Geoengineering is the idea that humans can slow, stop or reverse the effects of climate change by altering the composition of Earth’s atmosphere and biosphere.  While controversial, these methods, including reducing sun exposure by injecting aerosols into the atmosphere or using giant mirrors to reflect the sun’s rays, were identified as a high-priority area for research by the G8-5 nations….

The U.S. Forest Service, in partnership with Ravenswood Media, has produced an informational video about white-nose syndrome in bats (learn about WNS in this ESA press release).  The video doesn’t include the latest news — that Pennsylvania has ordered all bats taken from afflected caves to be killed — but it’s a good overview of the current state of information…

Ecologists have discovered yet another astonishing way that plants defy all manner of physical obstacles to get what they need. Researchers have discovered alpine plant roots that grow upwards, against gravity, and out of the soil…into the snow. A group of researchers centered at VU University in Amsterdam discovered the plant roots high in the mountains of southern Russia. The…

Mountaintop mining, the practice of using dynamite or bulldozers to blast off the tops of mountains in search of coal and dumping the rock remnants into valleys, will apparently receive tighter restrictions in an announcement the White House is scheduled to make today. But the practice, which destroys both the mountaintop ecosystems it blasts away and many stream ecosystems buried…

In 2001, the National Fire Plan was enacted by Congress, providing funding and support for local and regional governments to prepare for and mitigate wildfires. Now, a study led by Tania Schoennagel of the University of Colorado has attempted to assess the major results of the NFP in the Western United States around urban areas. Surprisingly, her results show that…

Scientists at the Smithsonian have identified the birds that caused US Airways Flight 1549 to crash into the Hudson River on Jan 15. The birds were identified as migratory Canada geese. The researchers reported their results online today in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment and held a press briefing at the Smithsonian. Working out of the Smithsonian National Zoo’s…

The SEEDS program (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity, and Sustainability) is an education initiative of ESA. Since its founding in 1996, the SEEDS mission has been to diversify and advance ecology as a profession through opportunities that stimulate and nurture the interest of underrepresented students. Focused at the undergraduate level, the program sponsors student field trips, research fellowships, semi-annual leadership…

Seed plants rely heavily on animals to disperse their seeds. These dispersers are crucial to the survival and fitness of plants – the pattern of dispersal can determine survivorship at the individual level, population dynamics at the community level and eventual evolution at the species level. From bats to mice to robins and monkeys, mammals and birds make up the…

Degradation of coral reefs due to such threats as pollution, climate warming, disease, overfishing and tourism has made them a poster child for destruction of diverse, wild ecosystems suffering at the hands of human-made problems. There is a little bit of good news, though, according to researchers publishing in the June issue of Ecology. Seaweed, which can suffocate corals on…

The intersection of evolution and ecology has risen to become a prominent subfield in both disciplines in recent years, with scientists exploring more and more how interactions among organisms can shape evolution at the population and even species level.  In the May issue of the journal Ecology, Ethan Temeles of Amherst College explores a fascinating relationship between the males and…

A biome has traditionally been defined (broadly and loosely, of course) as an area that has similar plant and animal communities and geologic and climatic structures.  In recent years, the term ecosystem has come to be virtually interchangeable. But Erle Ellis of the University of Maryland at Baltimore County believes that doing ecology by defining biomes is antiquated.  In this…

A meta-analysis published today in the journal PLoS ONE (open-access) finds that most disturbed ecosystems are recoverable within a much shorter timespan than previously thought. If people commit to cleanup, restoration or other appropriate management efforts, the researchers say, then most damaged ecosystems can recover in under 60 years – and some in as little as 10 years. Holly Jones…