Do fish graze the way for coral recovery?
Fish clear space for corals to grow in small scale experiments. But does fish grazing cause reefs to recover faster? A new study says no.
Two LTER Sites Emerge from Hurricanes Intact
Two separate hurricanes tore through LTER sites this past month—but the Luquillo LTER and Florida Coastal Everglades LTER are mostly intact.
Taking it to the park: mapping sawgrass vulnerability to peat collapse in the Florida Everglades
Luke Lamb-Wotton maps sawgrass vulnerability to saltwater intrusion and peat collapse at the FCE LTER site.
Ecosystems are resistant or resilient to hurricanes, but not both
Ecosystems resist devastation from hurricanes by choosing either of two strategies: high resistance or high resilience.
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.
Climate change makes kelp less nutritious
For Southern California reefs and beaches, giant kelp fuels the food web and creates an environment in which biodiversity booms. But the nutritional quality of kelp is lower than it once was, a new study from the Santa Barbara Coastal LTER shows. The culprit? Climate change and warming ocean water, coauthors Dr. Heili Lowman and Kyle Emery find.
In “The Conversation”: Climate change is already disrupting US forests and coasts
Scientists have been consistently documenting environmental changes at research sites like this one in the Cascade Mountains for decades. US Forest Service Michael Paul Nelson, Oregon State University and Peter Mark Groffman, CUNY Graduate Center Record-breaking heat waves and drought have left West Coast rivers lethally hot for salmon, literally cooked millions of mussels… Read more »
Choose Your Poison: Plant Disease Outbreaks May Be Curbed by Periodic Wildfire
Wildfires have made headlines worldwide in recent years — and for good reason. Evidence points to increasing wildfire frequency and intensity across many vulnerable ecosystems as climate change impacts grow ever more evident. However, periodic wildfires in ecosystems adapted to them can actually help inhibit plant disease outbreaks, according to new research from Cedar Creek… Read more »
2021 LTER Synthesis Awards: Reproduction and Resilience
Two new synthesis working groups, awarded in 2021, capitalize on the intensive and extended record of observation at LTER sites to shed light on thorny ecological questions.
Fire Brings New Perspectives on Disturbance at H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
By Natasha Griffin, PhD candidate at Oregon State University The staff of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest LTER site had almost no time to prepare when a massive wildfire swept through the region in early September. Stoked by dry late-summer conditions and extreme high winds, Oregon’s Holiday Farm fire began spreading rapidly as soon as… Read more »
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Top Stories
DataBits Through the Years
Do fish graze the way for coral recovery?
2022 LTER Network Response to the Fourth Decadal Review
We are all interconnected
Two LTER Sites Emerge from Hurricanes Intact
Taking it to the park: mapping sawgrass vulnerability to peat collapse in the Florida Everglades
New Webinar Series: Sense of Belonging in Field Courses: What, Why, When, and How?
LTER Photo Contest Winners
Open call to join LTER DEIJ Committee Working Groups
Utilizing LTER experiments for eco-evolutionary insights