Service: Develop and implement rigorous experimental treatments to test
hypotheses concerning ecology and to evaluate management alternatives for
conservation. Conduct experiments with quantitative and qualitative outcomes that can help provide answers to resource questions.
The Science: Modern science is founded in keen observation of natural
phenomena coupled with testing of hypotheses using sound experimental design.
An experiment tests the effect of one or more treatments, in which a single factor
is varied and compared with a control. Ecological experiments are challenging
because of the complexity and the large spatial and temporal domains of natural
systems.
Our Contribution: We combine observational studies with experiments that test
effects of environmental variables. We also make use of “natural experiments”,
wherein we identify locations in nature where key differences in conditions can
serve as experimental treatments.
Representative Projects: We regularly work with the Presidio Trust of San Francisco in order to help them determine the efficacy of various restoration treatments.
More Information:
• Wikipedia Design of Experiments article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_of_experiments
Creekside Science 