color – envirobites

For birds, drab is in fashion in our cities

January 26, 2022September 16, 2022 Brandi Pessman 0 Comments birds, cities, color, feathers

Color has the power to affect our feelings and emotions. For many animals, color signals status or condition. Factors such as food quality, stress, and pollution can cause changes in animal coloration. The color of the background can also have significant effects on how animals perceive color. Cities introduce drab, grey buildings and pavement, pollutants, and reduced plant complexity. A recent study shows that city birds produce darker, duller feathers with less complex patterns. Click to find out how cities may be hindering the color and diversity of wildlife.

Environmental Science Remote Environments

What gives glacier algae their wild colors?

March 21, 2019September 12, 2022 Abigail Lewis 0 Comments algae, color, sea level rise, snow

When a British expedition reported seeing pink mountain snow in 1818, the London Times said: “Our credulity is put to an extreme test upon this occasion, but we cannot learn that there is any reason to doubt the fact as stated.” Two hundred years later, we now can confirm that pink snow (“watermelon snow”) is real and it is caused by certain types of algae. But why is it that snow algae take on such distinctive red and purple colors? And how does this connect to melting glaciers or global sea level rise?