Next-generation pesticide captures Ignite BC award

My studies are concerned with integrated management of wildlife resources within agricultural and forest environments. In particular, evaluation of biodiversity and sustainability in a landscape mosaic of agro-ecosystems and natural habitats is based on measurement of vegetation, small mammal communities, and habitat structure. A similar study is investigating these responses in intensively managed lodgepole pine ecosystems. The silvicultural practices of pre-commercial thinning and fertilization are a prominent part of my research program looking at growth of crop trees, vegetation, and overall habitat structure. Relative habitat use by wild ungulates and cattle and forage production are central to these studies. Management of rodent pests in agricultural and forest ecosystems is another major focus, with particular emphasis on natural control methods involving diversionary foods and predator semiochemicals. These research activities are conducted in the southern and central interior of B.C.

Research Projects

1. Long-term responses of ecosystem components to stand thinning in young lodgepole pine forest
2. Weasels, voles, and trees: Influence of mustelid semiochemicals on vole populations and feeding damage to tree seedlings
3. Influence of diversionary food on population dynamics of long-tailed voles (Microtus longicaudus) and feeding damage to tree seedlings
4. Influence of repeated fertilization on forest ecosystems in young lodgepole pine forest
5. Biodiversity in an agrarian landscape: Diversity of plants and mammals in natural and orchard habitats
6. Biodiversity in an agrarian landscape: Hedgerow habitats for montane voles and potential pest problems?
7. Stand structure and maintenance of biodiversity in green-tree retention stands at 30 years post-harvest: A vision into the futurediversity in green-tree retention stands at 30 years post-harvest: A vision into the future

APBI/FRST 444 Agroforestry

APBI 460 Managing Agroecosystems for Biodiversity

APBI 490 Topics in Agroecology and Conservation

FRST 399/546 Introduction to Research Methods

Refereed Publications

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, P.M.F. Lindgren, and D.B. Ransome. 2009. Stand structure and the abundance and diversity of plants and small mammals in natural and intensively managed forests. For. Ecol. Manage. (In press). (FSP)

Sullivan, T.P. and D.S. Sullivan. 2009. Dynamics of peripheral populations of the Great Basin pocket mouse (Perognathus parvus) and western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis) in the southern interior of British Columbia Can. Field-Naturalist. (In press). (AMRI)

Ransome, D.B., P.M.F. Lindgren, H. Armleder, M.J. Waterhouse, and T.P. Sullivan. 2009. Small mammal response to group selection silvicultural systems in Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir forests: 14 years post harvest. Can. J. For. Res. 39: 1698-1708. (FSP)

Sullivan, T.P., and D.S. Sullivan. 2009. Are linear habitats in agrarian landscapes source areas for beneficial or pest rodents? Agr. Eco. Environ. 129: 52-56. (AMRI)

Klenner, W. and T.P. Sullivan. 2009. Partial and clearcut harvesting of dry Douglas-fir forests: Implications for small mammal communities. For. Ecol. Manage. 257: 1078-1086. (FSP)

Clason, A.J., P.M.F. Lindgren, and T.P. Sullivan. 2008. Comparison of potential non-timber forest products in intensively managed young stands and natural/old-growth forests in south-central British Columbia. For. Ecol. Manage. 156: 1897-1909. (FSP)

Sullivan, T.P. and D.S. Sullivan. 2008. Vole-feeding damage and forest plantation protection: Large-scale application of diversionary food to reduce damage to newly planted trees. Crop Protection 27: 775-784. (FSP)

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, and P.M.F. Lindgren. 2008. Influence of variable retention harvests on forest ecosystems: Plant and mammal responses up to 8 years post-harvest. For. Ecol. Manage. 254: 239-254. (FSP)

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, P.M.F. Lindgren, and D.B. Ransome. 2007. Long-term responses of ecosystem components to stand thinning in young lodgepole pine forest: IV. Relative habitat use by mammalian herbivores. For. Ecol. Manage. 240: 32-41. (SFM)

Lindgren, P.M.F., T.P. Sullivan, D.S. Sullivan, R.P. Brockley, and R. Winter. 2007. Growth response of young lodgepole pine to thinning and repeated fertilization treatments: 10-year results. Forestry (In press). (FSP)

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, P.M.F. Lindgren, and D.B. Ransome. 2006. Influence of repeated fertilization on forest ecosystems: Relative abundance and habitat use by snowshoe hares. Can. J. For. Res. 36: 2080-2089. (FSP)

