Author
Peter B. McIntyre
Other affiliations: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wright State University, University of Arizona ...read more
Bio: Peter B. McIntyre is an academic researcher from Cornell University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Ecosystem. The author has an hindex of 44, co-authored 142 publications receiving 12959 citations. Previous affiliations of Peter B. McIntyre include University of Wisconsin-Madison & Wright State University.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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City College of New York1, University of Michigan2, University of Wisconsin-Madison3, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology4, University of Hong Kong5, University of New Hampshire6, Griffith University7, Southern Cross University8, University of Washington9, University of Western Australia10
TL;DR: The first worldwide synthesis to jointly consider human and biodiversity perspectives on water security using a spatial framework that quantifies multiple stressors and accounts for downstream impacts is presented.
Abstract: Protecting the world’s freshwater resources requires diagnosing threats over a broad range of scales, from global to local. Here we present the first worldwide synthesis to jointly consider human and biodiversity perspectives on water security using a spatial framework that quantifies multiple stressors and accounts for downstream impacts. We find that nearly 80% of the world’s population is exposed to high levels of threat to water security. Massive investment in water technology enables rich nations to offset high stressor levels without remedying their underlying causes, whereas less wealthy nations remain vulnerable. A similar lack of precautionary investment jeopardizes biodiversity, with habitats associated with 65% of continental discharge classified as moderately to highly threatened. The cumulative threat framework offers a tool for prioritizing policy and management responses to this crisis, and underscores the necessity of limiting threats at their source instead of through costly remediation of symptoms in order to assure global water security for both humans and freshwater biodiversity.
5,401 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the full present address for author P. B. McIntyre was inadvertently missing from the bottom of the page and the correct present address is: Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Abstract: Nature 467, 555–561 (2010) In this Article, the full present address for author P. B. McIntyre was inadvertently missing from the bottom of the page. The correct present address is: Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA. This has been corrected in the online PDF.
1,074 citations
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TL;DR: To achieve true sustainability, assessments of new projects must go beyond local impacts by accounting for synergies with existing dams, as well as land cover changes and likely climatic shifts, and call for more sophisticated and holistic hydropower planning.
Abstract: The world's most biodiverse river basins—the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong—are experiencing an unprecedented boom in construction of hydropower dams. These projects address important energy needs, but advocates often overestimate economic benefits and underestimate far-reaching effects on biodiversity and critically important fisheries. Powerful new analytical tools and high-resolution environmental data can clarify trade-offs between engineering and environmental goals and can enable governments and funding institutions to compare alternative sites for dam building. Current site-specific assessment protocols largely ignore cumulative impacts on hydrology and ecosystem services as ever more dams are constructed within a watershed ( 1 ). To achieve true sustainability, assessments of new projects must go beyond local impacts by accounting for synergies with existing dams, as well as land cover changes and likely climatic shifts ( 2 , 3 ). We call for more sophisticated and holistic hydropower planning, including validation of technologies intended to mitigate environmental impacts. Should anything less be required when tampering with the world's great river ecosystems?
1,067 citations
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TL;DR: Understanding how biodiversity affects functioning of complex ecosystems will benefit from integrating theory and experiments with simulations and network-based approaches, and a richer variety of diversity-functioning relationships than the monotonic changes predicted for single trophic levels are predicted.
Abstract: Understanding how biodiversity affects functioning of ecosystems requires integrating diversity within trophic levels (horizontal diversity) and across trophic levels (vertical diversity, including food chain length and omnivory). We review theoretical and experimental progress toward this goal. Generally, experiments show that biomass and resource use increase similarly with horizontal diversity of either producers or consumers. Among prey, higher diversity often increases resistance to predation, due to increased probability of including inedible species and reduced efficiency of specialist predators confronted with diverse prey. Among predators, changing diversity can cascade to affect plant biomass, but the strength and sign of this effect depend on the degree of omnivory and prey behaviour. Horizontal and vertical diversity also interact: adding a trophic level can qualitatively change diversity effects at adjacent levels. Multitrophic interactions produce a richer variety of diversity-functioning relationships than the monotonic changes predicted for single trophic levels. This complexity depends on the degree of consumer dietary generalism, trade-offs between competitive ability and resistance to predation, intraguild predation and openness to migration. Although complementarity and selection effects occur in both animals and plants, few studies have conclusively documented the mechanisms mediating diversity effects. Understanding how biodiversity affects functioning of complex ecosystems will benefit from integrating theory and experiments with simulations and network-based approaches.
