For elk reintroduced in the Missouri Ozarks, love is in the air
Habitat loss and overhunting decimated local elk populations in the 1800s. Now, researchers are finding new ways to return them to their native land.
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Ecology
Hot take – we need diverse and rich tree species, not just more trees to reduce the urban heat island effect
Wang, X., M. Dallimer, C.E. Scott, W. Shi, J. Gao. (2020). Tree species richness and diversity predicts the magnitude of
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Cats and Dogs: Canine Distemper Virus and the Endangered Amur Tiger
Canine Distemper Virus, commonly found in domesticated dogs, in increasingly common in Amur tigers, which are the least numerous of the major tiger subspecies. Recent research challenges long-held ideas about CDV transmission, and present new strategies to counteract CDVs deadly effects on endangered Amur tigers.
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Dead plants breathe new life into botanical research
I’ll never forget the first time that I stepped into a herbarium. Picture a room full of towering metal cabinets. Inside, there are thousands of pressed plants carefully glued onto special paper upon which thoughtfully recorded field notes describe the plant’s habitat, location, life stage, and more. At a moment’s notice I can still recall the unique smell of preserved plants, reminiscent of the comforting scent that lofts when ruffling the pages of an old book. In those days, as a budding botanist, I never questioned the immense value of these collections. Then, when I learned that one herbarium in seven has closed in the last twenty-five years (Deng 2015), I realized that we simply aren’t talking enough about all the unique ways that old plants can fuel modern science.
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Lichens, we like them: Considering intimate relationships in biodiversity conservation
Learning about lichens, and their contribution to biodiversity and ecosystem function.
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Are plants smart?
Author: Samantha E Andres Source: Calvo, Paco, et al. “Plants are intelligent, here’s how.” Annals of Botany 125.1 (2020): 11-28. What is
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Invasive Species Eradication: Prioritizing Efforts and Understanding Costs
Invasive predators can have major impacts on native prey species. Eradication, if possible, can help native species rebound, but many invasion scenarios are complex and include multiple invasive predators. How do we decide which species to target first? While such decisions can be difficult, recent theoretical work has shed light on the most effective strategies.
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Humans, Livestock, and Wild Carnivores
What comes to mind when you think of human and wildlife conflict? One major source of conflict is predation of livestock by wild carnivores. Livestock management strategies can help lessen conflict by reducing predation events, but those strategies must be based on sound ecological concepts to be most effective.
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As Oceans Change, HABs Invade
Global ocean temperatures are currently rising and have been for decades. Scientists are working to discover how this changing climate affects species around the world, from the very large to the very small. This includes phytoplankton, the microscopic marine algae that live in most bodies of water around the globe and produce half the world’s oxygen. But some of these species are toxic, and can cause harm to human and wildlife alike if they are able to grow out of control. Though a number of studies have been undertaken to try and understand more about these harmful algal blooms, much is still unknown about their growth. A group of scientists were interested in how changing ocean temperatures affected the geographic ranges of harmful algal blooms over time in order to better predict blooms in the future.
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Invader in red: the impacts of the red-eared slider turtle across the globe
I’ve always been a big fan of animals. I love visiting pet shops and looking at all the cool animals. However, movement of animals via the pet trade has resulted in the introduction of exotic wildlife to many ecosystems globally. A particularly widespread invader is the red-eared slider turtle. Read on to find out how these invaders in red have spread and whether policy has been effective in controlling them.
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