Using ecology to create long-term cropland health Advances in ecology increasingly reveal that conventional agricultural practices have detrimental effects on the landscape ecology, creating problems for long-term sustainability of crops. In a series of sessions at the Ecological Society of America’s Annual Meeting, ecologists will present their ideas on how our agricultural practices can take lessons from natural environments. Perennial…
Stream pollution good for mosquitoes; lakefront development affects lake fish; greenroofs can save cities millions of gallons of water Increasingly, human urban development overlaps with habitat for wild animals and plants, creating environments that degrade natural landscapes. But people, animals and plants all have in common the need for healthy, sustainable freshwater ecosystems. In a series of presentations at the…
ALBUQUERQUE—Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) will receive the second annual Regional Policy Award from the nation’s largest organization of ecologists at the meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) on Aug. 2. The award recognizes a regional or local policymaker who has an outstanding record of informing his political decision-making with ecological science. “I appreciate this award not just because…
Funding will advance participation of minority students in National Ecological Observatory Network The Ecological Society of America has received a $207,000 National Science Foundation grant to cultivate the participation of underrepresented institutions and students in science and education within the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). The grant is in partnership with the Science and Engineering Alliance, Inc. (SEA) and NEON,…
Ecologists find 2008 earthquake destroyed nearly a quarter of panda habitat near quake’s epicenter When the magnitude 8 Sichuan earthquake struck southern China in May 2008, it left more than 69,000 people dead and 4.3 million homeless. Now ecologists have added to these losses an assessment of the earthquake’s impact on biodiversity: namely, habitat for some of the last existing…
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) will present societal awards to five distinguished ecologists at its 94rd Annual Meeting on Monday, August 3, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. More than 3,500 attendees are expected at this year’s meeting. Eminent Ecologist Award: Steven Hubbell Steven Hubbell of the University of California, Los Angeles and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute will receive this year’s…
Registration is now open to the press for the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) 94th Annual Meeting, which will be held Aug. 2-7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The meeting will include more than 3,500 scientists, students and educators, and will center around the theme, “Ecological Knowledge and a Global Sustainable Society.” The scientific program will feature 24 symposia, 180 oral sessions, 95…
Data is crucial to minimizing birdstrikes, researchers say Using forensic data from feather remains, scientists have identified the birds that caused the Jan. 15 airline crash into the Hudson River as migratory Canada geese. The study, published online today in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, will help managers better assess how to prevent such strikes in the future….
There’s little doubt that coral reefs the world over face threats on many fronts: pollution, diseases, destructive fishing practices and warming oceans. But reefs appear to be more resistant to one potential menace – seaweed – than previously thought, according to new research by a team of marine scientists from the United States and Australia. Their study is the first…
Paleoecological data reveal strong influence of vegetation changes on wildfire frequency The increase in warmer and drier climates predicted to occur under climate change scenarios has led many scientists to also predict a global increase in the number of wildfires. But a new study in the May issue of Ecological Monographs shows that in some cases, changes in the types of plants…
Research reports costs of invasive species’ damage to ecosystem services Invasive species can disrupt natural and human-made ecosystems, throwing food webs out of balance and damaging the services they provide to people. Now scientists have begun to put a price tag on this damage. In a study published this week in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment e-view, ecologists have…
Special Libraries Association recognizes Ecological Society’s flagship journal Ecology, the flagship journal of the Ecological Society of America, has been voted one of the top 100 most influential journals in the fields of biology and medicine over the last 100 years. The recognition is the result of a poll conducted by the BioMedical and Life Sciences Division of the Special…
Forum sparks debate on potential range changes in diseases Recent research has predicted that climate change may expand the scope of human infectious diseases. A new review, however, argues that climate change may have a negligible effect on pathogens or even reduce their ranges. The paper has sparked debate in the ecological community. In a forum in the April issue…
The press tips below highlight research in the ESA journals Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Ecology, Ecological Applications and Ecological Monographs. 1. Fuel removal and prescribed burns reduce wildfire severity but may invite invasivesEcological Applications This invited feature compares the effectiveness of fire fuel reduction methods under the U.S. National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study. Four articles examine the effects…
Localized heating of caves during hibernation may reduce bat mortality White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a poorly understood condition that, in the two years since its discovery, has spread to at least seven northeastern states and killed as many as half a million bats. Now researchers have suggested the first step toward a measure that may help save the affected bats:…
The new U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center should be a conduit between climate science and fish and wildlife management, according to a preliminary report released today from a group of nearly 200 representatives from state and federal agencies, academia and nongovernmental organizations. The report also concluded that the USGS center should link biological…
Biodiversity in crops decreases fertilizer damage to rivers and lakes Researchers have identified a link between the diversity of crops grown in farmlands and the pollution they create in lakes and rivers. In a Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment e-View paper, ecologists show that when the biodiversity of crops is high, less dissolved nitrogen is found exiting the surrounding watersheds. Nitrogen…
The idea of ecosystem services is a promising conservation concept but has been rarely put into practice. In a special issue of the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, researchers use novel tools to report some of the first quantifiable results that place values on nature’s services to humans.