A Lotta Gelata in the California Current Ecosystem!

There are a multitude of reasons why gelatinous zooplankton pose an enticing scientific challenge. Dante Capone explores why the CCE LTER studies these creatures in a new SSALTER blog post.

Meet our LTER Graduate Student Science Writers for 2021!

person in black baseball cap, writing in notebook

We are excited to announce our 2021 cohort of LTER grad student science writers. We received a high number of impressive applications, and after much deliberation we are happy to introduce seven students who represent sites from across the network and who bring unique backgrounds, experiences, and talents to the team. Over the next year… Read more »

LTER Graduate Student Spotlight: Marina Lauck

Marina Lauck of CAP LTER

This spotlight is part of an ongoing series featuring many of our LTER Network graduate student representatives who contribute valuable research and leadership across the network. To learn more about LTER graduate research, visit this page. Marina Lauck is a fourth year PhD candidate at Arizona State University and is the graduate student representative for… Read more »

LTER Grad Student Spotlight: Emilia Grzesik

Emilia and her field tech, Elliot, in the field sampling black spruce forest fuel loads at Bonanza Creek LTER in Alaska.

This spotlight is part of an ongoing series featuring many of our wonderful LTER Network graduate student representatives who contribute valuable research and leadership across the network. To learn more about graduate research in the LTER network, visit this page. Emilia Grzesik is a second year Master’s student at the University of Fairbanks, Alaska (near completion)… Read more »

Fire Brings New Perspectives on Disturbance at H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest

View of the Holiday Fire burning through 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 »

The Edge of Agriculture: Pests and Crop Configuration

A prairie strip growing in wheat at the KBS LTER Main Cropping Systems Experiment.

In agricultural landscapes, predatory insects provide an essential ecosystem service — valued at billions of dollars annually — by suppressing pests that damage crops. A new study that includes data from Kellogg Biological Station LTER (KBS LTER) found that natural pest suppression gains a big boost when agricultural landscapes are patchy and include a high… Read more »

LTER Road Trip: Boreal Forest Research Legacies

Xanthe Walker organizes tree cores while sampling in the 1987 burn near Delta Junction, Alaska.

By Haley Dunleavy, PhD Candidate at Northern Arizona University Leaving my house, I feel like a runaway. I am packed inside an economy-sized rental car with my field clothes, camping gear, and of course, face masks, heading 300 miles north to meet my advisor Michelle Mack and fellow lab members for a couple days of… Read more »

LTER Graduate Student Spotlight: Charles Scaife

Credit: Andreas JozwiakThis spotlight is part of an ongoing series featuring many of our wonderful LTER Network graduate student representatives who contribute valuable research and leadership across the network. To learn more about graduate research in the LTER network, visit this page. Charles Scaife is a 5th year PhD candidate at the University of Virginia in… Read more »