LUBBOCK, Texas (NEWS RELEASE) — The following is a news release from Texas Tech University:
A Texas Tech University landscape ecologist recently took the helm of the world’s largest group of her peers.
Nancy McIntyre, a professor and associate chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, became president of the International Association for Landscape Ecology-North America (IALE-North America) on May 13 during a virtual version of the organization’s annual conference.
“I’ve been a landscape ecologist and member of this organization for more than 25 years,” said McIntyre, who also serves as curator of birds for the Natural Science Research Laboratory within the Museum of Texas Tech University. “I’ve attended every annual meeting, and the people of this organization are my professional family, so it is my honor to be elected president. Texas Tech now has representation on an international scale in this field, putting us on the map for prospective students.”
The presidency of IALE-North America carries a three-year term. Originally elected April 9, 2019, McIntyre served the past year as president-elect under the mentorship of the previous president. After finishing her year as president in spring 2021, she will spend the third year mentoring her successor.
“Landscape ecology examines the interrelationships between ecological patterns and processes, making this field of growing importance in our increasingly human-modified world,” McIntyre said. “The IALE-North America chapter represents people who conduct research on how the spatial arrangement of the environment affects responses ranging from extinction to human well-being; who can advise in putting science into practice, for example in land-use planning, design or conservation; and who train students in posing and answering research questions that address emerging ecological issues.”
McIntyre’s academic research examines how human activity affects the abundance, distribution and extinction risk of animals by altering the spatial distribution of resources in heterogeneous and dynamic landscapes. For more than 20 years, she has studied landscape change stemming from land conversion, primarily agriculture and urbanization. A particular area of interest is how land conversion disrupts animals’ habitat selection.
McIntyre also serves as associate director of the Texas Tech STEM Center for Outreach, Research & Education (STEM-CORE) and is a member of numerous professional societies. She serves on the executive committee for the Dragonfly Society of the Americas and the advisory board for the Friends of the High Plains Refuges Complex.
About the International Association for Landscape Ecology
The International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) promotes landscape ecology as the scientific basis for the analysis, planning and management of the landscapes across the world and advances international cooperation through scientific, scholarly, educational and communication activities. With chapters on every continent except Antarctica, IALE encourages landscape ecologists to transcend boundaries and disciplines, to collaboratively build theory and develop knowledge of landscape pattern and process, to develop integrative tools and apply them to real landscape situations and to apply science toward solving problems.
(News release from Texas Tech University)
