environmental science research for everyone
Primary article: Hutton, J.M et al. Occupancy and abundance of stream salamanders along a specific conductance gradient. Freshwater Science. 2020.
Read moreClimate change is causing some alpine streams to change from always flowing to flowing only part of the time. This is a challenge that the bugs in those streams have not had to face, but the might have a way out: hunkering down in the hyporheic zone, a subsurface component of the stream. By waiting out drought in this new environment, the bugs might be able to come back and resume life as normal when conditions are more favorable.
Read moreCrossing a stream on a drive may feel like a treat, but would bugs residing in the stream feel the
Read moreThe act of listening is an often-forgotten aspect of natural observation. When scientists listen to ecosystems, what do they learn?
Read moreSonoran suckers, like other ecosystem engineers like beavers or salmon, substantially influence the spatial and temporal distribution of their environment’s resources. These fish create divots in soft sediments during their nightly feeding rounds in shallow waters far from where they seek refuge during the day. This feeding and these divots contribute heavily to shaping patterns of aquatic insects and suspended sediment in the Gila River, establishing the suckers as important ecosystem engineers in the river.
Read moreHow does a living fish have a radiocarbon age of ~9,000 years BC? A recent study revealed that very old carbon from ancient groundwater actually provides a life-sustaining source of energy to the contemporary food web of wetlands in dry (“arid”) climates.
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