By University of Wisconsin-Madison 4/15/2020 Ellen Damschen has spent her career studying how and why plant species survive in habitats that are increasingly influenced by human activities. Much of her research asks how different conservation and restoration strategies alter biodiversity. Damschen, a professor of integrated biology, is one of 22 professors nationwide to be included in the Ecological Society of America’s…
By UC Irvine 4/10/2020 Joleah Lamb, a UCI biologist who studies the impact of infectious diseases on the oceans, has been named an Early Career Fellow by the Ecological Society of America, the world’s largest association of professional ecologists. Early Career Fellows are chosen based on their advanced ecological knowledge and applications as well as potential to make notable ongoing contributions…
By South Dakota State University 4/9/2020 Carter Johnson, a distinguished professor emeritus at South Dakota State University, has been named by the Ecological Society of America as of one of its 22 fellows in the Class of 2020. Johnson, who taught in the Department of Natural Resource Management from 1989 to 2017, is being honored for his research on river…
By University of Alicante 4/9/2020 University of Alicante (UA) distinguished researcher Fernando T. Maestre has elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. The appointment as fellow is a distinction for those members of this society who have made outstanding scientific contributions in the field of ecology and study of ecosystems, communication, education and pedagogy, and environmental management and…
By UC Santa Barbara’s ‘The Current’ 4/9/2020 In recognition of his contributions to the field of ecology, UC Santa Barbara professor Benjamin Halpern has been named an Ecological Society of America (ESA) 2020 Fellow. The society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways in which its members contribute to ecological research and discovery, communication, education and pedagogy, and management and policy. Fellows, according…
By Rausser College of Natural Resources at The University of California, Berkeley 4/9/2020 Congratulations to environmental science, policy, and management assistant professor Carl Boettiger on being named one of the Ecological Society of America’s 2020 Early Career Fellows. The fellowship recognizes Boettiger for his contributions to the community at large through his research, teaching, and communication, as well as his leadership within stochastic dynamics…
By The University of Michigan 4/9/2020 ANN ARBOR—Four University of Michigan faculty members have been named as 2020 Fellows of the Ecological Society of America, the world’s largest community of professional ecologists. The society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways its members contribute to ecological research and discovery, communication, teaching, and management and policy. The program recognizes both Fellows and…
By University of Vermont Gund Institute for Environment 4/8/2020 Three trailblazing University of Vermont professors were named Fellows of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) today for outstanding contributions to the science of ecology. UVM’s trio of new ESA Fellows are: Aimée Classen and Taylor Ricketts (Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources), and Nicholas Gotelli (College of Arts and…
By Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries 4/6/2020 More and more animals and plants are being taken from their habitat by humans – consciously and unconsciously. Many cannot adapt to the new living conditions, but some are becoming firmly established. “Some non-native species cause serious problems for native species – as predators, competitors for food and habitat, or vectors…
By Florida International University 3/31/2020 Even minor amounts of human activity can increase nutrient concentrations in fresh waters that can damage the environment, according to a new study. These findings suggest most U.S. streams and rivers have higher levels of nitrogen and phosphorus than is recommended. Although nutrients are a natural part of aquatic ecosystems like streams and rivers, too…
By National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis 3/16/2020 Conserving natural habitat around strawberry fields can help protect growers’ yields, their bottom line and the environment with no detectable threat to food safety, indicates a study led by the University of California, Davis. KNOXVILLE—The best bargains for conserving some of the world’s most vulnerable salamanders and other vertebrate species can…
By University of Gothenberg 3/13/2020 Researchers have used a new method to identify which eelgrass meadows on the Swedish coasts are particularly vulnerable or valuable and which meadows should be restored in the future. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is a marine flowering plant that provides a habitat for a wide range of marine plants and animals, including several commercial fish, such as…
By University of Washington 3/12/2020 As oceans absorb more carbon dioxide, they are becoming increasingly acidic and shifting the delicate balance that supports marine life. How species will cope with ocean acidification and the other consequences of global climate change is still very much unknown and could have sweeping consequences. Researchers from the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery…
By University of California, Davis 3/11/2020 Conserving natural habitat around strawberry fields can help protect growers’ yields, their bottom line and the environment with no detectable threat to food safety, indicates a study led by the University of California, Davis. In the study, published in the journal Ecological Applications, researchers conducted grower surveys and experiments at 20 strawberry farms stretching between Santa Cruz, Watsonville,…
By University of Washington 3/9/2020 Spring is coming, and with it comes the promise of warmer weather, longer days and renewed life. For residents of the Pacific Northwest, one of the most idyllic scenes of this renewed life is the wildflowers that light up Mount Rainier’s subalpine meadows once the winter snowpack finally melts. These floral ecosystems, which typically arrive…
By University of Hawai’i, Manoa 3/5/2020 The Haleakalā silversword, already one of the rarest species in the Hawaiian Islands, has been declining in recent decades due to drier and warmer climate conditions. Efforts to restore the population should focus on outplanting new plants in geographic areas with the most favorable climatic conditions. That’s according to a three-year study by researchers from…
By the National Science Foundation 3/4/2020 Why are there so many species of plants? Why do some plants thrive, while others don’t? Ecologist Noelle Beckman of Utah State University and her colleagues explore these questions in new findings about seed-to-seedling transitions published in the journal Ecology. The research is supported by the National Science Foundation. “This team used a new approach to analyzing spatial…
By University of Central Florida 3/4/2020 Sea level rise and hurricanes are a threat to sea turtle nesting habitat along national seashores in the Southeast, but a new study predicts the greatest impact to turtles will be at Canaveral National Seashore. The University of Central Florida-led study, which was published recently in the journal Ecological Applications, examined loggerhead and green sea turtle nests…
By University of California Riverside 3/4/2020 Entomologists at UC Riverside have documented that a species of native sweat bee widespread throughout North and South America has a daily routine that makes it a promising pollinator. Because the bee can thrive in environments that have been highly modified by humans, such as cities and agricultural areas, it could become a suitable supplement…
By University of Gottingen 3/2/2020 The threat to insects and other small creatures from rainforest clearance and the consequences for the environment in tropical regions are recognised. What has not been studied so far is whether, and how, the oil palm plantations are able to sustain the populations of tiny below-ground animals that work to keep the soil healthy. In a…