's behalf.

Robert H. MacArthur Award

Alan Hastings

The Robert H. MacArthur Award, given every other year to an established ecologist in the middle of an extraordinary career, recognizes contributions in ecology and the expectations of continued outstanding ecological research. The 2006 MacArthur award will be presented to Alan Hastings (University of California - Davis). Publishing over 170 peer-reviewed papers on topics ranging from metapopulation theory to conservation biology, his research has launched new subfields. He is distinguished for the breadth, quality, and impact of his work, many of which have become classics.

Murray F. Buell Award

Sean Menke

The Murray F. Buell Award is given annually for the most outstanding paper presented by a student at the previous Annual Meeting. The winner of the 2005 Buell Award is Sean Menke for his paper, “Abiotic factors control invasion by ants at the community scale.”

E. Lucy Braun Award

Phoebe Zarnetske

The 2005 winner of the E. Lucy Braun Award is Phoebe Zarnetske for her poster “Modeling Forest Bird Species Habitat with Extant Presence Points and Generated Pseudo-Absence points in Utah. ” The Braun Award is given annually for the most outstanding poster presented by a student at the previous Annual Meeting.