ecology
ecology
Large herbivores may buffer effect of climate change on plant communities
2/25/13
Whether existing ecological communities can persist intact as temperatures rise may depend as much on biological interactions that shape communities themselves as on the effects of climate change, according to a Penn State biology researcher.
A warm, wet fall would dampen foliage colors
9/21/12
This summer was notable because of drought conditions in June and July, and searing heat in July, but that won't limit the beauty of Pennsylvania's fall foliage. Instead, it's the next few weeks' weather that will be determinant, according to a forest expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. And long-term weather forecasts point to mild weather -- 60- to 70-degree days and nights in the mid-40s -- through the end of October, with no frosts. For fall foliage lovers, that's not good.
Wolf mange part of nature's cycle
9/10/12
Mange and viral diseases have a substantial, recurring impact on the health and size of reintroduced wolf packs living in Yellowstone National Park, according to ecologists. Following the restoration of gray wolves to Yellowstone in 1996, researchers collected blood from the animals to monitor parasite-induced disease and death. They also tracked the wolves in each pack to follow their survival and allow additional data-gathering. "We can look at the biology of the diseases and predict which ones will come in first," said Peter J. Hudson, Willaman Professor of Biology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State. "What was surprising was that so many diseases came in so fast, but those were the ones we expected to come in first. It wasn't really a sequence, they were almost there immediately. That's very interesting in itself."
Interdisciplinary research looks at whole-farm sustainability
7/6/12
Weeds, manure, slugs, cows and a vegetable oil-powered tractor are all part of a unique study being conducted in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Begun in 2010, the Sustainable Dairy Cropping Systems research project involves researchers from several areas of expertise to examine dairy farm sustainability. It simulates a Pennsylvania dairy farm of 240 acres and 65 lactating cows, including young-stock, by growing crops on 12 acres of Penn State's Agronomy Research Farm at Rock Springs and using a computer program to model herd management. Combining previous research conducted on a small scale into crop rotations at a farm-scale, the study takes a holistic approach to look at several components of a dairy farm.
Hydroponic rafts may be a solution to Chinese water pollution.
12/14/11
This past summer, a group of 38 students and faculty from Penn State and Jiagnan University journeyed to Lake Taihu in Wuxi, China, as part of a united research effort to study the country's third largest freshwater lake. The experience was part of a course co-taught by Rachel Brennan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at University Park, and Jacqueline McLaughlin, associate professor of biology at Penn State Lehigh Valley.
Plant ecologist honored by Ecological Society of America
10/21/11
A post-doctoral scholar and instructor in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has been recognized by the Ecological Society of America as a 2011 ESA Education Scholar.
Culture influences people's response to climate change
7/1/11
How people choose to consume resources and use contraception influences their responses to climate change, according to a team of psychologists. Janet K. Swim, professor of psychology, Penn State, and her colleagues report that growing consumption and growing population are two significant contributors to human impact on the environment. Both substantially increase carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the researchers report in a special issue of American Psychologist that focuses on how psychology contributes to understanding and addressing global climate change.
Zombie ants have fungus on the brain, new research reveals
5/12/11
New research has revealed how infection by a parasitic fungus dramatically changes the behavior of tropical carpenter ants (species Camponotus leonardi), causing them to become zombie-like and to die at a spot that has optimal reproduction conditions for the fungus. The multinational research team studied ants living high up in the rainforest canopy in Thailand. A paper describing the research was published in the BioMed Central open-access journal BMC Ecology on May 9. To see photos related to this research, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157626690115010 online.
Decline of northern flying squirrel symptom of ailing ecosystem
1/18/11
The rapid decline of the Northern flying squirrel indicates that Pennsylvania's conifer forests are "not very healthy right now," states Carolyn Mahan, associate professor of biology at Penn State Altoona. Without the northern squirrel, there are fewer fungi, and that means added stress on an already weakened population of trees.
The Critical Zone
9/28/10
April in central Pennsylvania: Against the brilliant blue sky, the new leaves of oak, maple, and beech shine gold-green. Yellow flowers of cinquefoil and hot-pink blooms of gaywings dot the forest floor. Somewhere higher up in the watershed, a red-bellied woodpecker gives its rattling call.
Penn State Ag Sciences graduate students win University-wide awards
4/16/10
Three graduate students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have been honored with University-wide awards this spring to recognize excellence in teaching, outreach or research. Robert D. Cameron, doctoral candidate in horticulture, received the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award. Matthew R. Ryan, doctoral candidate in ecology, was awarded the Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs Outreach Achievement Award, and Ezra G. Schwartzberg, doctoral candidate in entomology, netted the Alumni Association Dissertation Award in the life and health sciences category.
Penn State center protects water creatures, wetlands and open spaces
3/30/09
One wonders how a small, unassuming reptile such as the bog turtle can cause havoc up and down the East Coast. But this animal, which can fit in the palm of your hand, is both endangered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and federally threatened. Bog turtles live in marshy wetlands with lots of springs; in Pennsylvania these wetlands are often located on the outskirts of cities in the southeast, in the Piedmont region--the very land that builders like to use for new housing developments. Builders currently need to meet a number of regulations to ensure the protection of bog turtles on these locations, and some companies have gone bankrupt waiting during the application process. Environmentalists and conservationists in Pennsylvania hope to have a solution with a Habitat Conservation Plan.
Tiny invasive snail impacts Great Lakes, alters ecology
8/8/08
Long a problem in the western United States, the New Zealand mud snail currently inhabits four of the five Great Lakes and is spreading into rivers and tributaries, according to a Penn State team of researchers. These tiny creatures out-compete native snails and insects, but are not good fish food replacements for the native species.
