Tag Archive | "ecology"

Development will reduce carbon stored in forests, Smithsonian & Harvard scientists predict

Development will reduce carbon stored in forests, Smithsonian & Harvard scientists predict

When most people look at a forest, they see walking trails, deer yards, or firewood for next winter. But scientists at the Harvard Forest and the Smithsonian take note of changes imperceptible to the naked eye — the uptake and storage of carbon. What they’ve learned in a recent study is that an immense amount [...] [...more]

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New invasive species database allows public to ID marine invaders with a home computer

New invasive species database allows public to ID marine invaders with a home computer

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has created NEMESIS--National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System--an online public database that provides key information about the non-native marine species throughout the United States. [...more]

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Fungi-filled forests are critical if endangered orchids are to thrive

Fungi-filled forests are critical if endangered orchids are to thrive

Older forests with just the right fungi may be secret to saving these vulnerable plants. [...more]

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Why did the tortoise cross the road? A recent study indicates few do.

Why did the tortoise cross the road? A recent study indicates few do.

Scientists studying genetic variation and gene flow in a population of tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in California’s Mojave Desert, were surprised recently to discover that two roads built in the desert in the 1970s had a noticeable impact on the population’s genetic structure. [...more]

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New Book: “Fishes: The Animal Answer Guide”

New Book: “Fishes: The Animal Answer Guide”

In this fun, accessible and informative book, ichthyologists Gene Helfman, professor emeritus at the University of Georgia, and Bruce Collette, of the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, provide accurate, entertaining, and sometimes surprising answers to more than 100 common and not-so-common questions. [...more]

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VIDEO: Meet our Scientist Rachel Page. She studies frog-eating bats, and other animals, in Panama

VIDEO: Meet our Scientist Rachel Page. She studies frog-eating bats, and other animals, in Panama

Meet Rachel Page, a Smithsonian scientist in Panama who studies frog-eating bats (fringe-lipped bats), among other topics. Her current research focuses on learning and memory in neotropical bats, combining field studies with laboratory experiments to learn about predator cognition and its effects on the evolution of their prey. [...more]

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Cold spells spell trouble for warm-weather invasives

Cold spells spell trouble for warm-weather invasives

In a laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., scientist João Canning Clode and colleagues tested the cold-water tolerances of a number of invasive green porcelain crabs. [...more]

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Air pollution is fertilizing tropical forests

Air pollution is fertilizing tropical forests

Studies at two remote Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory sites in Panama and Thailand show the first evidence of long-term effects of nitrogen pollution in tropical trees. [...more]

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Meet our Scientists—Videos!

Science Spotlight

Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have found that fledgling catbirds living in the suburbs are extremely vulnerable. Almost 80 percent are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. Nearly half of the deaths are connected to domestic cats. The team studied catbird nests in 3 suburban neighborhoods in Maryland: Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park, and Bethesda. Learn more about this 2011 study by clicking here. (Catbird photo by Gerhard Hofmann)

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