By withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the United States is abdicating its role as the world leader in using science-based information to inform policy. Business, political, and scientific leaders the world over are condemning the decision. More than 190 signatory nations agreed to take actions towards reducing future temperature increases and addressing the serious threats posed…
In This Issue: President Releases FY 2018 Budget Request Proposes huge cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, especially science and environmental funding Congressional Review Act, Record 14 Rules Overturned Only used once before, actions could chill rulemaking for decades President Announces Additional Agency Nominees Industry lobbyist for Deputy Secretary of the Interior, EPA enforcement officer, rumored USDA research nominee Coast Guard…
In dry southern Morocco, domesticated goats climb to the precarious tippy tops of native argan trees to find fresh forage. Local herders occasionally prune the bushy, thorny trees for easier climbing and even help goat kids learn to climb. During the bare autumn season, goats spend three quarters of their foraging time “treetop grazing.” Spanish ecologists from the Estación Biológica…
The Ecological Society of America recognizes Julienne E. NeSmith for an outstanding student research presentation at the 101st Annual Meeting of the Society in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in August 2016. ESA will present the awards during the 2017 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, August 7, at 8 AM in the Oregon Ballroom at the Oregon…
The Ecological Society of America recognizes Michael J.M. McTavish for an outstanding student research presentation at the 101st Annual Meeting of the Society in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in August 2016. ESA will present the awards during the 2017 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, August 7, at 8 AM in the Oregon Ballroom at the…
This issue of Policy News concludes ESA’s series of special editions covering the US Presidential Transition. With many vacant positions remaining in the new administration, we will continue to report on relevant updates in our regular Policy News and monitor them in the Federal Agency Transition Tracker. In This Issue: President Trump’s Use of Executive Authority in the First 100 Days Modern…
Stephanie Green, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Ocean Solutions at Stanford University, shares this Frontiers Focus on the effects of oil sands development on ocean ecosystems, from the March 2017 issue of ESA Frontiers. North America contains some of the largest sources of bitumen—a thick, sticky petroleum extracted from land-locked clay and sand deposits known as oil sands….
We are keeping you up-to-date on the appropriations process with a Federal Budget Tracker for FY 2018. We are also continuing to update our Federal Agency Transition Tracker. In This Issue: Executive Order Reshapes Climate Policies President signs order at EPA, directs agencies to review fossil fuel actions, implications for international agreements increasingly unclear EPA Budget Funding cuts, program eliminations, and…
Steven Brady is an evolutionary ecologist with the Department of Water and Land Resources at King County in Seattle, Wa. He and colleague Jonathan Richardson, an assistant professor at Providence College, share this Frontiers Focus on the ways in which species adapt to the pervasive presence of roads—and how those adaptations are not always beneficial for survival in the wider…
Edwin Peeters, associate professor at Wageningen University, the Netherlands, and Edward Morris, postdoctoral scientist at the University of Cádiz, Spain share this Frontiers Focus on managing local threats to wetlands so that we may continue to enjoy their benefits as the climate changes, in the March 2017 issue of ESA Frontiers. Wetlands are exciting places to spend our free time, exploring…
The George Mercer Award recognizes an outstanding and recently-published ecological research paper by young scientists. ESA recognizes Jennifer Williams, Bruce Kendall, and Jonathan Levine with the 2017 Mercer award for their paper “Rapid evolution accelerates plant population spread in fragmented experimental landscapes,” published in Science. Biological invasions, and migrations of native species in response to climate change, are pressing areas…
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA). This award provides graduate students with the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC for policy experience and training. Six recipients were selected for this year’s award: Jason M. Aloisio (Fordham University), Tyler C. Coverdale (Princeton University), Anna M. Groves (Michigan…