Ecology – envirobites

“Big data” is a term that is on the rise as the amount of data that is being collected increases at an ever growing rate across all fields. The wildlife and conservation biology field is no exception, especially as technology, such as camera trap imagery, is being more widely used. With vast data collection comes the need to analyze it in an effective manner, especially as the growth of data can far surpass the traditional resources available for analysis. Technology has emerged that is able to tackle big data and produce analyses faster than previously possible, providing opportunities to enhance conservation efforts.

Environmental Science Science through time

How Pre-Industrial Charcoal Changed the Soils Under Our Feet

January 18, 2019February 1, 2019 Alina Spera 0 Comments Archaeology, Ecology, forestry, forests, human impacts, hydrology, Soil, soils, water

Tragically, when some people look at the soil beneath our feet, they only see ‘dirt’. They are missing the fact that soils contribute so much to nature and our lives. But, what happens when humans alter soils from their natural state? Researchers from Cottbus, Germany, aimed to find out how charcoal production in the Northeastern US during the mid 1800s impacted the soils and ecology of the forests that we see today. Surprisingly, the answer is a little bit below the surface.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science Science through time

Evidence from the sediment: Lake Baikal diatom community changes in response to shifting environmental conditions

January 14, 2019January 14, 2019 Lushani Nanayakkara 0 Comments Climate Change, Ecology, environmental science, water quality

Located in Siberia, Russia, Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world (Figure 1). Similar to other waterbodies around the world, both big and small, Lake Baikal is exhibiting changes in the community composition of its primary producers in response to climate change induced changes in surface temperatures and nutrient inputs. In this study, scientists examine community composition shifts in a group of primary producers known as diatoms and examine the influence of climate change on this shift.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science

Timing is Everything: Sockeye Salmon Migration on the Skeena River

November 16, 2018December 13, 2018 Maddie Halloran 0 Comments British Columbia, Climate Change, Ecology, environmental science, life-cycle assessment, salmon, zooplankton

For most salmon to complete their life cycle, juveniles must migrate out to the ocean as “smolts”. They are then able to grow quickly by taking advantage of marine food sources, before they return as adults to spawn in the river where they were born. With climate change affecting environmental cues and conditions, the timing of their migration might not match up to the availability of crucial food resources, which could reduce smolt survival. Will this phenomenon affect the Skeena River populations of Sockeye Salmon? Read on to learn more!

Climate Environmental Science Remote Environments Science through time

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

November 13, 2018November 19, 2018 E.M.B. Doran 0 Comments agriculture, carbon cycle, Climate Change, Conservation, earth system, Ecology, ecosystems, environmental science, forest policy, forests, greenhouse gases, machine learning, nutrient cycles, remote sensing, Restoration

Satellites have changed our ability to see the globe. We can now use satellite data is to monitor change in the amount of land covered by forests, and determine the reasons for that change. In this article, we discuss recent findings global forest monitoring and the impact of supply chain decisions by corporate actors.

Cities Climate Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health

And the winner is: rare and fast growing California species!

November 5, 2018November 9, 2018 Luiza Aparecido 0 Comments drought, Ecology, wildfires

In the competition of survival under a severe drought scenario, what to expect from the local plant and animal community? Prugh et al (2018) seeked to answer this question. “And the winner is: rare and fast growing California species!”.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science

Warming bugs, insects decline in forest associated with climate change

November 5, 2018November 9, 2018 Kevin Aviles Rodriguez 0 Comments Climate Change, Ecology, ecosystems, el yunque

Can small changes in temperature really lead to dramatic impacts on habitats? Sometimes, small changes like a 2 Celsius degree warming of forest interiors, can affect a great number of species. Read on to learn how bugs, birds, and frogs were affected by climate change documented over a 36 year study in the tropical forest of Puerto Rico.

A screenshot of photos submitted to the california herp atlas. The screenshot includes nine photos of snakes

Cities Environmental Science Remediation

This website helps ordinary people collect data to save snakes

October 5, 2018October 11, 2018 Abigail Lewis 0 Comments citizen science, Conservation, Ecology, snakes

With a limited amount of time and money available for conservation efforts, it’s critical to know which species are the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, that assessment requires a virtually impossible amount of data. Citizen scientists from North and South Carolina have filled this critical gap by collecting 7,684 snake observations from every county in the two states over the course of eight years. Here’s what they found.

Environmental Science

Elephant Birds Never Forget

September 19, 2018September 25, 2018 Maddie Halloran 0 Comments Archaeology, Conservation, Ecology, environmental science, Madagascar

Recent research has uncovered evidence of human presence on Madagascar more than 6000 years earlier than previously thought. This may have big implications for how we understand human colonization of the island, as well as how prehistoric human-animal interactions can inform modern conservation.

Climate Environmental Science Remote Environments Science through time

Where will the tall trees grow?

September 18, 2018September 20, 2018 E.M.B. Doran 0 Comments Climate Change, Ecology, ecosystems, environmental science, land use and land cover, landscape change, modeling, paleoecology

What will the landscape look like when the world is four degrees warmer? Seven degrees warmer? Will you see the same trees and shrubs? Will the same birds visit your bird feeder? If you live in a forest now, will you then live in a desert? The implications have wide consequences not least for the production of food and the provision of water for your future self.

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