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EEB professor emeritus, Jim Morin in the news: In sea fireflies’ (ostracod) underwater ballet, the males sway together in perfect, illuminated synchronization, basking in the blue-like glow of their secreted iridescent mucus. This ostracod species was first discovered in 2017 Morin, while at the STRI Bocas del Toro island research station in Panama.
EEB team from the Lodge Lab reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: the genetic material a species sheds into the environment (eDNA) can reveal not only the presence of the species but also a broad range of information about the genetics of whole populations. The use of eDNA sampling opens new possibilities for protecting endangered and vulnerable species and managing destructive invasive species.
Holgerson Lab joins multidisciplinary team from CALS at EEB's Experimental Ponds Facility to examine how floating solar panels on the research ponds affect the abiotic and biotic parts of water; and how microbes, macroinvertebrates, aquatic plants and fish fare. The three-year project is funded by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.
Sudan Kariuki from the Sparks Lab among Cornell graduate student recipients of a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad award. The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies – the home of Cornell’s Fulbright program – advises and supports students throughout the application process.
Undergraduate students in scientific field courses often talk about their research with mentors, peers, family and friends and those interactions are important in shaping student views of themselves as scientists, according to research by EEB doctoral student David Esparza from the Smith Lab.
Department of Energy funds Cornell-led project headed by EEB's Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Environmental Science, Christy Goodale: understanding the role the nitrogen cycle and its seasonal variations play in estimates of future carbon uptake by the biosphere. Studies will be conducted Hubbard Brook, NH and in the Arnot Forest, NY – to gain a better understanding of the nitrogen cycle.
EEB prof and CALS Dean, Ben Houlton leads new study: state-of-the-art agricultural technology and management can not only reduce that growth, but eliminate it altogether by generating net negative emissions – reducing more greenhouse gas than food systems add. In fact, employing additional agricultural technology could result in more than 13 billion tons of net negative greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Senior author and EEB assistant prof Meredith Holgerson reports: Pond emission measurements improve climate predictions. This new study measures methane and carbon dioxide emissions from 30 small lakes and ponds (one acre or less) in temperate areas of Europe and North America, revealing that the smallest and shallowest bodies of water exhibit the greatest variability over time.
New study published by EEB's Moeller Lab finds that hundreds of bacterial groups have evolved in the guts of primate species over millions of years, but humans have lost close to half of these symbiotic bacteria. Strikingly, the results showed that these ancestral symbionts are being lost rapidly from the human lineage.
Ethan Duvall is a doctoral candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology from North Bend, Washington state. He attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, and now studies how wildlife populations respond to human impacts on ecosystems under the guidance of Alex Flecker at Cornell.
The Clark Lab project: "Developing an endangered equid as an integrative model for understanding species persistence and extinction," among projects awarded as part of the College of Arts and Sciences New Frontier Grant program. The projects span across the sciences, social sciences and humanities in this latest round, for novel investigations ranging from quantum computing to foreign policy development and from heritage forensics to effects of climate change.
On May 16, several Arts and Sciences affiliated graduate students were among those honored for leadership and commitment to diversity, inclusion, outreach, and student engagement.
This summer, 101 students in the College of Arts and Sciences will take part in groundbreaking research on campus with 61 faculty as part of the Nexus Scholars Program. For many of these students, this will be their first research opportunity and they’ll work on projects with faculty across the college – in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics.
This summer, 101 students in the College of Arts and Sciences will take part in groundbreaking research on campus with 61 faculty as part of the Nexus Scholars Program.
EEB graduate student Ethan Duvall lead author in new study: The mutually beneficial relationship is described in “A Win-Win Between Farmers and an Apex Predator: Investigating the Relationship Between Bald Eagles and Dairy Farms,” which published March 10 in the journal Ecosphere.
EEB assistant professor Leslie Babonis et al., report: Single-cell atavism reveals an ancient mechanism of cell type diversification in the sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis when disabling a gene, called NvSox2 -- this causes a transition from a piercing cell, to a sticky, ensnaring cell.
EEB prof emerita Drew Harvell is among 12 Cornell faculty elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. Harvell was honored for distinguished contributions to the fields of ecology and oceanography, particularly for increasing our understanding of disease resistance in marine invertebrates and impacts of climate change, and communicating these findings in award-winning books, including 2019’s “Ocean Outbreak.”
EEB and MBG prof Andrew Clark's Lab and collaborators investigate the expression of genes related to the fruit fly circadian clock: The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help explain how this protein, called sex peptide, alters the female’s behavior.
“This one gene controls a switch between two alternative cell fates," said Professor Leslie Babonis.
Lovette Lab postdoc and co-author Benjamin Van Doren collaborates to develop new computer model: BirdFlow will predict migratory bird movement giving new insights into migration timing, stopover sites, response to climate change, and light pollution, as it learns the patterns and variations in movement for individual species.
