I’m currently in the middle of analyzing some of my data from studying carnivore distribution in Louisiana, and one of things I’m looking at is which environmental characteristics carnivores respond to- for example, is the number of mice and rats in an area a predictor that coyotes will hang out there? One of the species […]
Archive for the ‘aquatic systems’ Tag
We otter pay attention?
Giving eels a leg to stand on
Over the past week, I’ve looked for ways for us to get directly involved with eel conservation- the good news is that those opportunities are out there; the bad news is that it took some searching to find everything I mention here, so it takes persistence to get involved. Of course, it also takes persistence […]
Crowded eels
In my last post, I mentioned some of the big issues facing eel populations around the world: habitat fragmentation, overexploitation, climate change. We’re constantly gaining information on how these problems impact eels, and we’re also getting a better sense of how to mitigate some of the challenges. Once again, I’m largely looking at those eel […]
Slipping through the cracks
This past week has been really informative for me- so many things that I didn’t know about eels, and it turns out that I’m not the only one. Although there are a large number of scientists looking into eel conservation, there are still so many unknowns about eel ecology that it can be hard to […]
A slippery subject?
I was brainstorming for this month’s topic and it seemed like it’s been a while since I have chosen something with a truly aquatic lifestyle. Plus I was thinking that it would be nice to talk about something that has at least a partial connection to the food I eat, and then I thought ‘eels.’ […]
Removing obstacles for colonial seabirds
Drama on the seas and islands and beaches
Danger in numbers?
As we start 2016, I’m trying to be more conscious of conservation issues that I interact with on a regular basis but might not really spend a lot of time contemplating in detail. For example, I know that carbon dioxide emissions are a major cause of global warming, so I try to turn off lights […]
Giving crabs a leg up
In my reading about hermit crabs over the last few weeks, I’ve certainly gotten the sense that most hermit crab species aren’t in particularly precarious positions with regard to survival. While king crabs and coconut crabs are an exception, most species seem to be doing pretty well at the moment. That trend is likely to […]
Catching their breath
As I mentioned in my last post, ocean acidification is likely to cause problems for hermit crabs both because the calcium carbonate used by snails to construct shells which are, in turn, used by hermits will be less available and because hermits exhibit less movement and environmental awareness as pH drops. A variety of aquatic […]