When one envisions a grassland community, imagery of tall grasses and bison often come to mind. Bison are an iconic species on the landscape, and they also impact the structure and function of the grassland ecosystem in important ways. Using natural variations in the abundance of oxygen isotopes, researchers at the Konza Prairie LTER found that grazing influenced plant water use through changes in diversity.
Between 2013 and 2015, Andrew Rypel traveled the state of Wisconsin attending public meetings led by state and local fisheries staff— always with a set of graphs in hand. These graphs showed the steady decline in the size of panfish found in state lakes over the past seventy years. Panfish (unsurprisingly) are fish that fit… Read more »
In 2010, when Cyclone Oli hit the reef, Han wondered which way the scale would tip: could the coral recover from both these impacts? Or would macroalgae move in and dominate?
New research by Harvard Forest (HFR) LTER scientists suggest that widespread death of the whiteback pine tree from beetle infestations and tree disease outbreaks may be affecting seed production and hence the future of the tree–a mountain tree important to wildlife and water resources in the western United States and Canada. In a paper published… Read more »
The National Science Foundation’s online video magazine, “Science Nation,” has released a short video featuring long term research by scientists at the Harvard Forest (HFR) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program to determine how the forest responds to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The short video and the accompanying short article can be viewed at… Read more »
International Drought Experiment" data-envira-gallery-id="site_images_45205" data-envira-index="5" data-envira-item-id="82314" data-envira-src="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Matta_rainout-533x400.jpeg" data-envira-srcset="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Matta_rainout-533x400.jpeg 400w, https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Matta_rainout-533x400.jpeg 2x" data-title="Matta_rainout" itemprop="thumbnailUrl" data-no-lazy="1" data-envirabox="site_images_45205" data-automatic-caption="Matta_rainout - Researchers use rainout shelters at the Matta International LTER site in Israel to simulate extended droughts and observe changes in ecosystem productivity and species composition. The Matta site is part of a distributed network of over 100 sites across the globe inspired by long term experiments of the U.S. LTER Network. Similar structures without plastic panels serve as controls. Image courtesy of International Drought Experiment
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E Zambello/LTER-NCO CC BY 4.0" data-envira-gallery-id="site_images_45205" data-envira-index="9" data-envira-item-id="80758" data-envira-src="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-49-600x400.jpg" data-envira-srcset="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-49-600x400.jpg 400w, https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-49-600x400.jpg 2x" data-title="sb 49" itemprop="thumbnailUrl" data-no-lazy="1" data-envirabox="site_images_45205" data-automatic-caption="sb 49 - Beach wrack (kelp and other ocean debris washed ashore) is prime habitat for beach hoppers and many other tiny nearshore animals. E Zambello/LTER-NCO CC BY 4.0
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E Zambello/LTER-NCO CC BY 4.0" data-envira-gallery-id="site_images_45205" data-envira-index="10" data-envira-item-id="80757" data-envira-src="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-40-600x400.jpg" data-envira-srcset="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-40-600x400.jpg 400w, https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-40-600x400.jpg 2x" data-title="sb 40" itemprop="thumbnailUrl" data-no-lazy="1" data-envirabox="site_images_45205" data-automatic-caption="sb 40 - Beach hoppers (also called sand fleas) are tiny crustaceans that make up an important part of the shoreline food web. E Zambello/LTER-NCO CC BY 4.0
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E Zambello/LTER-NCO CC BY 4.0" data-envira-gallery-id="site_images_45205" data-envira-index="11" data-envira-item-id="80756" data-envira-src="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-33-600x400.jpg" data-envira-srcset="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-33-600x400.jpg 400w, https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sb-33-600x400.jpg 2x" data-title="sb 33" itemprop="thumbnailUrl" data-no-lazy="1" data-envirabox="site_images_45205" data-automatic-caption="sb 33 - A hungry shorebird searches for tiny crustaceans - including beach hoppers - to pluck from the shoreline. E Zambello/LTER-NCO CC BY 4.0
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Ingrid Taylar. CC BY 2.0" data-envira-gallery-id="site_images_45205" data-envira-index="23" data-envira-item-id="46943" data-envira-src="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/3660520317_f1cff7961e_b-600x400.jpg" data-envira-srcset="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/3660520317_f1cff7961e_b-600x400.jpg 400w, https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/3660520317_f1cff7961e_b-600x400.jpg 2x" data-title="3660520317_f1cff7961e_b" itemprop="thumbnailUrl" data-no-lazy="1" data-envirabox="site_images_45205" data-automatic-caption="3660520317_f1cff7961e_b - Ingrid Taylar. CC BY 2.0" data-envira-height="224" data-envira-width="300" />
Chesapeake Bay Program. CC BY-NC 2.0." data-envira-gallery-id="site_images_45205" data-envira-index="24" data-envira-item-id="46942" data-envira-src="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/30914015212_906755c25b_k-600x400.jpg" data-envira-srcset="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/30914015212_906755c25b_k-600x400.jpg 400w, https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/30914015212_906755c25b_k-600x400.jpg 2x" data-title="30914015212_906755c25b_k" itemprop="thumbnailUrl" data-no-lazy="1" data-envirabox="site_images_45205" data-automatic-caption="30914015212_906755c25b_k - Forest buffer in Baltimore County, MD. Chesapeake Bay Program. CC BY-NC 2.0." data-envira-height="200" data-envira-width="300" />
CC BY-SA 4.0" data-envira-gallery-id="site_images_45205" data-envira-index="36" data-envira-item-id="46180" data-envira-src="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/P7193263-copy-600x400.jpg" data-envira-srcset="https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/P7193263-copy-600x400.jpg 400w, https://lternet.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/P7193263-copy-600x400.jpg 2x" data-title="Crown-of-thorns Sea Star" itemprop="thumbnailUrl" data-no-lazy="1" data-envirabox="site_images_45205" data-automatic-caption="Crown-of-thorns Sea Star - A Crown_of-thorns seastar or COTS (Acanthaster planci) feeding on a coral colony. MCR LTER. CC BY-SA 4.0
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