Recent papers have shown the bird populations are declining. Could this be due to birds in urban areas being exposed to higher levels of mercury than their rural counterparts? Read more about this study and its findings here:
- “Urban living comes with tradeoffs for swallows: by Dana Kobilinksy, The Wildlife Society, February, 2021: https://wildlife.org/urban-living-comes-with-tradeoffs-for-swallows/
- “Study finds health trade-offs for wildlife as urbanization expands” by Emily Caldwell, Ohio State News, November, 2020: https://news.osu.edu/study-finds-health-trade-offs-for-wildlife-as-urbanization-expands/
Picked up by numerous additional outlets, for example:
- Ecological Society of America: https://www.esa.org/blog/2020/11/19/study-finds-health-trade-offs-for-wildlife-as-urbanization-expands/
- Environmental News Network: https://www.enn.com/articles/66245-study-finds-health-trade-offs-for-wildlife-as-urbanization-expands
- Agenparl: https://agenparl.eu/study-finds-health-trade-offs-for-wildlife-as-urbanization-expands/
Koalas were killed by record Austrialian wild fires jeopardizing the survival of some populations. Read here about other species placed at risk by the fires in the United States and Australia:
- “Record U.S. and Australian fires raise fears for many species” by J. Pickrell and E. Pennisi, Science News in Depth, October 2020: https://www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagazine/02_october_2020_Main/MobilePagedReplica.action?u1=60026923&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TXSCI2201001004&utm_content=gtxcel&pm=2&folio=18#pg18(p. 18).
- “As wildfires continue in western United States, biologists fear for vulnerable species” by Elizabeth Pennisi, AAAS News, September 2020: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/wildfires-continue-western-united-states-biologists-fear-vulnerable-species
- “What the Amazon fires mean for wild animals”, National Geographic by Natasha Daly, August 2019: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/08/how-the-amazon-rainforest-wildfires-will-affect-wild-animals/
- “Wildfires alter stream chemistry for years”, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, April 2019: https://nifa.usda.gov/blog/wildfires-alter-stream-chemistry-years
The Trump administration turned a blind eye to the science on how water connects landscapes, from ridges-to-reefs, thereby both performing ecosystem functions and providing ecosystem services, including water quality improvement, flood control and fish and wildlife support. See several articles here related to the new policy as well as specific info regarding Ohio’s rivers:
- “Trump’s deregulatory disregard for law and science” by W.W. Buzbee and S.M.P. Sullivan, The Hill, August 2020: https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/514401-trumps-deregulatory-disregard-for-law-and-science
- “New Rule Threatens Environment, Puts U.S. Waters at Risk” by Walter Beckwith, AAAS News, August 2020: https://www.aaas.org/news/new-rule-threatens-environment-puts-us-waters-risk
- “Science takes on Trump’s WOTUS rewrite” by Hannah Northey, E&ENews, August 2020: https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2020/08/13/stories/1063711633
- “New rule defines waters of the United States (WOTUS)” by Susan Colvin. American Fisheries Society Podcast, April 2020: https://fisheriespodcast.podbean.com/e/new-rule-defines-waters-of-the-united-states-wotus/
- “Fifty Years after Clean Water Movement, Ohio Rivers are Healthier but Politics are Messier” by Lucia Wallinchus, Eye on Ohio, November 2019: https://radio.wosu.org/post/fifty-years-after-clean-water-movement-ohio-rivers-are-healthier-politics-messier#stream/0
- “Waters of the US (WOTUS) Proposed Rule: Overview and Action Steps”, Society for Freshwater Science National Webinar. April 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot0Q-fv1wTM
- “Waters of the US (WOTUS): What you need to know about the rule and how to take action” – “Where’s the Science in the Proposed ‘WOTUS’ Rule?, American Fisheries Society National Webinar. February 2019: https://vimeo.com/320342585
- “Watershed Moment: ‘Ephemeral’ Streams Debate Could Reshape Ohio Valley Waterways”, Ohio Valley Resource by Liam Niemeyer, July 2019: https://ohiovalleyresource.org/2019/07/05/watershed-moment-ephemeral-streams-debate-could-reshape-ohio-valley-waterways/
Estuaries are particularly susceptible to this type of lighting since they often sit adjacent to large cities like New York, Washington and New Orleans, but even many protected areas in the United States are affected by artificial light, Sullivan said, and artificial lighting in general is projected to increase 6% per year globally, including in some less developed parts of the world which remain relatively dark at night.
- “Night lights are rewiring estuary ecosystems”, The Wildlife Society by Joshua Rapp Learn, September 2019: https://wildlife.org/night-lights-are-rewiring-estuary-ecosystems/
- “The negative impacts of light pollution on streams and wetlands”, earth.com News (by Chrissy Sexton), December 2018: https://www.earth.com/news/light-pollution-streams-wetlands/
- “Nightlights for stream dwellers? No thanks.” Ohio State News (by Misti Crane), December 2018: https://news.osu.edu/nightlights-for-stream-dwellers-no-thanks/
You might know Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory for its bucolic fields, farm-style buildings and grazing cows. A closer look reveals cutting-edge research and technology and a rich rural classroom on a bustling urban campus.
- “Bumper Crop”, Ohio State Alumni Magazine by Elizabeth Tarpy Alcalde, August 2019: https://www.osu.edu/alumni/news/ohio-state-alumni-magazine/issues/fall-2019/waterman-laboratory.html
Other related stories:
- “Scientists seek diagnostic tool for harmful algal blooms”, Ohio State News (by Misti Crane), December 2017: https://news.osu.edu/news/2017/12/19/research-algal-blooms/
- “Diversity Matters in Freshwater Science”, NABSbenthos video produced for and originally shown at the 2017 Society for Freshwater Science meeting, June 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKXrhSvhsos
- “Rover Pipeline Spills in Ohio Wetlands”, WOSU Public Radio – All Sides with Ann Fisher, May 2017: http://radio.wosu.org/post/rover-pipeline-spills-ohio-wetlands#stream/0
- “Feds shut down new drilling along Rover pipeline project”, The Columbus Dispatch (by Marion Renault), May 2017: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170511/feds-shut-down-new-drilling-along-rover-pipeline-project
- “Putting threats to freshwater fisheries into perspective” – Video Byte on J51 (Fisheries administrator perspectives on current and future threats to freshwater fisheries in the United States of America), Wiley Publishing, May 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pivGz_uMylI
- “Rule threatens ecological lifelines in US” – Video Byte on J50 (Headwater streams and wetlands are critical for sustaining fish, fisheries, and ecosystem services), Wiley Publishing, January 2019. https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fsh.10229 or https://vimeo.com/334695877
- “Ohio State researchers win federal grant to study algae problems”, WOSU Public Radio, 89.7 NPR News (by Tim Rudell), January 2018: http://radio.wosu.org/post/ohio-state-researchers-win-federal-grant-study-algae-problems#stream/0