White, Woolly, and Worrisome: Detecting the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid with eDNA
Original article: Kirtane, A., Dietschler, N.J., Bittner, T.D., Lefebvre, M.B., Celis, S., O’Connor, K., Havill, N. and Whitmore, M.C., 2022.
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Environmental Science
Citizen-Scientists Share Sky-High Shark Scenes
Drone footage of wildlife promotes collaboration between researchers and hobbyists
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“Remembering” Past Climates May Help Trees Survive in a Changing World
Tree growth rate can depend on both past and present environmental conditions. With increasingly frequent and intense droughts, the importance of this environmental “memory” for growth may be changing in two-needle piñon trees.
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What’s Right with Lights at Night?
The varying effects of artificial light on the mating success of different firefly species
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Striving to Be Everywhere, All the Time: How Citizen Science Can Help Environmental Research
The world is pretty big. Sometimes, even when scientists breakdown and reduce their study area, they don’t have the resources to collect enough samples to be able to reliably interpret the results of their studies. Here is where citizen science comes in. Citizen science is when the general public becomes voluntarily involved in scientific processes, helping researchers collect data and reporting on what they see. But, how efficient and accurate is this new resource we’re only recently applying? And, how can you get involved?
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How Many Ways Can You Count Wolves?
Although radio-collaring is often used to monitor wolf populations, scientists are turning their attention towards methods that do not require live-capture of animals. What are some of these options, and how do they stack up against radio-collaring?
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Parasitic Plants Can (Sometimes) Help Competing Plants Coexist
Did you know that plants can be parasites of other plants? It’s true, and these parasitic plants might help maintain biodiversity!
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Wimpy or Willful Wasps? The Effect of Heat on a Parasitoid’s Survival
Article: Moore, M.E., Hill, C.A. and Kingsolver, J.G., 2022. Developmental timing of extreme temperature events (heat waves) disrupts host–parasitoid interactions. Ecology
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“Where Did the Turtles Go?”: How One Case Study Brings Perspective On How Endangered Species Populations Are Studied
Recent study highlights the unique difficulties involved in estimating the state of endangered species populations.
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A Tale of Two Fungi: Wheat Rust and Its Parasite
Wheat is crucial to the global food supply. However, pathogenic fungi, such as rusts, can destroy wheat crops by depleting nutrients. In order to reduce damage caused by rusts, biological control measures are under investigation. Here, we see evidence that another fungus can actually prey on the rust fungus, reducing the rust’s ability to cause disease in wheat.
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