Displaying items by tag: ecology
How a study of so-called “trash birds” revealed conservation clues for urban species
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey documented a family of peregrine falcons on the Bayonne Bridge. Port Authority
What city birds around the world have in common
This story was originally published by The Revelator.
Why do some bird species seem to flourish alongside humans, eating our crumbs and nesting in our backyards, while others prefer to live as far as possible from dense human populations?
Monte Neate-Clegg began to ponder the question while attending the American Ornithological Society’s 2019 conference in Anchorage, Alaska. “I was staying at an AirBnB and two of the birds I wanted to see in Anchorage, white-winged crossbills and boreal chickadees, were just in the yard,” said Neate-Clegg, at the time a Ph.D. student at the University of Utah. Although new and beautiful to him, the species are common in Anchorage and so omnipresent they’re typically ignored by residents.
“I started thinking, what is it that makes these ‘trash birds’ here, and not elsewhere?”
Neate-Clegg sounds sheepish about using the pejorative-sounding term “trash bird,” but it’s a phrase commonly used by birdwatchers to refer to species ubiquitous to a given location they cease to become interesting and can become irritating. Classic examples include pigeons in city centers and snack-stealing gulls on beaches.
One man’s trash bird is another’s research query. Neate-Clegg wondered if specific traits make certain species more able to thrive in cities around the world. After joining ornithologist Morgan Tingley at his lab at UCLA as a postdoctoral researcher in 2021, he proposed a lab-wide project in an attempt to answer the question.
The research drew on data providing clues which may eventually reveal a roadmap making our cities more bird friendly.
- monte neateclegg
- american ornithological society
- boreal chickadee
- whitewinged crossbill
- morgan tingley
- rebecca heisman
- peregrine falcons nyc
- urban bird
- avonet
- morphology
- functional trait
- ecology
- bird specimen
- ornithology
- natural history
- museum
- trash bird
- big data science
- urban biodiversity
- threatened species
- concrete jungle
- city rewilding
- urban microrewilding
- city bird
Natural 911: Knoxville Native Plant Rescue Squad whisks threatened plants to safety
Joy Grissom (left) and Gerry Moll pose for a photograph with their collection of rescued native plants at Knoxville Botanical Gardens. Photos by Anna Lawrence/Hellbender Press
Joy Grissom and Gerry Moll: Preserving East Tennessee’s natural heritage with shovels and wheelbarrows
If there’s a massive ecological disturbance in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?
The Knoxville Native Plant Rescue Squad, of course.
Joy Grissom and Gerry Moll spent the past six years identifying, digging, hauling and muscling native East Tennessee plants to salvation from construction, grading and logging sites.
The duo has saved thousands of plants and their communities from certain demise. They have plucked plants to safety from areas ranging from a 170-acre logging operation in Cocke County to relatively small commercial developments in Knox County.
- knoxville native plant rescue squad
- ecology
- habitat
- garden
- plant rescue
- tree rescue
- planting
- knoxville botanical garden and arboretum
- preservation
- east tennessee
- natural heritage
- knox county
- developer
- land owner
- contractor
- forever home
- farmers market
- salvage
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- knox county schools
Ecological Society of America honors Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists for sustainability research
ORNL researchers receive 2021 Sustainability Science Award for mapping human influence on U.S. river and stream changes
Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory mapped and quantified hydrological changes throughout the country due to urban development, energy production and other human factors and won a prestigious award for their efforts.
The team’s analysis was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and received the 2021 Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America.
“The Sustainability Science Award recognizes the authors of a scholarly work that make a substantial contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences. The researchers will be recognized during the society’s annual meeting in August,” according to an ORNL release announcing the award.
The research coupled U.S. Geological Survey stream-flow records with geospatial modeling to quantify human impact on national water resources and concluded the 7 percent of affected aquatic systems hold 60 percent of North American freshwater fish, mussels and other species.
“This work exemplifies how ORNL’s interdisciplinary research in environmental and geospatial science helps equip decision makers with the tools needed to move our nation toward a more sustainable future,” Stan Wullschleger, associate laboratory director for ORNL’s Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate, said in the release.
Lead author Ryan McManamay, an aquatic ecologist and faculty member at Baylor University, was with ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division at the time of publication. Co-authors include ORNL’s Sujithkumar Surendran Nair, Christopher DeRolph, the late April Morton, Robert Stewart, Matthew Troia and Budhendra Bhaduri; Northern Arizona University’s Benjamin Ruddell; and the University of Tennessee’s Liem Tran and Hyun Kim.
“It was a privilege to work with this team that spanned across multiple disciplines and institutions,” said Bhaduri, an ORNL Corporate Research Fellow and director of ORNL’s Geospatial Science and Human Security Division. “Given the impacts of climate change, there has never been a more pressing opportunity to address environmental sustainability. It’s a tremendous honor to make this scientific contribution and to be recognized for it.”
- oak ridge national laboratory
- sustainability
- ecological society of america
- sustainability research
- ornl
- hydrology change
- human impact
- aquatic environment
- sustainability science award
- streamflow
- ecology
- mapping
- urban development
- sociology
- us geological survey
- geospatial modeling
- geospatial science
- research
- interdisciplinary
Integrating economics and ecology
Mar 26 10–11 a.m.
Integrating economics and ecology for seasonal migratory species conservation
Dr. Charles Sims
Howard H. Baker Jr Center for Public Policy
Baker Cafe Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public
The Baker Cafe Series is an informal discussion about various topics. Guests are encouraged to ask questions that pertain to the topic and gain insight straight from the experts.
Species that migrate face different natural and anthropogenic threats than other species. Protecting migratory species poses unique policy challenges because survival depends on the migratory process's integrity through space and time.
Zoom meeting link
Become a Volunteer Forester
Mar 24 6–8 p.m.
Volunteer Forester Certificate Level One
Learn how to properly plant, mulch and prune trees
Trees Knoxville
The class will combine video instruction, 4 weekly Zoom meetings (Mar 24, 31, Apr 7, 14), and one 2-hour field day at a local park for hands-on training, which will follow The Arbor Foundation Covid best practices guidelines.
Virtual Volunteer Forester Registration
Class cost is $25. More information and financial aid available on the registration site.
How disease changes evolution
Mar 5 noon–1 p.m. EST
Epidemics, Societies, and Math: How disease changes animal, including human, evolution
Nina Fefferman, professor in the UT Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics
University of Tennessee Science Forum
Zoom Meeting - Free and open to the public - RSVP
Learn how evolution, despite risks of infectious diseases, reaped benefits from social contact and group organization.
After registering,
you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.