A pulse of midges swarms over Lake Malawi in Africa. Photo credit: The Daily Mail. Freshwater fish often rely on terrestrial insects as a portion of their food supply. In lakes, the size and shape of the lake can determine how much the fish rely on terrestrial insects for food. But with humans’ love of lakefront property, the resulting development…
Program Chair Scott Franklin and ESA President Sunny Power at the scientific plenary and ESA Awards session. This post was contributed by ESA’s Director of Public Affairs, Nadine Lymn. At the start of this morning’s Scientific Plenary & ESA Awards Session, ESA President Alison “Sunny” Power gave her State of the Society address. Much like the U.S. presidential “State of the…
The ESA meeting kicked off last night with the opening plenary session and presentation of the ESA Regional Policy Award. ESA’s Director Katherine McCarter welcomed everyone to the meeting, citing the fact that her first ESA meeting as director was also in Albuquerque in 1997. She pointed out that the meeting’s theme, “Ecological Knowledge and a Global Sustainable Society,” is…
ESA’s 94th Annual Meeting will begin on Sunday, August 2 in Albuquerque, NM. The meeting’s theme is “Ecological Knowledge and a Global Sustainable Society,” and the program will include everything from talks on urban ecosystems to sessions about geoengineering to a workshop on improv comedy. We’ll be live blogging from the meeting, with updates, stories, photos, and (hopefully) some video….
ESA released a position statement today on the proper place of ecological and environmental capital in the nation’s economy. As the United States and much of the world try to recover from the current economic crisis, ESA recommends that long-term sustainability should be prioritized in the restructuring of business models and economic growth. A key to this task, the statement…
The ESA podcasts page has been revamped! Check out the new look for your favorite ESA podcasts on the new ESA podcasts page. Or, if you’re an ESA podcast newbie, here’s the rundown of the three series: Beyond the Frontier features interviews with the authors publishing in the ESA journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The authors to discuss…
The information below was submitted by Sue Anderson of the University of Southern California. The 2010 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, an international award that honors achievements and contributions in the fields of environmental science, protection, energy and medicine, is now open for nominations. The deadline is September 15. The winner will receive a gold medallion and a $200,000 cash…
With massive issues like invasive species, climate change and protection of biodiversity moving onto the world stage, ecological knowledge has perhaps never been in higher demand than today. Support for most (about 67 percent) of biological research in the U.S. comes from the National Science Foundation’s Biological Sciences Directorate (affectionately known as NSF BIO); a similar granting program at the…
Ethanol as the next generation of alternative fuels has stirred significant controversy. While some tout its lower-than-gasoline greenhouse-gas emissions and its usefulness in creating carbon sinks in its agricultural fields, many other ecologists call ethanol production the most inefficient of alternative fuel options. Even the most optimistic scenarios still show that using current technologies, it can take years – in…
This week there has been no shortage of Darwin-related events to attend about town in Washington, D.C., as science and environmental groups have clamored to put on talks, events and celebrations commemorating Darwin’s legacy. Today I attended a symposium sponsored by the National Academies , titled “Twenty-first Century Ecosystems: Systemic Risk and the Public Good.” The session I attended on…
The stimulus bill that was passed by the House of Representatives last week includes $3 billion for the National Science Foundation, among other large sums set aside for NOAA and the USGS. The bill is having trouble gaining support in the Senate, however, because many lawmakers believe that the bill includes too many long-term projects that would do little to…
ESA sent a letter today to president-elect Barack Obama recommending top priorities where ecological science should inform policy decisions in the new administration. Obama has already pledged his commitment to curbing climate change during his term. ESA applauded that commitment and outlined four other priorities for the next administration: ▪ Protecting water quality and quantity, especially in conjunction with worldwide…