Nadine Lymn Sep 16, 2011 No Comments
When 3,500 individuals from across the country and around the globe convene for a scientific conference such as the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) recent meeting in Austin, Texas, it takes a toll on the environment. There is the carbon footprint from the various modes of travel to get to the meeting. But there is [...]
Read more...If plants had a perspective, they would probably think of pollinators as more than just extra-friendly house guests. That is, plants would be more likely to view pollinators as the mutual friend who likes to set up blind dates. Bees might limit pollen to its use as a protein source for the hive, and birds [...]
Read more...Katie Kline May 20, 2011 3 Comments
Inside the rounded fruit of a fig tree is a maze of flowers. That is, a fig is not actually a fruit; it is an inflorescence—a cluster of many flowers and seeds contained inside a bulbous stem. Because of this unusual arrangement, the seeds—technically the ovaries of the fig—require a specialized pollinator that is adapted [...]
Read more...Katie Kline Apr 27, 2011 No Comments
Truffle shuffle: According to a letter published in the April issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Buffo the truffle-hunting dog made an unusual find: a one-pound Burgundy truffle in the forests of southern Germany in November. As lead author Ulf Büntgen said in a recent Wired Science article, “This wasn’t a small find, [...]
Read more...Katie Kline Oct 14, 2010 No Comments
A rare jellyfish is captured on video as it swims in the Gulf of Mexico, New Scientist outlines ideas in ecology that could change the world, researchers examine a wine-scented flower and its pollinators, the top 20 microscope photos of the year and putting a price on Earth. Here are the latest stories in ecology.
Read more...