Category Archives: ecology

The Beetle Invasion: New Activity on Talking Science

Today’s post on Talking Science, Forest Pests: Beetle Attack!, describes an activity in which participants play the role of forester who creates strategies to deal with a forest pest. While a certain level of damage to forests from pests is … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, Education/Outreach, TalkingScience | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Beetle Invasion: New Activity on Talking Science

NIMBioS Postdoc Visits Cal State San Marcos

NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellow Xavier Thibert-Plante discussed his research into the process of ecological speciation at a recent talk at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). Thibert-Plante’s visit is a part of NIMBioS’ education and outreach efforts to partner with minority-serving … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, Education/Outreach, MSIs, postdocs, speciation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on NIMBioS Postdoc Visits Cal State San Marcos

NIMBioS Promotes Diversity in Science

NIMBioS collaborated with NSF math and biology centers this month to bring exciting programming in modern math and life science to the SACNAS national conference for advancing Hispanics, Chicanos, and Native Americans in science. Postdoctoral fellow Sharon Bewick and Associate … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, Education/Outreach, postdocs, STEM, undergraduates | Tagged , , | Comments Off on NIMBioS Promotes Diversity in Science

Math’s Usefulness to Ecology Presented by Gaoue at Howard U

NIMBioS postdoctoral fellow Orou Gaoue visited Washington, D.C. last week to inspire Howard University students and faculty to think about real-life ecological questions that mathematics can answer. Gaoue gave a colloquium titled “Modeling the short- and long-term consequences of plant harvest by … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, Education/Outreach, MSIs, postdocs | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Math’s Usefulness to Ecology Presented by Gaoue at Howard U

NIMBioS Outreach: Girl Scouts Identify Wildlife Tracks

By examining wildlife tracks imprinted in clay, area Girl Scouts learned how to identify the animal that would have made them in a recent outreach activity led by NIMBioS at Cherokee Caverns in Knoxville.  Using materials from Biology in a … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, Education/Outreach, gender diversity, Wildlife | Tagged , , | Comments Off on NIMBioS Outreach: Girl Scouts Identify Wildlife Tracks

NIMBioS Visits Smoky Mountain Science Teacher Institute

      Fourteen middle and high school science teachers learned how to quantify biodiversity yesterday when Dr. Suzanne Lenhart, NIMBioS Associate Director for Education, Outreach and Diversity, and Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS Education and Outreach Coordinator  arrived at Great Smoky … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, Education/Outreach, STEM | Tagged , , | Comments Off on NIMBioS Visits Smoky Mountain Science Teacher Institute

REU and REV Students See Synchronous Fireflies

NIMBioS REU/REV participants took a field trip this week to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to see a biological phenomenon found in only one other place in the world: fireflies flashing in synchrony. The students arrived early and picnicked … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, Education/Outreach, REU/REV | Tagged , | Comments Off on REU and REV Students See Synchronous Fireflies

New NIMBioS Science: Model shows how species can reemerge after collapse

Species pairs that disappear through hybridization after human-induced changes to the environment can reemerge if the disturbance is removed, according to a new mathematical model that shows the conditions under which reemergence might happen. The study appears in Evolution and … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, postdocs, publication, speciation, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on New NIMBioS Science: Model shows how species can reemerge after collapse

The Day the Last Hemlock Died

NIMBioS Songwriter-in-Residence Jay Clark debuts his song, “The Day the Last Hemlock Died,” which tells the story of the blight of the Eastern Hemlocks in Southern Appalachia. The song ends with a short refrain, a note of optimism perhaps, from … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, songwriter | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Day the Last Hemlock Died

Teachers Do the Math: Predator-Prey Modeling in Soils

NIMBioS introduced teachers to simple predator-prey models and their importance to the field of soil ecology at a Soil Biology Workshop hosted by the University of Tennessee’s Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science Department. Seven middle and high school biology and … Continue reading

Posted in ecology, Education/Outreach, STEM | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Teachers Do the Math: Predator-Prey Modeling in Soils