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, P.M.F. Lindgren, and D.B. Ransome. 2006. Influence of repeated fertilization on forest ecosystems: Relative habitat use by mule deer and moose. Can. J. For. Res. 36: 1395-1406. (FSP)

Sullivan, T.P. and D.S. Sullivan. 2006. Plant and small mammal diversity in orchard vs. non-crop habitats. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment 116: 235-243. (MON)

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, P.M.F. Lindgren, and D.B. Ransome. 2006. Long-term responses of ecosystem components to stand thinning in young lodgepole pine forest: III. Growth of crop trees and coniferous stand structure. For. Ecol. Manage. 228: 69-81. (SFM)

Craig, V.J., W. Klenner, M.C. Feller, and T.P. Sullivan. 2006. Relationships between deer mice and downed wood in managed forests of southern British Columbia. Can. J. For. Res. 36: 2189-2203. (NSERC)

Lindgren, P.M.F., D.B. Ransome, D.S. Sullivan, and T.P. Sullivan. 2006. Plant community attributes 12 to 14 years following pre-commercial thinning in a young lodgepole pine forest. Can. J. For. Res. 36: 48-61. (SFM)

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, and E.J. Hogue. 2005. Population dynamics of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and yellow-pine chipmunks (Tamias amoenus) in old field and orchard habitats. Can. Field-Nat. (In press, January 2005). (AGR CAN)

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, D.G. Reid, and M. C. Leung. 2004. Weasels, voles, and trees: Influence of mustelid semiochemicals on vole populations and feeding damage. Ecol. Applica. 14: 999-1015. (NSERC)

Ransome, D.B., P.M. F. Lindgren, D.S. Sullivan, and T.P. Sullivan. 2004. Long-term responses of ecosystem components to stand thinning in young lodgepole pine forest: I. Population dynamics of red squirrels and northern flying squirrels. For. Ecol. Manage. 202: 355-367. (SFM and FIA).

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, P.M.F. Lindgren, and D.B. Ransome. 2005. Long-term responses of ecosystem components to stand thinning in young lodgepole pine forest: II. Diversity and

population dynamics of forest floor small mammals. For. Ecol. Manage. 205:1-14. (SFM and FIA)

Lautenschlager, R.A. and T.P. Sullivan. 2004. Improving research into effects of forest herbicide use on biota in northern ecosystems. Wildl Soc. Bull. 32: 1061-1070. (AMRI)

Sullivan, T.P. and D.S. Sullivan. 2004. Influence of a granivorous diversionary food on population dynamics of montane voles (Microtus montanus), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), and western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis). Crop Protection 23:191-200. (NSERC)

Ransome, D.B. and T.P. Sullivan. 2004. Effects of food and den-site supplementation on populations of Glaucomys sabrinus and Tamiasciurus douglasii. J. Mammal. 85: 206-215. (NSERC/CFS)

Articles Submitted to Refereed Journals

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, P.M.F. Lindgren, and D.B. Ransome. 2009. Variable retention and life after the beetle: Stand structure and small mammals 30 years after salvage harvesting. Ecological Applications (Submitted).

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, P.M.F. Lindgren, and D.B. Ransome. 2009. Long-term responses of mammalian herbivores to stand thinning and fertilization in young lodgepole pine forest. Forestry (Submitted).

Sullivan, T.P., D.S. Sullivan, and P.M.F. Lindgren. 2009. Dry Douglas-fir forests: Stand structure, openings, and maintenance of biodiversity using small mammal indicators. Can. J. For. Res. (Submitted).

Stromgren, E. and T.P. Sullivan. 2009. Pitfall versus Longworth livetrapping of shrews. Journal of Wildlife Management (Submitted).

Contributions to practical applications of knowledge

Sullivan, T.P. 2009. Dry Forests and Grasslands. Stand Structures, Range Habitats, and Small Mammals as Indicators of Biodiversity. Extension Brochure.

Sullivan, T.P. 2009. Life After the Beetle: Salvage Harvesting of MPB Pine and Green-Tree Retention. A 30-year Vision into the Future. Extension Brochure.

Sullivan, T.P. 2009.Integration of Non-Timber Forest Products with Timber Production. Extension Brochure.

Sullivan, T.P. 2004. Biodiversity & Farmland. Diversity and Conservation of Plants and Mammals in

June 2013 brought the retirement of Associate Professor Brent Skura. Skura joined the Faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1975 after completing his PhD in Food Science at UBC. He earned his BSc and MSc in Food Science at the University of Alberta where he met his wife, Val, a Food Science Research Technician in our Food, Nutrition and Health building until her retirement last year. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1982.

