Climate change makes kelp less nutritious

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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

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  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 »

Started from the Benthos, Now We’re Here—a Holistic Approach to Lake Ecology

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Freshwater fish in a lake

In 2018, M. Jake Vander Zanden and Yvonne Vadeboncoeur were invited to give a plenary lecture at the International Society for Limnology (SIL) meeting in Nanjing, China. They spoke about their efforts to synthesize a more holistic understanding of the role of benthic productivity and food web pathways in lakes.  The two began their journey… Read more »

Can seagrass meadows mitigate climate change?

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As anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase, scientists have now recognized seagrass meadows—which typically have high rates of carbon storage—as important ‘blue carbon’ sinks. However, rising ocean temperatures threaten seagrass meadows, along with their ability to retain carbon. This underlines the need for precise ecosystem data on the vulnerability and resilience of these meadows… Read more »

LTER at Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020

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In 2017, the LTER Network saw the addition of three new marine and coastal sites. The new sites—Northeast U.S. Shelf (NES), Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA) and Beaufort Lagoon Ecosystems (BLE)—are all well-represented among the 41 talks and posters presented by LTER researchers at the 2020 AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting. Presentations from these and other… Read more »

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.

Collaboration with artist Cynthia Rubin (NES)

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Jellyfish and Krill in Antarctica by Cynthia Ruben and Susanne Menden-Deuer, 2017

Biological oceanographer Susanne Menden-Deuer at the University of Rhode Island has an ongoing collaboration with artist Cynthia Rubin. Murals are on display on the doors to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) PI labs, while other art is showcased during exhibits and conferences. Project Status: Ongoing

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

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