What drives the adoption of adaptation strategies in marine fishing communities?
Malakar, K., T. Mishra, and A. Patwardhan. 2018. A framework to investigate drivers of adaptation decisions in marine fishing: Evidence
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Out to lunch or sticking with the worm diet? Food decisions of the Australian ibis
If you’ve been to a busy park during lunch hour, surely, you’ve noticed that many birds are on the prowl for some of your delicious lunch crumbs! Recently, urban ecologists have been interested in learning how much human food animals eat, and how it might affect them. Read on to learn more about how the Australian ibis decides whether to grab some human grub or stick to its natural diet.
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One man’s waste water is another man’s “accidental” wetland: How urban wetlands can revolutionize restoration
After the Salt River passes through the metropolitan area of Phoenix, AZ about 90% of the original water has been removed for human and agriculture use. Because of reduced water connectivity, similar to many urban streamside areas, plant and wildlife diversity in the Phoenix area have taken a big hit. “Accidental” wetlands forming along the river may be the money-saving restoration solution Phoenix, and hundreds of other cities, are looking for.
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Invader vs. Predator: Invasive species benefit from control of apex predators
Humans have laid claim to almost every habitable place on the globe, and in doing so, have brought with them many species causing introductions of foreign species to lands they would have otherwise never seen. “Invasive species” are an ecological hot topic these days. What is an invasive species? According to the NISIC (National Invasive Species Information Center) an invasive species is “non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause harm.” Many conservation groups, governments and activists have spent much time and money in efforts to get rid of these species and in order to control the effects they might have on their “native” counterparts. However, another group of animals has longer been threatened by man, the predator. The loss of predator species has not only led to changes in the way the regions they belonged to operate, but has also allowed for foreign species to flourish.
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What can we learn from the things in lakes?
We all know the saying right… An Ecosystem in Motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force (aka humans), but what happens after that force hits? How does the ecosystem in question react? Does it crumble and die or does it dust itself off and try again?
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Warding Against Wildfires: How Well Does it Work?
You would have to be living under a rock not to know about the wildfires that seem to almost constantly be devastating the forests in western states like Colorado and Arizona. It seems like every couple of years, there is another new huge fire ravaging this portion of the United States of America. But, why are these wildfires so common and what can we do to stop them?
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Climate change can make it harder to help your neighbors – increased insect damage in diverse forest stands during drought
if you’re a tree trying to avoid being eaten by insects, it matters who you’ve got next to you: is it your own species, or another one? Often you’re better off with another species as a neighbor, but a new study shows that climate change can turn this upside down.
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Volcanic eruptions as proxies to investigate rapid climate change
The catastrophic death and destruction brought by volcanic eruptions can help scientists better understand human evolution. A recently published study by Yost et al. conducted a multi-proxy effort to investigate the impact that the Toba super eruption had in eastern Africa ~74 thousand years ago.
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Killing the tree-killing bugs
Source: Barta, M. (2018). In planta bioassay on the effects of endophytic Beauveria strains against larvae of horse-chestnut leaf
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Salt marsh and mangroves are equally vulnerable to sea level rise
Mangroves have extended their range as a result of climate change and have established in areas that were previously salt marshes. Both mangrove stands and salt marshes act as buffers against coastal storms. Studies have suggested that mangroves and salt marshes have the ability to cope with global sea level rise by increasing local elevation through trapping soil and expanding their root structure. A recent study in the Mississippi River Delta reports that black mangroves and salt marsh plants have similar abilities to build sediment in coastal areas, but the rate of elevation increase is still lower than sea level rise. Therefore, both salt marsh and mangrove-dominated habitats of the Mississippi River Delta are at risk from sea level rise.
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