You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone – or at least threatened

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hemlock branches

Credit: Jack Pearce via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)Species that are abundant often go ignored by conservation planning until an acute threat to their populations emerge – and by then, sometimes it’s too late. According to a new article in the journal Ecosphere, common species are often critically important as structural, dominant, or foundation species in… Read more »

Diverse soil improves plant diversity after all!

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It stands to reason that variable environmental conditions would support greater plant diversity, but few experiments have offered concrete support for the “environmental heterogeneity hypothesis.” In re-establishing tallgrass prairie, the correlation took over 15 years to emerge.

Can corals ride the tide of climate change?

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Damselfish and their coral host (Pocillopora eydouxi).

Researchers at Mo’orea LTER did not observe evidence that corals acclimatize to ocean acidification, but they did observe that some are more sensitive to it than others.

Loner Lizards Stress in Shared Shade

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Sceloporus jarrovi (Yarrow's spiny lizard)

Human introverts aren’t the only ones who get stressed in shared social environments. Lizards like patchy and spread out shaded spaces where they can avoid interactions with other lizards.

The fate of milkweed in a changing prairie system

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Grazers on the Konza Prairie.

There is a surprising connection between the loss of prairie habitat in the Great Plains and the fate of Monarch butterflies. They may not be iconic in the American West, but Monarchs are important pollinators and prey for other species – and their populations in the United States are in steep decline. This is due… Read more »

Environmental History of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MCM)

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Lake Bonney Camp, Antarctica. Steve Chignell, 2016.

As part of their current project, researchers at MCM LTER are writing a detailed study on the environmental history of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The monograph will be available online and published as a book with an academic press. For more information visit the McMurdo Dry Valleys History website.

Art & Ecology (VCR)

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Each year, art and science teachers are invited to Art and Ecology workshops that link Plein Aire landscape painting and observational drawing to salt marsh ecology and climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems. Nearly 30 teachers per year participate in these professional development opportunities, and over half return for a 2nd workshop. Workshops focus on… Read more »

STEAM with Falmouth High School (NES)

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Ying Yang by Garret Bentley and Ness Uitti, 2018. Inspired by work at WHOI researcher Ann Tarrant's lab.

Several WHOI PIs have participated in the “STEAM” program with Falmouth High School art teacher Jane Baker. The STEAM educational movement advocates for the integration of Arts (“A”) into more traditional grouping of STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). For more information, visit Ann Tarrant’s website. Project Status: Completed

Environmental Humanities Conservatory (VCR)

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listening conservatory VCR

The Environmental Humanities Conservatory is a collaboration between VCR-LTER and the UVA Department of Religion and Environmental Resilience Institute that aims to use listening to detect and understand coastal futures. The Conservatory works alongside scientific researchers and experts in ecoacoustics, anthropology, literature, ethics, and history to explore skills that help people interpret the magnitude of… Read more »

Save Our Stream (PIE)

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Save our Stream cover - Tucker

Art related projects are pursued opportunistically. One scientist is currently compiling photographs and writing short essays to be published as a book. Ideas pending funding include an illustrated coloring book of PIE plants and animals and photo or paint representations of the marsh. The PIE team contributed to the story line and illustrations for “Save… Read more »

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