Remote Environments – envirobites

On the 26th August 2016, as storm clouds gather above the alpine plateau of Hardangervidda in southcentral Norway, a herd of wild tundra reindeer grouped together for protection. A split second later, in a moment of miserable luck, the herd fell to the ground dead, having been struck by a bolt of lightning. Norwegian ecologists took this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study how the mass die-off of 323 reindeer has since impacted the local ecology and food web.

Ecosystems Remote Environments

The Soil, Sand, and Sea: The Journey of Microplastics

August 28, 2020August 28, 2020 Lucila Bloemendaal 0 Comments Chemicals, marine pollution, microplastics, oceans, plastic, toxicology

As we approach the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development in 2021, it is time we face our unseen but ubiquitous problem: microplastics. What do we know about them, where can we find them, and what does the science say on its impacts on our hydrosphere and biosphere?

Animal behavior Remote Environments

Holding Your Breath: Surviving the Heart of Marine Darkness

April 30, 2020June 11, 2020 Lucila Bloemendaal 0 Comments deep-sea, fish, fish biology, ocean exploration, physiology

As you swim through a coral reef, you see parrot fish, clams and other colorful aquatic creatures swimming elegantly and going about their lives. While you, with your snorkel, are confined to the surface of the water and the occasional dive for as long and as deep as you can hold your breath, the fish “breathe” easily with their gills (or lungs in the cases of some evolutionarily interesting fish). But do they breathe that easily? Living in and getting oxygen from a high-pressure aquatic environment is difficult and metabolically demanding, and some fish have found special ways to make it easier.

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science Remote Environments

Bring on the (prescribed) fire!!!

April 29, 2020April 29, 2020 Luiza Aparecido 0 Comments

Prescribed burns should be applied not only to avoid uncontrolled wildfires, but also to maintain open vegetation types and their biodiversity as fundamental pieces of savannas and grasslands, threatened by fire suppression or modified fire regimes. (Modified from Durigan et al. (2020))

Ecosystems Remote Environments

Bugs from the deep: hyporheic stoneflies contribute much to their Ozark streams

March 16, 2020March 16, 2020 Garrett Frandson 0 Comments insects, Ozarks, secondary production, water

Buried beneath the streambed is another environment home to a population of bugs more important to their local streams than ever before thought!

Case Studies Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science Remote Environments Science through time Toxicology

Unleashing Pollutants: Environmental Fate of Antarctica In a Warmer World

February 7, 2020 Anita Masse 0 Comments Antarctica, Climate Change, Global Warming, Pollution

Antarctica has been a depository for pollutants for decades. The brutal cold has kept them dormant and unable to inflict harmful effects on nature. As temperatures rise and ice melts, what is the fate of these pollutants in this unique landscape?

Climate Ecosystems Environmental Science Remote Environments

Fire Refugia are Critical for Conserving Biodiversity

January 25, 2020 Andrew Barton 0 Comments

“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)

Ecosystems Remote Environments

The Sound of Silence: Consequences of Man-made Noise on Humpback Whale Songs

May 24, 2019March 19, 2020 Laura Schifman 0 Comments BSC4052, marine systems, noise, noise pollution, whales

Male humpback whales sing loudly and for long durations during breeding season. A hundred years ago their voices did not have to compete with much man-made noise. These days they contend with underwater drilling, sonar, and the noise of thousands of cargo and passenger ships. This affects how and when they sing. The consequences of these changes are still largely unknown.

Climate Remote Environments Science through time

Voyage to Iceberg Alley

April 1, 2019April 4, 2019 Marlo Garnsworthy 0 Comments Antarctica, Ice Sheets, Iceberg Alley, icebergs, Pine Island Glacier, sea level rise, Southern Ocean, Thwaites Glacier

A couple of days ago, right around sunrise, we sailed out of the Straits of Magellan and into the southern Atlantic Ocean, bound for the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic waters known as Iceberg Alley. Giant petrels soared against a clear blue sky, and gentle waves rocked the ship—although we didn’t expect that to last! I am aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a research vessel and drilling ship, and we are intentionally sailing into some of the planet’s wildest seas and the area of greatest iceberg concentration in the Antarctic.

Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health Remote Environments

Animal Depopulation Due to Armed Conflict Can Drastically Alter Ecosystems For Decades

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 Munim Deen 0 Comments Africa, Conflict, ecosystems, War

Armed conflict is one of the least-studied human activities that drastically affect the environment. A recent paper looks into the major changes in animal population patterns in Mozambique following decades of devastating war.

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