Conservation: IUCN World Conservation Congress Every four years, the National Science Foundation (NSF) updates its strategic plan. NSF is inviting feedback from the ecological community on the vision, core values, strategic goals and strategic objectives in its current strategic plan. The strategic plan presents an evaluation framework to measure agency performance and describes core approaches and new methods for measuring…

Although the protection of livestock from predators like wolves, cougars, and bears is hotly contested in the United States and Europe, control methods are rarely subjected to rigorous scientific testing. Non-lethal methods face higher standards of evidence—and are also generally more effective than killing predators, say Adrian Teves, Miha Krofel and Jeannine McManus. The trio conducted a systematic review of the…

By Elise Lipkowitz, Science Policy Analyst for the National Science Board Office   It’s time again for the National Science Foundation (NSF, Foundation) to revise its Strategic Plan.   As part of this process, the Foundation is looking for feedback from the science community on NSF’s current strategic plan (FY 2014-2018) and input on possible future strategic goals for the agency. If you…

ESA joined 56 of America’s leading nonpartisan organizations in posing 20 questions on current science issues to the Presidential candidates.

NSF Strategic Plan Requesting input from the ecological community USGS Climate Change Ecosystems in the Southeastern U.S. Are Vulnerable to Climate Change EPA Climate Change Clean Power Plan Appeal Ordered for En Banc U.S. Court of Appeals Hearing, September 27 NOAA Data Tools U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Program Office Releases New Data Integration and Visualization Tools Federal Register Notices…

Black-billed magpies and American crows, both members of the clever corvid family of birds, have adapted comfortably to life in urban and suburban communities. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the two species often nest nearby each other in backyards and parks. Nesting near their much larger crow cousins affords magpies a margin of extra safety from a common enemy—ravens, an even…

To offset the environmental cost of bringing ecologists to the 101th Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL., ESA is contributing $5 for each person attending to support a biodiversity hotspot in the region When over 2,400 individuals from across the United States and around the globe convene for a scientific conference such as the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) meeting in Fort…

Ecological scientists are not known for elevated fashion sensibilities. Many take pride in a sartorial identity rooted in a field work chic of practical hats, cargo pants, and judicious applications of duct tape. Button-downs in botanical prints and ties in tiny repeating motifs of anatomically correct fish are favored formal attire when researchers gather for the Annual Meeting of the…

To restore the grasslands of the Great Plains, a Nebraska ecologist says, bring back high intensity fires Ecologist Dirac Twidwell wants to change the way we think about prescribed burns. The University of Nebraska professor says he can harness extreme fire to restore grasslands on the Great Plains—and, with the help of the Nebraska Intelligent MoBile Unmanned Systems (NIMBUS) Lab,…

Zika funding fails, Democrats cite controversial amendments Politics undermine latest effort at funding response to Zika outbreak. Appropriations break down, omnibus or continuing resolution likely Failure to enact any appropriations measures through regular order prompts focus on stop-gaps. UN Green Climate Funding in doubt Senate removes ban on Green Climate Funding; House rejects similar effort. Canada moves toward national carbon…

One hundred and thirty years ago, the volcano Krakatoa erupted in what is now Indonesia, unleashing a cataclysm locally and years of cool temperatures and rain globally. On the far side of the world, a bumper crop of saguaro cacti were getting their start in life in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Many of the large exemplars of the famous cacti standing…

The aggressive, day-biting Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has spread with global trade from its native home in the tropics and subtropics of Southeast Asia. First observed in Houston, Texas, in 1987, it rapidly spread through the interstate system in the the United States. Its range is pushing northward into New York and Pennsylvania. Does Ae. albopictus crowd out other…