Conservation Science

If you have ever witnessed the damage done by hurricanes that result in severe flooding to regional roads and wash outs at stream crossings, you may long for a crystal ball that would help prevent future destructive scenarios. However, the University of Massachusetts and their collaborators have a much better plan: assess and develop protocols that determine which roadway stream crossings are most vulnerable to climate change conditions well in advance of a disaster. Oh, and place culverts at the top of that list.

Biology major Bruno Ramos ’15 discovered the field of research by focusing on an area of biology he disliked most – the study of plants. “My intention is to go into the medical field,” Ramos said. “So, whenever the study of plants came up in my intro to biology courses, I couldn’t understand how it was relevant to me.” But when the future doctor became a recipient of a STEM scholarship in the spring of 2012, he decided to challenge his own bias and find out if he could possibly be wrong about plants.

When Jack Connelly first began studying the greater sage grouse in Idaho in the late 1970s, "it was not unusual to see 500 in a single flock," says the biologist, who is retired from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. "Today, it would be unusual to see 200." That dramatic decline has made the sage grouse—a large, pointy-tailed bird with showy mating habits—the subject of one of the biggest endangered species battles ever in the United States.

The few remaining places in the wider Caribbean with relatively healthy reefs have one thing in common: a greater abundance of parrotfish and other herbivores. They also benefit by being adjacent to islands with comparatively small populations, more modest development and less pollution. You find this in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico, on reefs around Curaçao and Bonaire and in protected marine areas in the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.

Woodland Park Zoo, which has had elephants in its care since 1921, started discussing the future of its herd after a third pachyderm died in 2014. A community task force recommended in 2013 that the zoo bring in more elephants and expand its facilities, but zoo President and CEO Deborah Jensen said those goals were not achievable, in part because it's so difficult to obtain new elephants. Read more

Songs of Spring Underscore Importance of Vernal Pools