Scientists show changes in genes related to diet of urban coyotes who eat foods high in glucose and starches
Coyotes in urban America are evolving; this can be seen in their genes, says study (Links to an external site)
Category: Post-doc
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.
Animals that are all black or all white have reputations based on superstition − biases that have real effects (Links to an external site)
LEC postdoctoral fellow, Elizabeth Carlen and UC Berkely student Tyus Williams explore how superstitions have created biases in approaches to animal conservation.
Carlen wins Association for Women in Science award (Links to an external site)
Biologist Elizabeth Carlen, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at WashU, received a 2024 Spark Award from the Association for Women in Science (AWIS).
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.
Bridging movement ecology and public health through One Health (Links to an external site)
Forest Park Living Lab is understanding racoon ecology in urban land through GPS tracking and how this work informs One Health programs.
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.
LEC Postdoc, Kaylee Arnold, wins the 2024 Maya Angelou Award for Postdoctoral Excellence in Leadership (Links to an external site)
LEC postdoctoral fellow, Kaylee Arnold, awarded 2024 Maya Angelou Award for Postdoctoral Excellence in Leadership for outstanding service and outreach in the Saint Louis community.
Lemur’s lament (Links to an external site)
What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa.
Scientists track red-tailed hawks nesting near WashU campus (Links to an external site)
Researchers from the Forest Park Living Lab Project including LEC post-doc Stella Uiterwaal are conducting bird surveys to understand where and when birds like the red-tailed hawks can be found in Forest Park
Social inequities and citizen science can skew our view of the natural world (Links to an external site)
In a recently published paper in People and Nature, LEC post-doc Elizabeth Carlen and collaborators, demonstrated how citizen science data can be skewed by social and economic factors.
How bias shows up in maps made with citizen science data (Links to an external site)
In a new paper published in People and Nature, LEC post-doc Elizabeth Carlen and her co-authors shared a framework that illustrates how social and ecological factors combine to create bias in contributory data and offered some recommendations to help address the problems.
Fred: a goose on a mission (Links to an external site)
Meet Fred, the Canada goose, that has been fitted with a satellite tracking tag as part of the Forest Park Living Lab project which was funded by a LEC Seed grant.
Beyond the lab: squirrels, urban landscapes, and the joy of research (Links to an external site)
Elizabeth Carlen and two of her undergraduate researchers work to bring science outside the walls of WashU.
St. Louis groups hope to inspire students to become scientists through ‘living lab’ (Links to an external site)
Forest Park Living Lab partners with Gateway to the Great Outdoors (GGO) to bring St. Louis metro students from low income schools to get more students interested in science, nature, and ecology.
Whitney and Anna Harris Conservation Forum examines urban heat islands, their impact and mitigation strategies (Links to an external site)
The Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis used its annual Whitney and Anna Harris Conservation Forum last Tuesday night to explore the issue of urban heat islands, their impact and what can be done to mitigate them in an event titled, “It’s Getting Hot in Here: Urban Heat Effects and St. Louis.” LEC post-doc Kaylee Arnold was a featured panel member.
Environmental DNA could revolutionize monitoring of fish and wildlife (Links to an external site)
Postdoctoral research associate Kara Andres used eDNA to follow invisible trails of genetic information from fish. While her original work probed the Great Lakes, her recent work is focused on microbial communities in local waterways.
Into the forest (Links to an external site)
With its host of top-rated attractions and miles of bike paths and running trails, Forest Park has enticed generations of WashU community members to step outside the university’s campuses and explore. Today, students and faculty are venturing deeper into the woods to learn about the biodiversity that teems there and to highlight the connectedness between the natural and the human.
Missouri native is flowering earlier due to climate change (Links to an external site)
Matthew Austin, an ecologist and biodiversity postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis, published a study in the American Journal of Botany that describes changes to the flowering time and other important life cycle events in Leavenworthia species, a group of small flowering plants found in glades in Missouri.
Climate and Wildflowers: Leavenworthia Study Sheds Light on Roles of Climate Change and Conservation (Links to an external site)
LEC post-doc Matt Austin leads research team to examine the role of climate change to discover warmer and drier springs is a major contributor to Leavenworthia blooming earlier.
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.
Kaylee Arnold joins Tyson team as LEC postdoc (Links to an external site)
From exploring the beach and San Diego Zoo as a kid to studying kissing bugs in Panama as a PhD candidate, Kaylee Arnold’s path in biology has been a long and winding one. Most recently, it has brought her to St. Louis, where she is joining Washington University’s Living Earth Collaborative as a postdoctoral research associate.
Small flowers focus of big climate research at Missouri Botanical Garden (Links to an external site)
The Missouri Botanical Garden is known for its beautiful plants and flowers, but that’s not where you’ll find ecologist Matthew Austin.
Most days, you’ll find the post-doctoral fellow with Washington University’s Living Earth Collaborative combing the stacks, not of a library, but of the garden’s Herbarium, one of the world’s best research resources for all things plants.
How GPS tracking is helping expand our understanding of Forest Park (Links to an external site)
Learn about the Forest Park Living Lab project that started with LEC Seed grant monies. Experts in wildlife ecology, animal movement and veterinary medicine joined forces in a landmark collaboration to enhance how we understand Forest Park.
