By University of Victoria 4/24/2020 Higher water temperatures linked to climate change slashed a Pacific Ocean coral reef fish community by half, according to a new study led by University of Victoria biologists that is one of the first studies to assess the direct impact of heat stress on reef fish. “The devastating effects of climate change on corals…
By Sarah Farmer, USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station 4/2/2020 With its symbiotic bacteria, black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) makes its own nitrogen fertilizer – and can share it with other tree species. “In early successional temperate forests, symbiotic nitrogen fixation is often the main source of new nitrogen,” says USDA Forest Service scientist Chelcy Miniat. But drought could slow the rate of symbiotic nitrogen fixation,…
By BU Pardee School of Global Studies 4/19/2020 The late Anthony Janetos, Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future from 2013-2019, has been posthumously awarded the Ecological Society of America (ESA) 2020 Distinguished Service Citation. The Distinguished Service Citation “recognizes long and distinguished volunteer service to ESA, the scientific community, and the larger purpose of…
By Princeton University 4/16/2020 Jonathan Levine, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB), is the 2020 recipient of the Ecological Society of America’s Robert H. MacArthur Award, the most prestigious mid-career accolade from the world’s largest professional organization of ecologists, representing more than 9,000 scientists around the world. Levine is the 20th winner of the award, which was established in 1983 in memory…
By The University of New Hampshire 4/15/2020 Serita Frey, professor of soil microbial ecology at UNH, has been named a fellow of the Ecological Society of America. Frey was elected to this lifelong appointment for “substantial contributions to our understanding of how soil organisms respond to environmental change and in turn impact the services that ecosystems provide across both space and time,…
By Michigan State University 4/16/2020 A team of authors that include five current or former members of MSU’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability (CSIS), will be honored for innovation by the world’s largest organization of professional ecologists. The Innovation in Sustainability Science Award from The Ecological Society of America (ESA, the world’s largest community of professional ecologists) will be shared…
By The University of Maine 4/16/2020 The Ecological Society of America named Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie a recipient of the George Mercer Award that recognizes outstanding recently published ecological research by scientists 40 years old and younger. The postdoctoral fellow at the University of Maine shares the award with Mason Heberling, who is the study’s first author, and with co-authors Jason…
By Carnegie Museum of Natural History 4/16/2020 [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania] — The Ecological Society of America (ESA) named co-authors Mason Heberling, Assistant Curator of Botany at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie, postdoctoral fellow at University of Maine, recipients of the George Mercer Award that recognizes excellence in recent ecological research by scientists aged 40 years or younger…
By University of Wisconsin-Madison 4/15/2020 Ellen Damschen has spent her career studying how and why plant species survive in habitats that are increasingly influenced by human activities. Much of her research asks how different conservation and restoration strategies alter biodiversity. Damschen, a professor of integrated biology, is one of 22 professors nationwide to be included in the Ecological Society of America’s…
By UC Irvine 4/10/2020 Joleah Lamb, a UCI biologist who studies the impact of infectious diseases on the oceans, has been named an Early Career Fellow by the Ecological Society of America, the world’s largest association of professional ecologists. Early Career Fellows are chosen based on their advanced ecological knowledge and applications as well as potential to make notable ongoing contributions…
By South Dakota State University 4/9/2020 Carter Johnson, a distinguished professor emeritus at South Dakota State University, has been named by the Ecological Society of America as of one of its 22 fellows in the Class of 2020. Johnson, who taught in the Department of Natural Resource Management from 1989 to 2017, is being honored for his research on river…
By University of Alicante 4/9/2020 University of Alicante (UA) distinguished researcher Fernando T. Maestre has elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. The appointment as fellow is a distinction for those members of this society who have made outstanding scientific contributions in the field of ecology and study of ecosystems, communication, education and pedagogy, and environmental management and…
By UC Santa Barbara’s ‘The Current’ 4/9/2020 In recognition of his contributions to the field of ecology, UC Santa Barbara professor Benjamin Halpern has been named an Ecological Society of America (ESA) 2020 Fellow. The society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways in which its members contribute to ecological research and discovery, communication, education and pedagogy, and management and policy. Fellows, according…
By Rausser College of Natural Resources at The University of California, Berkeley 4/9/2020 Congratulations to environmental science, policy, and management assistant professor Carl Boettiger on being named one of the Ecological Society of America’s 2020 Early Career Fellows. The fellowship recognizes Boettiger for his contributions to the community at large through his research, teaching, and communication, as well as his leadership within stochastic dynamics…
By The University of Michigan 4/9/2020 ANN ARBOR—Four University of Michigan faculty members have been named as 2020 Fellows of the Ecological Society of America, the world’s largest community of professional ecologists. The society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways its members contribute to ecological research and discovery, communication, teaching, and management and policy. The program recognizes both Fellows and…
By University of Vermont Gund Institute for Environment 4/8/2020 Three trailblazing University of Vermont professors were named Fellows of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) today for outstanding contributions to the science of ecology. UVM’s trio of new ESA Fellows are: Aimée Classen and Taylor Ricketts (Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources), and Nicholas Gotelli (College of Arts and…
By Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries 4/6/2020 More and more animals and plants are being taken from their habitat by humans – consciously and unconsciously. Many cannot adapt to the new living conditions, but some are becoming firmly established. “Some non-native species cause serious problems for native species – as predators, competitors for food and habitat, or vectors…
By Florida International University 3/31/2020 Even minor amounts of human activity can increase nutrient concentrations in fresh waters that can damage the environment, according to a new study. These findings suggest most U.S. streams and rivers have higher levels of nitrogen and phosphorus than is recommended. Although nutrients are a natural part of aquatic ecosystems like streams and rivers, too…
By National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis 3/16/2020 Conserving natural habitat around strawberry fields can help protect growers’ yields, their bottom line and the environment with no detectable threat to food safety, indicates a study led by the University of California, Davis. KNOXVILLE—The best bargains for conserving some of the world’s most vulnerable salamanders and other vertebrate species can…
By University of Gothenberg 3/13/2020 Researchers have used a new method to identify which eelgrass meadows on the Swedish coasts are particularly vulnerable or valuable and which meadows should be restored in the future. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is a marine flowering plant that provides a habitat for a wide range of marine plants and animals, including several commercial fish, such as…