Tree Crossing. Borrowed from Clint Peters.
Trees on the move?! I know you’re thinking, “Come on, Sarah. Trees can’t move.” And, generally, you would be correct in that statement. Tree species are now, however, in a position where movement may be necessary for survival under changing climatic conditions. How trees will move is under debate within the ecological community, but why trees will move is accepted as a survival strategy related to the adaptation of species. Continue reading
A toy wagon transports scientific equipment to Toolik Field Station on the North Slope of Alaska (parked here beneath the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline). Photo Credit: Mike SanClements, 2012.
Field work is often the basis of ecological research. It allows researchers to directly assess the natural world and its many complexities. It also gives us access to many things we rarely encounter in our daily lives . . . Adventure? Definitely. Awesome landscapes? Duh. The Arctic? Yep. Wait, what? No, way. Who works in the Arctic? Now, that’s worth writing home about!
And, that is precisely what one of our very own ecologists, Dr. Mike SanClements, did following his most recent trip to the Toolik Field Station in Alaska’s Arctic Tundra. Check out his field notes on his adventures in climate change research via The New York Times’ Dot Earth blog: Creating a Vital Long View for Gauging Environmental Change. The best science (and scientist) is pounding the pavement and communicating with the masses. Go, Mike!
By Morgan Fuller
As a scientist, when it comes to climate change, I don’t ask “are we causing this?” but rather “what can we do to mitigate and adapt?” Unfortunately, environmental issues have become highly politicized, with views based upon party lines and ideology rather than fact. I’m sure everyone has heard the debates on TV and laughed at Fox News, but I get the feeling that most people in science and academia rarely come into direct contact with extreme climate change deniers. I, however, am on the front lines. The majority of my extended family does not believe climate change is occurring, and knowing that I am studying environmental science, purposely pick fights with me on a regular basis. Fights that I cannot win because I don’t yell loud enough. What concerns me is this—regardless of your beliefs, political or otherwise, our climate is changing. Continue reading
Colorado Quaking Aspen. Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons License, 2012.
By Sarah Bisbing and Kristen Pelz
Following a summer of record high temperatures and extreme drought, we bet you’ll have a hard time imagining the feel of a cool, autumn day. For just a minute, though, let’s go there. Imagine: cool, crisp mornings; piping hot soups and apple pie; thick, wool sweaters; and (our favorite) the true mark of fall’s arrival – the turning of leaves and the coloring of our forests.
Although the eastern U.S. is renowned for its fall color, the western U.S. has its own colorful gem. The quintessential player in fall coloring of the western U.S. is quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). Continue reading
Shore Pine. Patrick’s Point State Park, California. 2010.
By Sarah Bisbing
Each year as spring transitions into summer, there are certain feelings aroused in a field ecologist – those of anticipation, excitement, and fear. Anticipation for the answers we’re seeking, excitement for the many adventures that will surely arise over the course of the field season (grizzly bear charge, anyone?), and fear that we are nowhere near ready to head out and that we have absolutely no clue what we’re doing. Continue reading
Early Career Ecologists 
You must be logged in to post a comment.