Remote Environments – envirobites

Many people may see plastic pollution as a local issue, but did you know that small pieces of plastic have made their way to super remote locations? Plastic pollution has been documented in Antarctica, one of the most remote locations on the planet, for decades. Now though, scientists are finding out that microplastics, which are harmful to marine life, are also making their way to Antarctica. Researchers documented similar levels of microplastics in Antarctica as other, less remote locations globally. While many come from marine industry, we can all help solve the problem by putting less plastic into the environment.

Ecosystems Environmental Science Remote Environments

Some Soil Microbes Don’t Mind Our Camping Trips

October 6, 2020October 6, 2020 Brianne Palmer 0 Comments Arizona, camping, desert, microbial ecology, soil microbes

Have you ever thought about the microorganisms living under your tent while you’re camping? It may seem like setting up the tent and trampling all over the campsite may harm the organisms that live in the soil but new study in the Arizona savanna turns that idea on its head. Read on to learn about camping resistant plants, microbes, and resiliency of this awesome ecosystem.

Animal behavior Ecosystems Environmental Science Remote Environments

Fear the dead: Animal carcasses attract life and death for the wider food web

September 14, 2020September 14, 2020 Andrew Abraham 0 Comments

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.

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