Category: Biodiversity

Wild Foods Are Positively Associated with Diet Diversity and Child Growth in a Protected Forest Area of Madagascar (video) (Links to an external site)

Lora Iannotti, a Biodiversity Fellow and professor at Wahu’s Brown School sat down with WashU’s School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea to discuss a paper Iannotti co-authored, “Wild Foods Are Positively Associated with Diet Diversity and Child Growth in a Protected Forest Area of Madagascar.” This paper was co-authored with several Biodiversity Fellows from Missouri Botanical Garden: Tabita Randrianarivony, Armand Randrianasolo, Robbie Hart and originated from a Living Earth Collaborative Seed Grant project. Learn more about the project at https://bit.ly/Wildfood

Coyote genes may show urban evolution at work (Links to an external site)

A recent study in Genome Biology and Evolution co-authored by LEC postdoc Liz Carlen examines the genetic makeup of urban coyotes to understand how these animals adapt to city environments. The research suggests that urban coyotes may be undergoing evolutionary changes that enable them to thrive alongside human populations. These findings contribute to our understanding of urban ecology and the impact of urbanization on wildlife species.

Climate change is super-charging St. Louis wildflowers (Links to an external site)

The wildflowers that bring a burst of color to meadows and forests across St. Louis are blooming later and longer than they did in previous decades, according to a study led by researchers with the Living Earth Collaborative, a signature initiative of the Arts & Sciences Strategic Plan. The study by Missouri Botanical Garden’s Matthew Austin and Ken Olsen, the George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor of Biology is published in New Phytologist.

Understanding the role of soil microbial communities in oak woodland restoration using DNA metabarcoding (Links to an external site)

Soil microbial communities play a crucial role in oak woodland restoration, influencing the success of conservative herbaceous species reintroductions. Using DNA metabarcoding, researchers at Missouri Botanical Garden’s Shaw Nature Reserve studied how different restoration ages affect soil microbial composition and plant growth. Their findings suggest that younger restorations may offer more beneficial microbial conditions for conservative plant species, potentially improving nutrient uptake and stress resistance.

MoBot uses AI to learn how trees move. And to save millions of plant specimens. (Links to an external site)

The Missouri Botanical Garden is leveraging AI to digitize its nearly 8 million plant specimens, creating an online database to support conservation efforts and preserve critical ecological data. By combining AI with historical and genetic information, the Garden is also advancing research on tree migration and ecosystem adaptation to climate change, while ensuring these technologies complement rather than replace human expertise.

Citizen scientists gather eDNA in water samples for global biodiversity census (Links to an external site)

As part of the UN’s International Day of Biodiversity, Kara Andres, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis, collected samples of water from Simpson Lake, in Valley Park, Mo., as part of a coordinated global effort to use environmental DNA—genetic material shed by organisms into the environment—to document the current state of biodiversity.

‘Citizen scientist’ finds rare parasitic bumble bee identified through the Shutterbee Project (Links to an external site)

A citizen scientist participating in the Shutterbee Project,a research initiative supported by an LEC seed grant, discovered a rare parasitic bumblebee species, Bombus suckleyi, which was identified through the project’s efforts. This finding highlights the valuable contributions of citizen scientists to local biodiversity research and the importance of community involvement in ecological studies.

Forest Park Living Lab (Links to an external site)

Forest Park Living Lab is collaborative of six different partners: the Saint Louis Zoo, Washington University, St. Louis University, Forest Park Forever, the World Bird Sanctuary and the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, where researchers from around the St. Louis area are tracking animals and trying to learn more about them and how they’re adapting to the urban area around the park.

Bunkered ex situ plant conservation and páramo biodiversity farms (Links to an external site)

The “páramo biodiversity farms” initiative in Colombia’s Sumapaz region represents an innovative approach to biodiversity conservation, emphasizing the creation of ex situ living collections of threatened plants like Espeletia. These collections serve as tools for research, education, and ecological restoration while fostering collaboration with local communities. By prioritizing sustainable, community-driven conservation efforts, the initiative challenges traditional “ark paradigm” approaches and promotes biodiversity management rooted in the ecosystems and populations most affected.

Squirrels and the city (Links to an external site)

Eastern Gray Squirrel on a platform

Elizabeth Carlen is a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis. She is studying how city life is changing the local populations of eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis).

Canid conservation program launched (Links to an external site)

Washington University in St. Louis and the Living Earth Collaborative are part of a new Missouri-based conservation initiative led by the Saint Louis Zoo. Working with the Endangered Wolf Center, scientists are looking to answer ecological and health-related questions about canids — red foxes, gray foxes and coyotes — as well as bobcats, which live in close association with canids.

Researchers start study on health of Missouri foxes, coyotes, and bobcats (Links to an external site)

Researchers from the St. Louis Zoo, Washington University, and the Endangered Wolf Center have initiated the Canid Conservation Initiative to study the health and ecological roles of Missouri’s foxes, coyotes, and bobcats. The study is conducted at two sites: the Tyson Research Center near Eureka and the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park in north St. Louis County. To date, the team has collected samples from 16 opossums, 12 raccoons, one red fox, and two bobcats, with the red fox and bobcats now being monitored via GPS tracking devices.

Foxes, Coyotes, Bobcats, Oh My! A New Conservation Initiative (Links to an external site)

Researchers from WashU, Saint Louis Zoo, and the Endangered Wolf Center have have launched a collaborative research effort to investigate the ecological roles and health of Missouri’s native canids—red foxes, gray foxes, and coyotes—as well as bobcats. The research focuses on two distinct sites: the rural Tyson Research Center and the suburban Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park, aiming to determine if these species can serve as indicators of ecosystem health.

Warmer weather means duller dragonflies (Links to an external site)

LEC post-doc Michael Moore led a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looking at if dragonflies have adapted with climate historically and what is projected to happen with an even warmer climate in the future.

Human activity imperils one of the Earth’s great survivalists: dragonflies (Links to an external site)

In an article for The Hill, Living Earth Collaborative postdoc Michael Moore highlights the threats facing dragonflies, one of Earth’s oldest and most resilient species. Despite surviving major extinction events and natural predators for over 200 million years, dragonflies are now at risk due to habitat loss, pollution, and climate change caused by human activity. Moore warns that if we fail to act, we risk being responsible for the extinction of a species that has withstood previous global catastrophes.