Native Americans did not make large-scale changes to environment prior to European contact

Contrary to long-held beliefs, humans did not make major changes to the landscape prior to European colonization, according to new research conducted in New England featuring faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. These new insights into the past could help to inform how landscapes are managed in the future.

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Coral Genomics Paper

New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 6, 2020) – By combining a range of biological data with the first successful genome editing experiments in corals, scientists are poised for rapid advancements in understanding how coral genes function, according to a paper in…

UCI biologists spearhead creation of Microbiome Centers Consortium

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 23, 2019 — From probing the ocean depths to deciphering human health mysteries, researchers across scientific disciplines are increasingly including microbiomes in their work. The Microbiome Centers Consortium has been launched by two University of California, Irvine School of Bioscience faculty members to advance growth in this life science field, increasingly recognized as relevant to many other disciplines and industrial applications.

An Urbanized Florida Means More Stormwater Ponds, Invasive Plants

In their first attempt to quantify stormwater ponds, researchers with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences found about 76,000 such ponds statewide. Many master-planned communities, especially in Florida, rely on stormwater ponds for flood control and water treatment. But the ponds also can be homes to many invasive plant species, which are costly to control.

A deadly fungus is wiping out North American bats while Eurasian bats have learned to live with it. An international team wants to know why.

Wildlife disease ecologist Jeff Foster of Northern Arizona University is partnering with researchers throughout the world to study the spread of white-nose syndrome, which was discovered in North America in 2006. Researchers believed it migrated from Europe and has continued moving west.

Red Algae Thrive Despite Ancestor’s Massive Loss of Genes

You’d think that losing 25 percent of your genes would be a big problem for survival. But not for red algae, including the seaweed used to wrap sushi. An ancestor of red algae lost about a quarter of its genes roughly one billion years ago, but the algae still became dominant in near-shore coastal areas around the world, according to Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Debashish Bhattacharya, who co-authored a study in the journal Nature Communications.

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Indonesian Fires Threatening Orangutans

New Brunswick, N.J. (Sept. 23, 2019) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Erin R. Vogel, an expert on endangered orangutans, is available to comment on tropical forest fires threatening the Tuanan Orangutan Research Station in the Mawas Conservation Area on the…

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Fires in Amazon Rainforests

New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 27, 2019) – With numerous fires raging in ecologically priceless Amazon rainforests, Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Laura C. Schneider can comment on current fire patterns (the number of fires and their location), linkages to tropical rain…

U-M-led team selected for second $20M federal agreement to manage national estuary research

A collaborative, multisector team, led by the University of Michigan’s Water Center at the Graham Sustainability Institute and the School for Environment and Sustainability, has been awarded a five-year, $20 million cooperative agreement to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in overseeing research at a nationwide network of 29 coastal reserves.

Heather J. Lynch, PhD

Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists Announces 2019 National Laureates

An ecologist from Stony Brook University, a theoretical physicist from University of Colorado Boulder and a chemical biologist from Harvard University Three female scientists have been named Laureates of the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, each receiving $250,000, the…