9 posts · 579 views
Professional writer from DC area living in Atlanta. Blogs about ecology, art, culture and fiction writing.
Voltage Gate
9 posts
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- March 3, 2010
- 01:00 PM
- 30 views
How do taxonomic preferences shape conservation and science?
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
...an analysis of the frequency and depth of research based on the mammal, reptile, amphibian and bird species in southern Africa. The study questions scientific priorities, highlighting the massive inequality of attention received by differing groups of organisms.... Read more »
TRIMBLE, M., & VAN AARDE, R. (2010) Species Inequality in Scientific Study. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01453.x
- February 24, 2010
- 05:37 PM
- 40 views
Ancient caribou DNA suggests replacement triggered by climate change and/or volcano eruption
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
I’ve become increasingly interested in the practice of paleoecology of late, trying to find and gather bits and pieces when I have time. This study from Molecular Ecology came to me, which, based on the probability that you can assign probabilities to cosmic events, I’m going to carefully and tentatively (and gentlemanly) attribute to Providence, or Wiley Interscience press releases.In the Yukon, there are several distinct caribou herds that inhabit and move within certain, definable regions........ Read more »
KUHN, T., MCFARLANE, K., GROVES, P., MOOERS, A., & SHAPIRO, B. (2010) Modern and ancient DNA reveal recent partial replacement of caribou in the southwest Yukon. Molecular Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04565.x
- February 19, 2010
- 05:19 PM
- 56 views
Island biogeography: State and case of spider diversity in Macaronesia
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
Some of the first organisms found on a newly risen or recently destroyed island are spiders. On mainlands, spiderlings of smaller species weave a tiny drag chute, perched atop the highest point in their immediate area – the leaf of an herb or the very tip of a blooming meadow grass – and let the breeze, even the slightest one, carry them away. Most only travel short distances, remaining in the ecosystem in which they were born, but some are spun upwards in varying winds, and swept into jet s........ Read more »
Whittaker, R., Triantis, K., & Ladle, R. (2008) A general dynamic theory of oceanic island biogeography. Journal of Biogeography, 35(6), 977-994. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01892.x
Cardoso, P., Arnedo, M., Triantis, K., & Borges, P. (2010) Drivers of diversity in Macaronesian spiders and the role of species extinctions. Journal of Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02264.x
- February 12, 2010
- 01:49 PM
- 55 views
For Darwin Day: The Biogeography of Darwin's Gourd
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
In September of 1835, Charles Darwin was visiting an island of Floreana, one of the smaller islands in the Galapagos archipelago where he came across crawling beds of Sicyos villosus, a fairly typical member of the squashes and cucumbers (Cucurbitaceae). Darwin noted that the cucurbit was "injurious" to the surrounding vegetation, referring to its prolific takeover of the landscape nearby.Darwin sent a sample of S. villosus (pictured above) back to Great Britain along with 209 other plants from ........ Read more »
Sebastian, P., Schaefer, H., & Renner, S. (2010) Darwin’s Galapagos gourd: providing new insights 175 years after his visit. Journal of Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02270.x
Briggs, J. (2009) Darwin’s biogeography. Journal of Biogeography, 36(6), 1011-1017. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.02076.x
- February 3, 2010
- 11:55 AM
- 64 views
Forest fragmentation and the isolation of the giant panda (a goodbye to Tai Shan and Mei Lan)
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
In recent surveys, researchers have shown that the number of individual pandas has increased due to conservation efforts in the country, but the populations remain disparate. A recent study published in the Journal of Biogeography takes a look at how exactly these pandas are distributed in the forests of Southwest China, in relation to the level of fragmentation.... Read more »
Wang, T., Ye, X., Skidmore, A., & Toxopeus, A. (2010) Characterizing the spatial distribution of giant pandas ( ) in fragmented forest landscapes . Journal of Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02259.x
- January 30, 2010
- 02:08 PM
- 80 views
Climate change, invasives and extinction in Thoreau's Woods
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
The data that Thoreau collected is meticulous enough to be considered a viable, useful data source by modern researchers. Thoreau's records of the area's wildlife have been carried on by others, providing us with over 150 years of data regarding the phenology of Northeast American flora; that is, life cycle events like fruiting or flowering days or migration and how these events are influenced by the seasons and the climate. Simply put, after 150 years of suffering the effects of distu........ Read more »
Willis, C., Ruhfel, B., Primack, R., Miller-Rushing, A., Losos, J., & Davis, C. (2010) Favorable Climate Change Response Explains Non-Native Species' Success in Thoreau's Woods. PLoS ONE, 5(1). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008878
Willis CG, Ruhfel B, Primack RB, Miller-Rushing AJ, & Davis CC. (2008) Phylogenetic patterns of species loss in Thoreau's woods are driven by climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(44), 17029-33. PMID: 18955707
Miller-Rushing AJ, & Primack RB. (2008) Global warming and flowering times in Thoreau's Concord: a community perspective. Ecology, 89(2), 332-41. PMID: 18409423
- January 28, 2010
- 11:00 AM
- 62 views
Climate change drying up streams, reducing the reproductive success of bats in the Rockies
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
Bats, as this article in Ecology explains, are particularly sensitive to these changes and, due to their enormous numbers, are integral to food webs as predator and prey. They may be that indicator ecologists are looking for.... Read more »
Adams, R. (2010) BAT REPRODUCTION DECLINES WHEN CONDITIONS MIMIC CLIMATE CHANGE PROJECTIONS FOR WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. Ecology, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1890/09-0091
- January 22, 2010
- 05:14 PM
- 98 views
Coastal dune ecology: Invasive grass driving native herb to extinction through direct and apparent competition
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
I was reading through this study from Ecology yesterday, which tells the interesting story of how coastal dune ecology in northern California was invaded in the 19th century and subsequently disrupted. In order to stabilize the ever-shifting sand dunes, a grass called Ammophila arenaria, the European beachgrass, was planted along the coastline. A. arenaria grows from a strong, thick network of branching rhizomes, allowing it create a fast hold on loose soil and, as the coastal managers intended,........ Read more »
Dangremond, E., Pardini, E., & Knight, T. (2010) Apparent competition with an invasive plant hastens the extinction of an endangered lupine. Ecology, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1890/09-0418
- January 14, 2010
- 12:06 PM
- 94 views
Irreplaceable natural services: A look at the plight of the Chihuahuan grasslands and the black-tailed prairie dog
by Jeremy in Voltage Gate
This article from PLoS ONE, provides a very clear, apt example of just how delicate this biome can be, and illustrates the services that native animals can provide in an ecosystem that would cost considerable sums to replace.... Read more »
Ceballos, G., Davidson, A., List, R., Pacheco, J., Manzano-Fischer, P., Santos-Barrera, G., & Cruzado, J. (2010) Rapid Decline of a Grassland System and Its Ecological and Conservation Implications. PLoS ONE, 5(1). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008562
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