Most recent 10 articles: Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems
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How 'assisted migration’ could help species survive climate change - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Mar 12) |
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Mar 12 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Among the most consequential effects of a warming globe is the disruption or even destruction of habitats for plants and animals, from the blue whales and giant sequoias to the tiniest of bacteria. Some species are mobile and flexible enough that they can move or adapt on their own - by, say, moving uphill or toward the poles. Others, like sequoias, are not so lucky; woven into their current locations by multiple factors, they lack the capacity to change as quickly as the climate and ecosystem around them. These species may need a little help from humans. ... Read more ...
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Amphibians are in trouble - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Jan 2) |
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Jan 2 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
There are more than 8,000 known species of amphibians: newts, salamanders, big warty toads, and frogs of every color.
These semiaquatic critters provide food for birds, snakes, and fish. And they help humans by eating insects, including disease-spreading mosquitoes.
But many amphibians are in trouble.
According to the latest Global Amphibian Assessment, about 40% of species are considered globally threatened.
Della Togna: “And I think it’s very important for the public and for the community to understand that this is a very ... Read more ...
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These cryopreserved baby corals are the first to reach adulthood - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Dec 11) |
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Dec 11 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Arah Narida leans over a microscope to gaze into a plastic petri dish containing a hood coral. The animal - a pebbled blue-white disk roughly half the size of a pencil eraser - is a marvel. Just three weeks ago, the coral was smaller than a grain of rice. It was also frozen solid. That is, until Narida, a graduate student at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, thawed it with the zap of a laser. Now, just beneath the coral’s tentacles, she spies a slight divot in the skeleton where a second coral is beginning to bud. That small cavity is evidence that ... Read more ...
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Inmates are nurturing sagebrush seedlings - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Oct 27) |
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Oct 27 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
At correctional facilities in Idaho, Oregon, and other Western states, inmates are growing sagebrush.
“From sowing the seeds in May to boxing up the seedlings in October … they’re in charge of fertilizing, watering, thinning, and checking out for diseased plants,” says Alyson Singer of the Sagebrush in Prisons Project in Idaho and eastern Oregon.
Scrubby sagebrush landscapes provide critical habitat for hundreds of plant and animal species.
But many of these areas are threatened by the growing risk of wildfire. And after a fire, ... Read more ...
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Climate change could increase pressure on declining American kestrel population - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Oct 09, 2023) |
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Oct 09, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
The American kestrel is North America’s smallest falcon. In many areas, you can spot the petite hunter swooping over a field to snatch up a grasshopper, beetle, or even a mouse to bring back to its nest and feed its babies.
“Historically, predators like kestrels time their reproduction to coincide with peaks in prey availability,” says Julie Heath, a professor at Boise State University.
She was part of a team that looked at how the timing of kestrel nesting across North America affected the birds’ reproductive success.
They found that when ... Read more ...
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How green roofs can help cities adapt to climate change - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Oct 06, 2023) |
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Oct 06, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
In cities, you may notice some roofs that are covered with plants.
Many of these green roofs are planted with a low-lying ground cover like sedum.
Kathryn McConnell of Brown University says other, more elaborate ones include a variety of plants, ranging from small flowers, grasses, or shrubs, to trees.
Replacing dark rooftops with vegetation can provide many benefits.
“Green roofs can help control stormwater runoff if you have sort of a sudden precipitation event,” McConnell says. “Green roofs can provide amazing pollinator habitat ... Read more ...
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A mission to protect thorn forests in the Rio Grande Valley - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Sep 29, 2023) |
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Sep 29, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
When Gisel Garza goes to work, she heads into the thorn forests of the Rio Grande Valley. Bucket in hand, she scours the dense, shrubby landscape for about 40 different kinds of seeds.
“Some of the species that we do collect for are Texas ebony, Texas persimmon, granjeno, guayacan,” she says. “Sometimes I pick them with my hand, or sometimes I can use a stick to cause them to fall down into my bucket.”
Garza works for the nonprofit American Forests, which helps restore thorn forests in Texas.
She says the area is incredibly diverse. It’s ... Read more ...
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When salt marshes erode, they can release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Sep 04, 2023) |
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Sep 04, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Scattered along the Eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast, grassy salt marshes provide habitat for birds and marine life.
They help protect coastal communities from flooding by absorbing wave energy and soaking up water.
And they store a lot of carbon because when marsh grasses die, they fall into waterlogged soils.
It’s a low-oxygen environment where plants break down very slowly, so all that carbon-rich material builds up over time.
“Our wetlands have been here for thousands of years and they’ve just been piling up organic matter,” says ... Read more ...
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Healthy mangrove forests can help protect inland areas from hurricane damage - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Aug 24, 2023) |
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Aug 24, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
During a hurricane, tropical mangrove forests can help buffer inland areas from wind and reduce erosion.
In the process, these forests themselves may suffer a lot of damage. Strong winds can rip leaves from branches and topple whole trees.
Ken Krauss of the United States Geological Survey says that how fast mangrove forests recover after a storm depends on how healthy they were beforehand.
“If they’re healthy before the storm hit, they regenerate fairly quickly,” he says.
But he says many of the world’s mangrove forests are not ... Read more ...
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The race to save 'awe-inspiring’ giant sequoias - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems (Aug 23, 2023) |
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Aug 23, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Giant sequoia trees can grow hundreds of feet tall and live for thousands of years in secluded groves along California’s Sierra Nevada.
“When you walk into a giant sequoia grove, it’s really awe-inspiring,” says Ben Blom of the nonprofit Save the Redwoods League.
He says sequoias evolved to thrive in wildfire-prone areas. But now some wildfires are so intense that they can kill even these massive trees.
That’s because, over the past century, land managers have worked to prevent forest fires. So over time, leaves and branches have ... Read more ...
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