Ecology – envirobites

Where have all the flowers gone? Climate change is driving the loss of forbs and diversity in Californian grasslands

March 7, 2020March 7, 2020 Sienna Wessel 0 Comments biodiversity, Climate Change, drought, Ecology, plant communities

Science predicts that climate change will disrupt many natural processes and cycles and there is ever increasing media coverage regarding expectations for Earth’s future under these pressures. Yet there is little popular discussion about how plant communities will be impacted by these changes despite the fact that they represent the first level of the food web, support entire ecosystems of species, and contain one of the only organisms that can capture free energy to produce life. Understanding the ways that these communities are changing and will change in the future is crucially important to seeing the full picture of how climate change will re-shape life as we know it.

Ecosystems Environmental Science

The Forest-Fungi Loop

March 4, 2020March 3, 2020 Abigail Bezrutczyk 0 Comments Conservation, Ecology, ecosystems, environmental science, forests, fungi, Restoration, Soil, Trees

The ground under our feet might have more say in the landscape than we realize– researchers are studying the feedback loops between fungi and trees.

Case Studies Cities Environmental Science

Begging birds: behavioral responses to human feeding in China

January 16, 2020January 16, 2020 Kevin Aviles Rodriguez 0 Comments behaviour ecology, cities, Conservation, Ecology

Bird feeding is a popular activity enjoyed around the globe. However, we don’t really understand how bird feeding can impact the behavior of birds. A new study from China took on this question by studying black-headed gulls. Read on to find out how food provisionings affected the behaviors of these birds

Ecosystems Environmental Science Remediation

Pollution in Polish Rivers, and the Cucumber Solution

December 27, 2019December 23, 2019 Abigail Bezrutczyk 0 Comments Ecology, ecosystems, environmental science, Pollution, Wastewater, water, water quality

Pollution is dangerous, both to humans and the ecosystems we care about. But researchers in Poland have studied the sources and dynamic movement of pollutants in rivers, and may have found potential in cucumbers to help improve the system.

Environmental Science

The thieving, bribing lives of plants

December 26, 2019January 15, 2020 Kara Cromwell 0 Comments behaviour ecology, Ecology, insects, plants

There’s more to these leaves than their soft and fuzzy side–the fine hairs trap drifting pollen grains, which the plant can use to bait arthropods to stop by for a snack of pollen and stick around to munch on pests that harm the plant.

Environmental Science

Sunblock for Plankton

November 21, 2019November 21, 2019 Riley Lovejoy 0 Comments adaptation, crab, Ecology, marine life, Plankton, UVR, water

Chances are that you take steps to protect yourself from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, but have you ever wondered if other animals have to do this as well? What about the ones that live underwater? Read on to learn how plankton are affected by UVR, and the adaptation that helps to protect them.

Case Studies

Escape in the Serengeti: Hyraxes have become accustomed to increasing human disturbances

November 13, 2019 Kevin Aviles Rodriguez 0 Comments Conservation, Ecology, ecotourism

As human population increases, many wild animals are increasingly exposed to the presence of humans. Furthermore, nature based tourism can also increase exposure of wild populations to humans. Read on to find out how hyraxes, small African mammals, have been affected by increasing encounters with humans.

Environmental Science

Listen for a Change: Bioacoustics in Restored Habitat Combats the Bird Decline

October 30, 2019October 23, 2019 Abigail Bezrutczyk 0 Comments Alaska, bioacoustics, bird decline, birds, Conservation, Ecology, environmental science, habitat restoration, ornithology, Restoration

Excerpt: A recent study has revealed that 3 billion birds have disappeared since 1970 in North America. Restoring habitat can help reverse this loss, and technology in listening for birds can be a vital tool to see if this approach to restoring bird habitat is working.

Environmental Science

In Winter: Where the Cold-Blooded Wild Things Go

October 21, 2019October 23, 2019 Whitney Kroschel 0 Comments adaptation, amphibians, Ecology, environmental science, hibernation, reptiles, winter

When days become shorter and the temperature outside begins to drop, our home interiors become warm, welcoming refuges from the rain and snow outside. We see the trees enter dormancy as they drop their leaves, and wildlife become busy preparing for winter: Many birds migrate, some mammals prepare to hibernate, but where do the smooth and scaly things go? The frogs? The snakes? The turtles? And without a fur coat and thick layer of blubber, it makes one wonder how they survive in prolonged freezing temperatures. As it turns out, behavioral and physiological adaptations – such as brumation and supercooling – allow many amphibians and reptiles to withstand some of our planet’s most extreme winter conditions.

Ecosystems Environmental Science

Friend or foe? Invasive earthworms can benefit agriculture but harm forests

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019 Kara Cromwell 0 Comments agriculture, carbon, Conservation, Ecology, environmental science, forest ecology, forests, invasive species, invertebrates, nutrient cycles

Earthworms are welcome guests in the garden, but it’s a different story in the forest. By consuming and removing leaf litter too fast they set in motion complex cascades of ecological changes, with long-term negative effects on soil fertility and biodiversity.

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