Forest Park Living Lab (Links to an external site)
St. Louis scientists including LEC postdoctoral fellow, Stella Uiterwaal, collaborate on new study of wildlife in one of America’s greatest urban parks called the Forest Park Living Lab. The Forest Park Living Lab received a LEC seed grant in 2022.
Squirrels and the city (Links to an external site)
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).
The birds and the bees — and the temperature gauge (Links to an external site)
Writing in the journal Ecology Letters, Michael Moore, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis, and his collaborators Noah Leith and Kasey Fowler-Finn at Saint Louis University (SLU) published a new paper in Ecology Letters.
Study: Climate change improves violet blooms, but there’s a hitch (Links to an external site)
Climate change is affecting how and when common blue violets reproduce, according to a study of preserved specimens of the flower published last month by the Missouri Botanical Garden and LEC postodotoral fellow, Matthew Austin.
Climate change is affecting when, how violets reproduce (Links to an external site)
Research from Matthew Austin, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis, found that climate change is affecting how the common blue violet, a common native flower, reproduce.
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.
Sneaky male guppies affect food web dynamics (Links to an external site)
LEC Postdoc Yusan Yang partners with WashU faculty Swanne Gordon and Andrés Lopez-Sepulcre to explore how sexual behaviors affect female guppy eating habits.
How will dragonflies adapt to a warmer earth? (Video) (Links to an external site)
Science Journal for Kids picked up Moore et al (2021) on coloration changes in dragonflies article and brought it to younger audiences.
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.
Habitat Increases Birds’ Pest Control Services in Walnuts (Video) (Links to an external site)
Video highlighting Dr. Sacha Heath’s, LEC postdoc, research in the Sacramento Valley looking at the effects of planting hedgerows on the edges of different types of crops.
For larger, older trees, it’s all downhill from here (Links to an external site)
Jonathan Myers, associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, and William Farfan-Rios, a postdoctoral research fellow of the Living Earth Collaborative, are co-authors of the new study led by Duke University, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Mid-sized trees have outsized importance when it comes to reproduction (Links to an external site)
In a new PNAS publication by Miles Silman and William Farfan-Rios, a postdoctoral researcher at Washington University in St. Louis’s Living Earth Collaborative, about 80% of the 600 species they studied, trees’ fecundity, or physical potential to reproduce, peaked or plateaued as they reached an intermediate size. After that, it declined.
A brief history of the cabbage butterfly’s evolving tastes (Links to an external site)
Postdoctoral researcher, Mariana Braga, has modeled how butterfly-plant interactions evolve.
From pigeon stalker to squirrel chaser: Elizabeth Carlen studies urban wildlife in St. Louis (Links to an external site)
Meet Elizabeth Carlen, a Living Earth Collaborative postdoc and NSF postdoctoral fellow working in the Losos lab at Washington University
Dragonflies lose wing markings in warmer climates, WashU and SLU study shows (Links to an external site)
In a study published last week, local researchers, including LEC post-doc Michael Moore, found that male dragonflies have less wing coloration in warmer climates to prevent overheating in the sun. This discovery enhances scientists’ understanding of how organisms adapt to climate change, offering insights into conservation strategies.
Warmer Climate May Cause Male Dragonflies to Lose Their Patchy Wings (Links to an external site)
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences led by LEC postdoctoral fellow, Michael Moore, finds that dragonfly males have consistently evolved less breeding coloration in regions with hotter climates.
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.
As male dragonflies adapt to climate change, females might be less attracted (Links to an external site)
Saint Louis on the Air interviewed LEC post-doc Michael Moore about his new findings that male dragonfly wing patterns are changing.
Dragonflies are losing their wing color because of climate change, study shows (Links to an external site)
LEC post-doc Michael Moore found that male dragonflies are adapting to warmer conditions by changing their wing patterns in a new study published in PNAS
Male dragonflies lose their ‘bling’ in hotter climates (Links to an external site)
New research led by post-doc Michael Moore and in collaboration with LEC Biodiversity Fellows, Kim Medley and Kasey Fowler-Finn, and several WashU undergraduate students reveals that male dragonfly wing patterns are changing in response to warming temperatures.
Male dragonflies may become less colourful as the climate warms (Links to an external site)
Climate change may make the male dragonflies of North America less colorful – which might also make them less sexually attractive to females according to new research by LEC post-doc Michael Moore and colleagues.
Climate crisis causing male dragonflies to lose wing ‘bling’, study finds (Links to an external site)
LEC postdoctoral fellow Michael Moore and collaborators find that black patterns used to attract mates can cause dragonflies to overheat in hotter climates according to new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
At Orchards and Vineyards, Birds Are Outperforming Pesticides (Links to an external site)
Studies ranging from orchards in Michigan to vineyards in California and New Zealand show that birds including American Kestrels, Barn Owls, and Western Bluebirds are better than chemicals at reducing pest damage. Read about LEC post-doc fellow, Sacha Heath’s research in Sacramento Valley orchards added to this body of knowledge.
Brood X cicadas emerge in a rapidly changing world (Links to an external site)
Talk about a rude awakening. Brood X cicadas are coming of age in world that is drastically altered from the one their ancestors knew. LEC Postdoctoral Fellow, Brett Seymoure is a behavioral ecologist who studies the effect of lighting on animal behavior.