848 citations
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Illinois State University1, York University2, California University of Pennsylvania3, Washington State University4, United States Geological Survey5, Norwegian Institute for Air Research6, University of Wisconsin-Madison7, Uppsala University8, University of Konstanz9, University at Albany, SUNY10, Leibniz Association11, University of Waikato12, University of Helsinki13, University of Minnesota14, Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests15, Colorado State University16, University of Adelaide17, Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland18, University of Innsbruck19, University of Florida20, Cornell University21, International Institute for Sustainable Development22, California Institute of Technology23, Irkutsk State University24, Estonian University of Life Sciences25, Ritsumeikan University26, Finnish Environment Institute27, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory28, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology29, University of California, Santa Barbara30, University of Hamburg31, Russian Academy of Sciences32, Royal Museum for Central Africa33, National Research Council34, Ontario Ministry of the Environment35, University of New Hampshire36, University of Washington37, University of California, Davis38, Melikşah University39, University of Vienna40, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research41, University of Eastern Finland42, Seqwater43, Miami University44, Chinese Academy of Sciences45
TL;DR: In the first worldwide synthesis of in situ and satellite-derived lake data, this paper found that lake summer surface water temperatures rose rapidly (global mean = 0.34°C decade−1) between 1985 and 2009.
Abstract: In this first worldwide synthesis of in situ and satellite-derived lake data, we find that lake summer surface water temperatures rose rapidly (global mean = 0.34°C decade−1) between 1985 and 2009. Our analyses show that surface water warming rates are dependent on combinations of climate and local characteristics, rather than just lake location, leading to the counterintuitive result that regional consistency in lake warming is the exception, rather than the rule. The most rapidly warming lakes are widely geographically distributed, and their warming is associated with interactions among different climatic factors—from seasonally ice-covered lakes in areas where temperature and solar radiation are increasing while cloud cover is diminishing (0.72°C decade−1) to ice-free lakes experiencing increases in air temperature and solar radiation (0.53°C decade−1). The pervasive and rapid warming observed here signals the urgent need to incorporate climate impacts into vulnerability assessments and adaptation efforts for lakes.
822 citations
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TL;DR: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols used xiii 1.
Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201
14,171 citations
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TL;DR: It is suggested that the natural selection against large insertion/deletion is so weak that a large amount of variation is maintained in a population.
11,521 citations
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Australian National University1, Stockholm Resilience Centre2, University of Copenhagen3, McGill University4, Stellenbosch University5, University of Wisconsin-Madison6, Wageningen University and Research Centre7, Stockholm University8, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences9, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research10, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation11, International Livestock Research Institute12, University College London13, Stockholm Environment Institute14, The Energy and Resources Institute15, University of California, San Diego16, Royal Institute of Technology17
TL;DR: An updated and extended analysis of the planetary boundary (PB) framework and identifies levels of anthropogenic perturbations below which the risk of destabilization of the Earth system (ES) is likely to remain low—a “safe operating space” for global societal development.
Abstract: The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity based on the intrinsic biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth system. Here, we revise and update the planetary boundary framework, with a focus on the underpinning biophysical science, based on targeted input from expert research communities and on more general scientific advances over the past 5 years. Several of the boundaries now have a two-tier approach, reflecting the importance of cross-scale interactions and the regional-level heterogeneity of the processes that underpin the boundaries. Two core boundaries—climate change and biosphere integrity—have been identified, each of which has the potential on its own to drive the Earth system into a new state should they be substantially and persistently transgressed.
7,169 citations
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University of Michigan1, College of William & Mary2, McGill University3, Western Washington University4, Arizona State University5, Imperial College London6, University of Minnesota7, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences8, Stanford University9, Centre national de la recherche scientifique10, United States Geological Survey11, University of British Columbia12, Columbia University13
TL;DR: It is argued that human actions are dismantling the Earth’s ecosystems, eliminating genes, species and biological traits at an alarming rate, and the question of how such loss of biological diversity will alter the functioning of ecosystems and their ability to provide society with the goods and services needed to prosper is asked.
Abstract: The most unique feature of Earth is the existence of life, and the most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity. Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world's nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth's ecosystems, eliminating genes, species and biological traits at an alarming rate. This observation led to the question of how such loss of biological diversity will alter the functioning of ecosystems and their ability to provide society with the goods and services needed to prosper.
5,244 citations