An interdisciplinary collaboration used tree ring and isotope records to pinpoint a likely culprit: three straight years of severe drought in an already dry period.
New York’s Climate Action Council member Prof Howarth advises state senators in drafting the Climate Action Council Final Scoping Plan which will serve as the blueprint to implement the groundbreaking New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) – the state’s key environmental law for mitigating climate change.
A paper by Cornell researchers suggests maslins have the unique capacity to adapt in real time to extreme weather.
Professor emerita, Drew Harvell one of seven U.S. researchers named 2023 U.S. Science Envoys by the Department of State, in partnership with the nonprofit Meridian International Center. The U.S. Science Envoys will engage internationally at the citizen and government levels to enhance relationships between other nations and the United States, develop partnerships and improve collaboration.
A longitudinal study of course participants connects participation with higher rates of publications and faculty positions.
Butterfly wing patterns have a basic plan to them, which is manipulated by non-coding regulatory DNA to create the diversity of wings seen in different species, according to new research. New study explains how DNA that sits between genes – called ‘junk’ DNA or non-coding regulatory DNA.
Cornell is one of nine universities worldwide selected to join the Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship, a program of Schmidt Futures, to accelerate the next scientific revolution by applying AI to research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The rock dust project is one of several “smart carbon capture” studies being led by scientists in CALS that not only address the existential threat of a changing climate, but also support farmers, human nutrition, wildlife and more. “The only way to address the climate crisis is to develop holistic solutions that also create co-benefits, especially for industry, landowners and farmers who are critical allies in this fight,” says Houlton.
Benjamin Z. Houlton, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean, has announced the appointment of Corrie S. Moreau as the inaugural senior associate dean of diversity and inclusion for CALS. Her three-year appointment is effective Jan. 2, 2023, and will run through Dec. 31, 2025.
The minor is distinctive in including courses from many disciplines, from across Cornell’s schools and colleges.
The program matches undergraduate students with summer opportunities to work side by side with faculty from across the College.
The Howarth Lab will develop tools to help New York governments consistently estimate greenhouse gas emissions as part of the 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative, which is mobilizing faculty to develop and accelerate tangible solutions to a warming world.
This semester our department welcomed new faculty members Swanne Gordon and Andrés López-Sepulcre helping to advance our department's commitment to pursuing purpose-driven science while promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives.
EEB associate prof Vitousek co-authors study: In an adaptation to climate change, tree swallows have become smaller over the last three decades, an ongoing study based in Tompkins County has found.
The initiative has supported classes in the humanities, the social and natural sciences, mathematics, information science and engineering.
Klarman Fellows pursue research in any discipline in the College, including natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and the creative arts as well as cross-disciplinary fields. The application deadline is October 14.
A world leader in the study of population genetics of the fruit fly, Aquadro studies the amount of diversity that exists within and between the genomes of organisms.
Angela Nankabirwa's Africa Fund Fellowship is supporting efforts to collect and analyze harmful algal bloom samples taken from Africa’s Lake Victoria this summer.
While many scientists say field courses shaped their careers and benefit their students, few studies quantify their effects. Cornell researchers want to change that.
A group of students, including some in the Nexus Scholars Program, completed field work and analysis this summer on soil coming from a long-term forest fertilization experiment.
EEB faculty and grad students part of Cornell research team using a combination of ecological field methods and cutting-edge AI to help detect eelgrass wasting disease.
This year’s Academic Venture Fund (AVF) seed grants for research support equitable and sustainable development, offshore wind energy, and improved indoor air quality.
EEB assistant prof Meredith Holgerson receives 3-year grant from the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation to examine greenhouse gas dynamics related to ponds and wetlands.
Cornell Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow and EEB grad student Sebastian Heilpern leads Cornell/multi-national research team: overexploitation of freshwater fish in the Amazon River.
Biologist Leslie Babonis studied sea anemones to understand how a neuron could be reprogrammed to make a new cell.
Anurag Agrawal, the James A. Perkins Professor of Environmental Studies in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Maureen Hanson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics (CALS, Arts and Sciences), have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the academy announced April 26.The ...
Six insect displays from the exhibit arranged by color highlight insect beauty and diversity (image borrowed from original article).Insects are by far the most diverse group of animals on the planet, with more than 1 million estimated known species, and many millions more that have yet to be named. A 2018 study estimates there could be as...
EEB grad student Juan Pablo Jordán part of Cornell research team surveying the Internet to determine if there are insect species available for sale that are rare, threatened, or for which commerce is in some way regulated.
Over the last several months, a certain bird – believed to be a sacred ibis – has been drawing a lot of attention, and covering a lot of ground, from the College of Arts and Sciences to the College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Engineering and, later, the Lab of Ornithology.
Originally from El Paso, Texas, Esparza chose Cornell for his Ph.D. because of its commitment to evidence-based teaching methods, its continued support of undergraduate field science education, and the friendly culture at Cornell EEB.