Skura has taken on a number of leadership roles in our Faculty through the years, including Director of our Global Resources Systems program, a position he’s filled since 2003 and one that he will continue to occupy for the next year. He was also the Director of the Applied Biology program (formerly Agroecology) and has served as Associate Dean, Academic.

He extended his service across UBC, sitting on many cross-campus committees, including the UBC International Student Advisory Committee, the Campus Advisory Board on International Activities and the International Student Initiative Advisory Committee.

Skura’s research on modified atmosphere packaging of sliced fruit led to the issuance of a patent in the United States and Australia. The technology, developed by a research team composed of Brent, Dr. W.D. Powrie and Dr. C.H. Wu, received a great deal of worldwide interest. A production plant is in operation in Costa Rica where fresh, sliced pineapple is packaged under modified atmosphere for shipment and sale in Europe.

J. Honeybourn, 2013

Dr Victor (Vic) Runeckles was born in London, England, and studied botany and plant biochemistry at London University. He received a First Class Honours BSc in 1952, and the Diploma of the Imperial College of Science and Technology and a PhD from London University in 1955.

After work as a National Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellow at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, he joined the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada, where he rose to the position of Manager of Research and Development. During this period he also taught at Sir George Williams University in Montreal. In 1969 Dr Runeckles joined the Faculty as Professor and Head of the Department of Plant Science. He served as Head until 1988 when he stepped down to spend more time with his teaching and research. He retired from the Faculty in 1995.

An expert on the effects of air pollution on plant and crop growth, Dr Runeckles taught in introductory Agricultural Sciences courses as well as teaching courses on Methods of Plant Analysis, Chemical Control of Crop Growth, and Responses of Plants to Air Pollutants, and contributing to the plant physiology course jointly offered with the Departments of Botany (Faculty of Science) and Forest Sciences (Faculty of Forestry).

Although his biochemical interests have remained close to the surface throughout his career, his graduate years at Imperial College instilled an appreciation of the need to understand the functioning of the whole plant that leads to growth and productivity, not merely the detailed biochemistry of its components. This combination of interests ultimately led to research focused on the stress physiology of plants, the dynamics of plant growth, and the competitive interactions between plants. Along the way, his work at Queen’s University provided the first unequivocal proof that plants respire in the light, in addition to carrying out photosynthesis. At the close of his active research career at UBC, his work on the in situ detection of free radicals in intact leaves using electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry provided the first direct evidence of increased levels of the highly reactive superoxide free radical caused by exposures to ozone. Although much of his ‘academic’ research while at Imperial Tobacco involved the isolation and identification of several important phenolic constituents of tobacco and other crop species, it was there that he first became exposed to the injurious effects of air pollutants, particularly ozone, on plants. Field work with personnel from Agriculture Canada, the federal Meteorology Branch, and the Ontario Research Foundation led to the determination that ground -level ozone pollution in southern Ontario (similar to Los Angeles ‘smog’) was responsible for severe losses of tobacco and other crops. Research undertaken at UBC included the construction and evaluation of various field facilities for exposing crops to ozone or other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, leading to a major study with Agriculture Canada on the effects of ozone pollution on Fraser Valley crops. Early on in these studies, he proposed that, in order to establish cause-effect relationships between ozone and any adverse effects on plants, plant response had to be related to the flux or uptake into the foliage, and not simply to the ozone concentration in the surrounding air. The adoption of a flux-based approach to establishing air quality standards for ozone by the European Community has led to a major controversy with United States scientists who favour concentration-based standards.

In addition to serving on a number of prestigious national and international committees, Dr Runeckles was a member of University Senate and active in University affairs. He chaired both the Senate Curriculum Committee and the Senate Academic Building Needs Committee, chaired the President’s Advisory Committee that founded the Landscape Architecture Program and was Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Dekaban Foundation. This Foundation brings scholars each year from agricultural universities in Poland to study in the Faculty.

Dr Runeckles is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Honorary member of the BC Society of Landscape Architects. While at Imperial Tobacco, he was a prime mover in the founding of the Phenolics Group of North America (now the Phytochemical Society) and was its Secretary-Treasurer for many rears. For many years he was an Associate Editor of the journal “Atmospheric Environment.” He has held a number of other offices with national societies and serves as a consultant to governments (e.g., the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and departments and agencies of the British Columbia, Canada and the United States governments) and industry. In 1991, York University honoured him with the award of the first Morris Katz Memorial Lectureship in Environmental Research.

Dr and Mrs Runeckles reside in Nanaimo, BC.

R Blair and C R Nichols 2005