Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

This summer, hordes of invasive spongy moth caterpillars stripped the leaves off of Cary Institute’s hardwood forest in Millbrook, NY. Our tick monitoring team quickly realized the sudden increase in light and temperature on the forest floor might have serious implications for ticks and the diseases they spread to humans.? Now, with a $179,544 RAPID grant award from the National Science Foundation, the team is assessing how spongy moth defoliation shapes the survival of blacklegged ticks, the main vectors of the pathogens that cause Lyme disease, babesiosis, and anaplasmosis. The findings will help the team to more accurately forecast local risk of these diseases.?#diseaseecology #publichealth Richard Ostfeld https://lnkd.in/gFbXVg_A

Around the globe, cities are experiencing dangerous heat as concrete and asphalt amplify rising temperatures. Tree-planting programs offer a nature-based way to cool cities, but initiatives have been largely based on guesswork and extrapolation. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences coauthored by Cary urban ecologist Steward Pickett and colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences offers a new tool for urban planners to set more specific and science-based city-wide greening targets. #NatureBasedSolutions #cities #trees #urbanecology https://lnkd.in/eXDvnAkn

US state and federal governments regularly fight wildfires that threaten people and property, but Alaska’s Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge recently began piloting a novel strategy: putting out fires to prevent climate-warming carbon emissions from being released from trees and soils. Thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Department of Interior’s Joint Fire Science Program, scientists at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and Woodwell Climate Research Center will assist Yukon Flats refuge staff by mapping how carbon is distributed across the refuge’s forests and soils, identifying areas at highest risk of burning, and helping fill in other data gaps to inform fire suppression strategies. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eEzQT9-X

This summer, nine high school teachers conducted hands-on research with Cary scientists as part of our inaugural National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded BIORETS program. Now, the teachers are starting the school year curious, inspired, and better equipped to teach the Next Generation Science Standards. Their experiences will inform classroom lessons about global change ecology for a diversity of learners. Jane Lucas Alan Berkowitz #stemeducation #science #teacherlife Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eJ6YmbFU photo: Maribeth Rubenstein

With 1.7 million in funding from Hudson River Foundation, Cary scientist Chris Solomon is leading a three year survey of the Hudson's lower food web. Monitoring will begin in January 2025. Insights will inform management, including fisheries. “The Hudson River estuary is a vital resource for New York, and one that's really intertwined with our culture and way of life,” said Solomon. “It’s important for us to take care of it and keep a finger on its pulse. This survey will help us do that.” https://lnkd.in/enmpx3YG

Cary Institute’s Scientific Seminar Series provides a forum for engaging with researchers from around the world. Lectures are geared toward an academic audience, with a focus on current scientific advances as they relate to ecosystem science, environmental management, and science education. Seminars are free and open to all. They are held on Thursdays, 11am ET. Upcoming Fall 2024 seminars include: ? Fluxes and Ecological Processes for Predicting the Forests of the Future by Dr. Daniel Beverly, Indiana University Bloomington ? The Why, What, and How of Open Science in Ecology and Evolution by Dr. Rose O'Dea, University of Melbourne, Australia ? Bending the Curve: Big Data, Citizen Science and Conservation by Dr. Ian Owens, Cornell Lab of Ornithology ? Predicting and Prioritizing Community Assembly by Dr. Benjamin Wong Blonder, University of California, Berkeley ? Linking Scavenging and Ecosystem Ecology by Dr. Laurel Lynch, University of Idaho ? Seed Predation in a Changing World by Dr. Peter Guiden, Hamilton College ? and more To learn more and register visit, https://lnkd.in/d7qwX9R.

Check out Cary's Jane Lucas in conversation with two of The Art Effect's youth curators in this podcast about soil and microorganisms. Learn about the complex, diverse, and vital world of microbes in this lively discussion. Recorded at the Trolley Barn Gallery, this podcast is part of "Pollution Prevention Summer Exhibition and Events Engaging Youth Leaders, Empowering the Community". #poughkeepsieny #ecology #environment #microbes #youthempowerment "Live! with Dr. Jane Lucas: Exploring the Microbes Beneath Our Feet" https://lnkd.in/eWAyp-qi

By 2050, most of the world will live in cities. In the words of Cary Institute urban ecologist Steward Pickett, “The future habitat of humanity is urban.” A Cary Conference hosted by Pickett and Cary Research Fellow Timon McPhearson convened a diversity of experts to explore how urban ecology can help support equitable, sustainable, and vibrant urban areas. Learn about their findings, with colleagues, published in a special issue of Ambio. https://lnkd.in/ey2Z3_Up

Full-time and part-time positions are available: Custodian, Data Scientist - Forest Futures Lab, Postdoc - Forest & Fire Modeling, and Research Support Specialist (Baltimore-based). To learn more and to apply: https://lnkd.in/emiDBTuY

Cary's Evan Gora was featured in a Mongabay article about Gigante, a project he co-leads with Adriane Esquivel Muelbert of the University of Birmingham. Their research team is tracking why giant tropical trees die - and carbon cycle implications. "Gigante is exploring the causes of mortality in the biggest trees of the world’s tropical forests. It could help answer a consequential question of climate change science: Will intact tropical forests continue soaking up far more carbon dioxide than it releases?" #tropicalforests #carbon #trees https://lnkd.in/eATSqXbm