History, Natural History & the Arts
One cold spring morning, a turkey vulture soared across the sky and landed high in a tree behind my house. I soon noticed another vulture, most likely its mate, in a nearby oak.
This one was perched with its back to the sun and its gigantic wings outspread. It remained in place, giving me a good look at its impressive wingspan – nearly 6 feet – and the light filtering through its long, silvery wingtips, or “fingers.” [Read more…] about The Horaltic Pose: Sunbathing Birds
Staggering declines in bird populations are taking place around the world. So concludes a study from scientists at multiple institutions, recently published in the journal Annual Review of Environment and Resources.
Loss and degradation of natural habitats and direct over-exploitation of many species are cited as the key threats to avian biodiversity. Climate change is identified as an emerging driver of bird population declines. [Read more…] about Global Bird Populations Steadily Declining
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has confirmed that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus has been found in multiple wild bird species in several areas of New York State.
No known HPAI human infections are documented in the U.S., and according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these recent cases of HPAI do not present an immediate public health concern for most people. However, people in contact with known infected or possibly infected birds should take precautions to protect against infection and avian researchers are concerned that bird baths and bird feeders can help spread the virus and are asking that they be taken down for a few months. [Read more…] about Avian Influenza Detected in New York’s Wild Birds; Take Down Feeders
The Hudson River Estuary Program announced a new Hudson River Curriculum Guide, featuring original lesson plans from the Estuary Program and its partners. The inquiry-based, multi-component science guide is designed for teachers and students to enhance STEM learning, as well as deepen their engagement and understanding of the Hudson River and its watershed. [Read more…] about Hudson River Lesson Plans For K-12 Teachers
Each year, soon after ice out, torpedo-shaped fish slip into the lake’s weedy shallows from that offshore zone where the bottom falls away. First comes the female, her flanks green and gold, and her ovaries swollen with eggs. The male swims alongside, alert for an opportunity to mate.
Over the course of a day or two, they will periodically turn their vents toward each other and simultaneously release eggs and milt. In the next moment, they’ll lash their tails to spread the fertilized eggs over submerged vegetation. It’s spawning season for chain pickerel, and every egg faces an iffy future. [Read more…] about Underwater Eggs: It’s Spawning Season For Pickerel
The Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) has announced that the New York State Department of Health awarded it certification through the Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP).
The AWI Environmental Research Lab is specifically designed for the analysis of surface and ground water in the Adirondack region. The laboratory saw major upgrades in 2010 when Paul Smith’s College built the Countess Alicia Spaulding-Paolozzi Environmental Science and Education Center. Since that time, the lab has made contributions to the protection of clean water in the region including a greater understanding of the impact of road salt within the environment. [Read more…] about Adk Watershed Institute Certified A Research Lab, Open House Set
Nighttime light pollution levels are increasing the most in the southeastern United States, Mexico, and Central America according to findings based on year-round data collected over the last two decades in the Western Hemisphere.
This trend is a real concern for birds that fly at night during spring and fall migration and even during non-migratory seasons. Results of the study by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University are published in Ecosphere. [Read more…] about Migratory Birds Face Increasing Light Pollution
Typically, “tree aging” is done by counting annual growth rings, either on a stump or on a sample core taken by a special tool. But the phrase can also refer to veteranization, a process whereby trees are prematurely aged through targeted injury and stress in order to create specialized habitats. It’s much like the ageing of parents, a treatment administered by one’s children to produce worry lines, grey hairs, and character.
We humans whistle past the cemetery, as it were, with refrains like “50 is the new 40,” apparently hoping to trick death into giving us a free decade somewhere along the line. For trees, there is no single definition of old. A mountain-ash is decrepit by fifty, while a bur oak of that age is a mere adolescent. Every species has a lifespan range beyond which no amount of wishful thinking or supplements can help. [Read more…] about Old Trees Play A Unique And Essential Role
Scientist-like persons hired by the fossil fuel industry have long maintained we should celebrate an ever-increasing level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. This gas, a key building block in the photosynthetic process, can enable plants to grow faster and get larger. It’s been called the “CO2 fertilization effect.”
Many crop yields are projected to increase. And bigger woody plants, the reasoning goes, can amass more carbon, thus helping to slow the rate of CO2 increase in a handy negative-feedback loop. [Read more…] about Climate Science: Does Rising CO2 Benefit Plants?
While my musings about nature generally focus on southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States, there are times when a subject is far too juicy to ignore even if it’s out of this world, like Japanese satellites made from trees. Back home on our little planet, we have a blind, rainbow-hued marine worm which slices fish in half for the joy of it.
This “Bobbitt” worm grows to ten feet long and can paralyze a human with its venom. Also cool but way less terrifying, a rainforest tree on the island of New Caledonia oozes more nickel than the richest mines are able to yield. [Read more…] about Acorn Woodpeckers: Adorable Acorn Adorners