environmental science research for everyone
“Fire refugia are landscape elements that remain unburned or minimally affected by fire, thereby supporting postfire ecosystem function, biodiversity, and resilience to disturbances.” (Meddens et al. 2018)
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The Nassau grouper has long been critically endangered due to overfishing throughout its Caribbean range. The Cayman Islands government instituted a comprehensive program to boost Nassau grouper numbers, and partnered with scientists and conservation organizations in a project to monitor the grouper population. Over the fifteen year program, the fish population has increased. The program and project provide successful models for marine conservation partnerships.
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Pandas and whales grab a lot of our conservation attention (and funds), but what about the finelined pocketbook? This daintily named species, along with other freshwater mussels, is in deep trouble. Scientists worked together to identify research priorities for their conservation.
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Experiencing nature has been linked to many mental health benefits, and now we know it can even lighten the mood on Twitter. Researchers have found that visits to urban greenspaces result in happier, less negative, and less self-absorbed tweets.
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Want to fly without the carbon guilt? Offsetting programs let you pay to plant trees to take that carbon from the air, and researchers are studying how social factors and global policies might influence these environmentally-minded behaviors.
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Bird feeding is a popular activity enjoyed around the globe. However, we don’t really understand how bird feeding can impact the behavior of birds. A new study from China took on this question by studying black-headed gulls. Read on to find out how food provisionings affected the behaviors of these birds
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Most of the plastic in the ocean is not readily identifiable. Rather it’s in the form of small, microscopic particles that are released when plastic and synthetic fibers break off and break down from their original use items, such as laundry, straws, and… teabags! A group of researchers from McGill University have found that billions of microplastics are released when steeping tea from synthetic fiber tea bags.
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Have you ever wondered what happens to your biodegradable coffee cup once you toss it into the compost bin?
A team of scientists were, so they did some investigating. Their discovery: composting biodegradable food containers results in elevated levels of potentially dangerous chemical compounds.
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Pollution is dangerous, both to humans and the ecosystems we care about. But researchers in Poland have studied the sources and dynamic movement of pollutants in rivers, and may have found potential in cucumbers to help improve the system.
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There’s more to these leaves than their soft and fuzzy side–the fine hairs trap drifting pollen grains, which the plant can use to bait arthropods to stop by for a snack of pollen and stick around to munch on pests that harm the plant.
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