The Clock is TICKing – Tick attachment may increase under climate change

Ticks are risk-takers facing a daily dilemma: stay near the damp soil or climb the grass to find a host. Choosing one means losing access to the other. Ticks use weather conditions to inform whether to climb or stay put, but climate change may alter their behavior. Life or death for the tick has huge implications for human and animal health since ticks can transfer diseases with their bite. Click the tick to find out how hotter, more humid days will affect tick behavior.

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Giving Them a Fighting Chance: How To Save Insects from Climate Change

Insects, as small as they are, are even more important than you may think. Sadly, climate change and warming are slowly depleting insect populations as our urban spaces grow and the use of pesticides in rural areas increases. Actions like planting native plants and decreasing the concentration of concrete-sealed spaces could help create a world where insects are more resilient to the changing environment.

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SCUBA Diving and Climate Change: How Dive Computers Can Be Used To Better Understand Changing Ocean Temperatures

Dive computers are devices used to measure the elapsed time and depth during underwater diving in order to prevent accidents from rising through the water too quickly. Modern-day dive computers record water temperatures and GPS coordinates, and some even send out text messages—this is why citizen scientists with dive computers are being contacted to contribute to the larger pool of climate information. These devices could be used to more accurately study changes in ocean temperature. In the end, divers are the ones in the water day in and day out, so why not use their experience as a resource of information to fight climate change?

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Resetting the Internal Clock: Adaptable Butterflies’ Response to Climate Warming

As the climate warms, habitats near the poles are becoming increasingly hospitable for many plants, animals, and insects. But it remains uncertain whether species’ range expansions might eventually be hindered by differences in daylength at higher latitudes. Wall brown butterflies are making the journey northwards from Europe in response to climate warming. How do differences in daylength at higher latitudes affect them, and what can they do to survive in these new conditions?

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Is the Bark Stronger Than the Bite? The Use of Models to Predict Bark Beetle-Induced Tree Mortality

Bark beetles can cause widespread tree mortality by disrupting the flow of water and nutrients. These trees are critical in sequestering carbon from greenhouse gas emissions. By accounting for beetle phenology as well as tree physiology, modeling can help predict bark-beetle induced tree mortality that can result from climate change.

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