Newsroom
All the latest eco-news.
Bird Song Succession
As the acoustics of their habitat change the pitch and tempo of bird song changes as well. For example, the song of a White-crowned sparrows slows down as the flora of their breeding habitat recovers from previous human disturbance. But why?
If you're in a noisy environment and find it difficult to communicate, what do you do? You talk louder or more slowly. That's just what the birds do (listen). As the flora recovers, the acoustics of the habitat change and hence the necessary adjustments.
Wildlife Corridors Work
Habitat fragmentation is a major problem for conservationists striving to maintain biodiversity. In an effort to prevent species loss, some conservation plans have recommended building natural area corridors to facilitate the movement of plants and animals between nearby natural areas. But would this help? Yes.
This U.S. Forest Service aerial photo shows experimental patches, carved out of a pine savanna in North Carolina, used to learn more about how and why corridors work.
Why So Many Flowers?
In July of 1879, Charles Darwin wrote to Sir Joseph Hooker saying, "The rapid development as far as we can judge of all the higher plants within recent geologial times is an abominable mystery."
This very famous mystery has only now been reasonably solved.
Seeing Red
Artificial light damages ecosystems by disrupting the normal behavior of birds, turtles, fish, insects, and mammals (including humans). The effects on plants and ecological processes are largely unknown.
The bad news is that these effects have been known for nearly a century and yet little has been done because we humans are too self-absorbed to flip the switch. The good news is there may now be a way out of this dilemna.
Light the Prairie Understory
Human activites often increase the availability of soil nutrients for plants. In grasslands, this form of pollution, called eutrophication, leads to a loss of plant diversity. But why? A leading theory has been that the plants best adapted to natural, low nutrient conditions lose that advantage in a polluted environment and therefore decline. Maybe not.
Recent research at the University of Zurich points to another explanation. Using experimental grassland plant communities, these researchers report that the addition of light to the grassland understory prevents the loss of biodiversity due to eutrophication.
Turtle Rangers Needed
The Illinois DNR is looking for volunteer Turtle Rangers to assist with surveys to find the elusive ornate box turtle at Lost Mound. There will be two search days conducted during the weeks of May 26-29 and June 1-5. The surveys are part of an ongoing study to document the presence of box turtles at Lost Mound. In addition, there is an ongoing planning effort to re-introduce box turtles if a viable population is not found.
Photo: Jonathan Zander
More Earthworms > More Weeds
The invasion of natural communities by alien species of plants (weeds) is currently one of the most important global-scale threats to biodiversity. Biodiversity itself is known to reduce invasions and increase ecological stability. A recent study shows that the presence of European earhworms affects the distribution, establishment, and abundance of weeds in North American grasslands.
Biodiversity & Stability
Biodiversity is a complex issue. Species richness (the number of species) and species distribution (the relative abundance of species) are important variables, but there are also complex genetic, functional, spatial, and temporal aspects. An important question is how biodiversity relates to ecosystem stability.
Bee Balm
Bee keepers in Spain report they have sucessfully treated a form of honeybee colony collapse disorder. At two sites scientists found Nosema ceranae, a parasitic microsporidia, and used the antibiotic flumagillin to revive the infected colonies. That could be good news.
Less is More
New research in experimental ecology suggests that while the availability of nutrients can influence biodiversity, more is not necessarily better. To measure the link between nutrients and biodiversity, Samantha Forde (UCSC) used a simplified test-tube ecosystem consisting of a bacterium and a virus that infects that bacteria. Her research shows that as the level of sugar in the ecosystem changes, so does the extent to which new strains of bacteria and virus evolve and the greatest biodiversity results from a lowest level of nutrients.
Sudden Oak Death
Since the early 1990s, oaks and tanoaks have been dying on the west coast. Since then, other types of plants have been found to be infected or associated with this disease, referred to as Sudden Oak Death (SOD), ramorum leaf blight or ramorum dieback. The water mold Phytophthora ramorum is the pathogen that causes these diseases. In 2004, distribution of infected nursery stock resulted in detections in 21 states.
Royal Wolves
The wolves on Isle Royale are suffering from genetically deformed vertebrae. Scientists from Michigan Technological University blame the condition on the extreme inbreeding within the isolated, island population. The scientists found that 58 percent of the wolves exhibited a congenital malformation in the lower back, a condition also seen in domestic dogs.
An exceptional photographic gallery depicting life on Isle Royale can be found here. The researchers video field notes can be found here.
State of the Birds 2009
The Department of the Interior today released the first ever comprehensive report on bird populations in the United States, showing that nearly a third of the nation’s 800 bird species are in significant decline.
At the same time, the report highlights examples where ecological restoration and conservation have reversed previous declines, offering hope that it is not too late to take action to save declining populations.
Candy-cane Goldenrod
Some species of goldenrod show a peculiar stem form. In tall goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), most stems are erect, however a sizable minority (the candy-cane stems) nod at the apex during growth. This growth form confers some protection from herbivory.
Researchers at Bucknell University have recently shown that the nodding is temporary and coincides with the seasonal onslaught of two common gall-forming insects. The candy-cane essentially allows them to 'duck and hide.'
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Predator Diversity
Ecologists have long recognized the importance of predators in structuring ecosystems, but recent research demonstrates that changes in predator diversity may also strongly affect ecological communities. In a new paper in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, John Bruno and Bradley Cardinale discuss the vital role that predator richness plays in maintaining natural communities. You can read (or listen) here.
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