Jessica Espinosa

Friday, March 31, 2023

How Air Pollution Regulation Can Affect Bird Populations

September 12, 2021September 16, 2022 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments birds, ozone, policy, Pollution

Although we have strong evidence that air pollution poses significant health risks to humans, how air pollutants affect plants and animals is not well studied. Birds are especially susceptible to air pollution because they have a unique way of breathing and interacting with air. Therefore, a group of scientists conducted a study on how air pollution affects North American birds and how air quality regulations, which were initially created to benefit humans, can also benefit these bird species.

Animal behavior Ecosystems Environmental Science

A Day in the Life of a Parasite: Using Parasites to Describe Fish Movement

June 19, 2021September 16, 2022 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments indonesia, movement, Parasites, tuna

When you think of parasites, your first thoughts probably aren’t “helpful” or “useful.” However, parasites aren’t just something we try to get rid of; they can be studied and used in all kinds of applications, including conservation. Check out this article to learn more about how scientists are using parasites to track species movements around the world.

Environmental Science Science through time

Melanism in Monarchs: The Use and Importance of Museum Collections in Scientific Research

March 11, 2021September 16, 2022 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments butterflies, collections, melanism

Original Paper: Echevarría Ramos, M. and C.M. Hulshof. 2019. Using digitized museum collections to understand the effects of habitat on

Environmental Science

The Issues of Using Militarization to Mitigate Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade

January 13, 2021September 16, 2022 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments Conservation, endangered species, illegal trade, militarization, mitigation, poaching

Original Paper: Duffy, R., Massé, F., Smidt, E., Marijnen, E., Büscher, B., Verweijen, J., Ramutsindela, M., Simlai, T., Joanny, L.

Animal behavior Cities Climate Environmental Science

Space Invaders? Exotic Bees in the Urban Landscape

August 13, 2020August 13, 2020 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments bees, invasive species, urbanization

One up and coming target for bee conservation has been the urban landscape, as some recent findings have indicated that cities can maintain diverse bee communities. Though on the surface these findings seem promising for bee conservation, many of these studies do not actually address whether this is a positive thing for native bees. One group of scientists decided to delve further into this topic by looking at the effects of urbanization on bee species. Specifically, they wanted to find out whether exotic bees, including the European honeybee, were found more abundantly in cities and other urban areas than in rural communities and how their presence affected native bees.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

As Oceans Change, HABs Invade

April 13, 2020 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments algal bloom, Climate Change, Ecology, environmental science, HABs, Ocean, phytoplankton

Global ocean temperatures are currently rising and have been for decades. Scientists are working to discover how this changing climate affects species around the world, from the very large to the very small. This includes phytoplankton, the microscopic marine algae that live in most bodies of water around the globe and produce half the world’s oxygen. But some of these species are toxic, and can cause harm to human and wildlife alike if they are able to grow out of control. Though a number of studies have been undertaken to try and understand more about these harmful algal blooms, much is still unknown about their growth. A group of scientists were interested in how changing ocean temperatures affected the geographic ranges of harmful algal blooms over time in order to better predict blooms in the future.

Ecosystems Environmental Science

Spotting the Shy Guy – Why Collaboration With Local Indigenous People Can Be An Asset to Conservation Management

February 26, 2020 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments amphibians, behavior, conservation biology, ecosystems, indigenous communities, invasive species

A recent Australian study highlights the importance of including local and indigenous people in conservation research. While examining mitigation of lizard population declines, scientists stumbled upon a surprising finding about how researchers’ cultural differences can affect fieldwork and experimental outcomes.

Ecosystems Environmental Science

A Grizzly Situation: Saving Bears by Mitigating Conflict

October 25, 2019 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments conflict mitigation, Conservation, grizzly bear, Human dimensions, humans and wildlife

Many people become fearful at the mention of “bear country.” But is the risk of being hurt by a bear, or even seeing a bear, on your trip really that high? The answer is no: many campers and hikers don’t even know they have passed close to a bear during their time outdoors because bears largely try to avoid humans. When bears do come close to people, it is usually due to conflicts over food and space. Humans often retaliate against bears in these situations, which can ultimately threaten the survival of bear populations. In an effort to save these bears, a team of scientists came up with a program to mitigate human-bear conflicts and create spaces where both humans and bears can coexist.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science

Can We Save Our Corals? Using Investment Planning to Conserve Coral Reefs

June 19, 2019June 20, 2019 Jessica Espinosa 0 Comments bleaching, Climate Change, Conservation, coral, investment, Modern Portfolio Theory, Paris agreement, reef

By now, most of us have heard the news that climate change is threatening our oceans. Rising carbon dioxide levels due to increasing greenhouse gas emissions into the earth’s atmosphere are warming our oceans and causing a multitude of other adverse effects on our planet. In particular, these changing environmental conditions are wreaking havoc on the world’s coral reefs. Meanwhile, conservationists around the world have been working to mitigate coral reef degradation, with little overall success. However, a recent study describes a new approach taken from investment theory that could shed a hopeful light on coral conservation efforts.

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