Manuel Flores' Qualifying Exam

Manuel Flores will stand for the Qualifying Examination for acceptance into candidacy for the Ph.D. degree on Wednesday, May 15 at 4:00 p.m. in the Marsh Hall classroom. All faculty are welcome and invited to attend. Copies of Manny’s dissertation prospectus and qualifying exam questions and answers can be obtained from the Doctoral Program Office (contact: elisabeth.barsa@yale.edu).
Committee members:
• Prof. Mark Ashton (Chair)
• Prof. Craig Brodersen
• Prof. Paulo Brando
• Prof. Douglas Daly (NYBG)
• Prof. Daniel Piotto (Federal Univ. Southern Bahia)

Please find below three questions. You should choose two to answer. Your answers to these questions along with your prospectus should be submitted back to the committee and Elisabeth on May 6th.

Please find below your three exam questions.

Q. 1. In a 2003 review, Fahrig highlighted that while habitat loss significantly affects biodiversity, habitat fragmentation's impact was less clear, largely due to the studies' inability to separate the effects of habitat amount from fragmentation. Reflect on recent research post-2003 and discuss: whether newer methodologies have allowed us to differentiate between the impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation; the current metrics and methods used to distinguish the effects of habitat amount versus fragmentation on biodiversity; and, the importance of differentiating between habitat amount and fragmentation effects on biodiversity for your own research.
Fahrig L. Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics. 2003 Nov;34(1):487-515.

Q. 2. How does the ontogenetic physiology and morphology of single species even-aged plantations compare with the development of an even-aged second growth forest - at the leaf level and within the vascular system over time.

Q. 3. Provide a comprehensive review of the literature on research focused on second growth forest development (e.g. biomass dynamics) and second growth persistence in the neotropics. In addition, compare and contrast differences and similarities in the successional development of second-growth in relation to climate, soil and land use history for the neotropics.

Please submit a copy of your doctoral prospectus titled "Assessing differences in edge effects across planted forest and pastureland on establishment of secondary forest in Brazil" at the same time as the submission of your two chosen exam answers.

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