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Changes to fall turkey-hunting season urged to bolster research project
3/29/13
Wildlife ecology adjunct associate professor Duane Diefenbach is conducting research on hunter harvests of wild turkeys in fall seasons.
Large herbivores may buffer effect of climate change on plant communities
2/25/13
Whether existing ecological communities can persist intact as temperatures rise may depend as much on biological interactions that shape communities themselves as on the effects of climate change, according to a Penn State biology researcher.
A warm, wet fall would dampen foliage colors
9/21/12
This summer was notable because of drought conditions in June and July, and searing heat in July, but that won't limit the beauty of Pennsylvania's fall foliage. Instead, it's the next few weeks' weather that will be determinant, according to a forest expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. And long-term weather forecasts point to mild weather -- 60- to 70-degree days and nights in the mid-40s -- through the end of October, with no frosts. For fall foliage lovers, that's not good.
Wolf mange part of nature's cycle
9/10/12
Mange and viral diseases have a substantial, recurring impact on the health and size of reintroduced wolf packs living in Yellowstone National Park, according to ecologists. Following the restoration of gray wolves to Yellowstone in 1996, researchers collected blood from the animals to monitor parasite-induced disease and death. They also tracked the wolves in each pack to follow their survival and allow additional data-gathering. "We can look at the biology of the diseases and predict which ones will come in first," said Peter J. Hudson, Willaman Professor of Biology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State. "What was surprising was that so many diseases came in so fast, but those were the ones we expected to come in first. It wasn't really a sequence, they were almost there immediately. That's very interesting in itself."
Interdisciplinary research looks at whole-farm sustainability
7/6/12
Weeds, manure, slugs, cows and a vegetable oil-powered tractor are all part of a unique study being conducted in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Begun in 2010, the Sustainable Dairy Cropping Systems research project involves researchers from several areas of expertise to examine dairy farm sustainability. It simulates a Pennsylvania dairy farm of 240 acres and 65 lactating cows, including young-stock, by growing crops on 12 acres of Penn State's Agronomy Research Farm at Rock Springs and using a computer program to model herd management. Combining previous research conducted on a small scale into crop rotations at a farm-scale, the study takes a holistic approach to look at several components of a dairy farm.
Hydroponic rafts may be a solution to Chinese water pollution.
12/14/11
This past summer, a group of 38 students and faculty from Penn State and Jiagnan University journeyed to Lake Taihu in Wuxi, China, as part of a united research effort to study the country's third largest freshwater lake. The experience was part of a course co-taught by Rachel Brennan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at University Park, and Jacqueline McLaughlin, associate professor of biology at Penn State Lehigh Valley.
Plant ecologist honored by Ecological Society of America
10/21/11
A post-doctoral scholar and instructor in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has been recognized by the Ecological Society of America as a 2011 ESA Education Scholar.
Culture influences people's response to climate change
7/1/11
How people choose to consume resources and use contraception influences their responses to climate change, according to a team of psychologists. Janet K. Swim, professor of psychology, Penn State, and her colleagues report that growing consumption and growing population are two significant contributors to human impact on the environment. Both substantially increase carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the researchers report in a special issue of American Psychologist that focuses on how psychology contributes to understanding and addressing global climate change.
Zombie ants have fungus on the brain, new research reveals
5/12/11
New research has revealed how infection by a parasitic fungus dramatically changes the behavior of tropical carpenter ants (species Camponotus leonardi), causing them to become zombie-like and to die at a spot that has optimal reproduction conditions for the fungus. The multinational research team studied ants living high up in the rainforest canopy in Thailand. A paper describing the research was published in the BioMed Central open-access journal BMC Ecology on May 9. To see photos related to this research, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157626690115010 online.
Decline of northern flying squirrel symptom of ailing ecosystem
1/18/11
The rapid decline of the Northern flying squirrel indicates that Pennsylvania's conifer forests are "not very healthy right now," states Carolyn Mahan, associate professor of biology at Penn State Altoona. Without the northern squirrel, there are fewer fungi, and that means added stress on an already weakened population of trees.
The Critical Zone
9/28/10
April in central Pennsylvania: Against the brilliant blue sky, the new leaves of oak, maple, and beech shine gold-green. Yellow flowers of cinquefoil and hot-pink blooms of gaywings dot the forest floor. Somewhere higher up in the watershed, a red-bellied woodpecker gives its rattling call.
Penn State Ag Sciences graduate students win University-wide awards
4/16/10
Three graduate students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have been honored with University-wide awards this spring to recognize excellence in teaching, outreach or research. Robert D. Cameron, doctoral candidate in horticulture, received the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award. Matthew R. Ryan, doctoral candidate in ecology, was awarded the Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs Outreach Achievement Award, and Ezra G. Schwartzberg, doctoral candidate in entomology, netted the Alumni Association Dissertation Award in the life and health sciences category.
Penn State center protects water creatures, wetlands and open spaces
3/30/09
One wonders how a small, unassuming reptile such as the bog turtle can cause havoc up and down the East Coast. But this animal, which can fit in the palm of your hand, is both endangered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and federally threatened. Bog turtles live in marshy wetlands with lots of springs; in Pennsylvania these wetlands are often located on the outskirts of cities in the southeast, in the Piedmont region--the very land that builders like to use for new housing developments. Builders currently need to meet a number of regulations to ensure the protection of bog turtles on these locations, and some companies have gone bankrupt waiting during the application process. Environmentalists and conservationists in Pennsylvania hope to have a solution with a Habitat Conservation Plan.
Tiny invasive snail impacts Great Lakes, alters ecology
8/8/08
Long a problem in the western United States, the New Zealand mud snail currently inhabits four of the five Great Lakes and is spreading into rivers and tributaries, according to a Penn State team of researchers. These tiny creatures out-compete native snails and insects, but are not good fish food replacements for the native species.