In Search of Commonality: Plant communities exhibit a wide variety of responses to global change
All plants are somehow affected by global change, but their responses are inconsistent between ecosystems, a LTER Synthesis group finds.
LTER Science Update provides short, accessible articles describing recent news and publications from across the Network. We hope you will be informed and inspired. Subscribers can sign up online and manage their own subscription settings, so feel free to share with interested colleagues. Have a recent paper or project that may be of interest? Just drop us a line at lno@lternet.edu.
It’s not the plants: nitrogen directly affects alpine soil microbes
Can plants dictate how soil microbes respond to nitrogen deposition? New research says no, and sheds light on plant-microbe dynamics.
Women in Oceanography: highly accomplished but still underrepresented
The Northern Gulf of Alaska LTER is an anomaly in oceanography: women lead the research. Hear inspiring stories about three of them.
Public engagement at LTER sites: Social scientists highlight role of communication specialists
Social scientists research natural scientists at two LTER sites, and find that collaboration with communication experts is key to easier and more impactful public engagement.
Pika enthusiasts unite under a common theme
At the Niwot Ridge LTER, community scientists expand the reach of pika research initiatives to understand how pikas might respond to climate change.
The Desert in Sync: In the Chihuahuan Desert, plants and pollinators coordinate to survive
Life in the Chihuahuan Desert endures amid extremes, so the desert’s inhabitants make the most of brief moments to sustain biodiversity.
Thawing Out Coastal Arctic Food Webs with Long-Term Biochemical Data
In Arctic lagoons, life persists through cold and dark winters, but few people are able to study and understand the bizarre life under sea ice. With chemical biomarkers and insight from local communities, food web ecologists are beginning to uncover how these organisms thrive in the harsh winter, and how they will continue to survive in the ever changing Arctic climate.
A not so solid season: Alpine lake ice cover responds to a changing climate
Long-term research at the Niwot Ridge LTER reveals alpine lakes are seeing longer ice-free periods in the summer, a consequence of a changing climate.
May/June LTER Science Update Newsletter
In May and June, the Science Update Newsletter covers: laboratory findings, by Santa Barbara Coastal LTER and other researchers, that show the sensitivity of sea urchin fertilization success to ocean acidification, published in Ecology and Evolution; public preferences of cultural ecosystem services, amassed by researchers at Coweeta LTER; from Luquillo LTER, long-term patterns of arthropod abundance… Read more »
April LTER Science Update Newsletter
In April, the Science Update Newsletter covers: a perspective piece in Ecology Letters, by NTL and other researchers, on the history and opportunities for the field of macrosystems ecology; a comparison of the impacts of grazing and fire history on plant water use and niche structure—from researchers at the KNZ LTER; in Ecosystem Health and Sustainability,… Read more »
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