Fewer fish may reach breeding age as climate change skews timing of reproduction, food availability
July 24, 2019 ・ Joseph AlbaneseClimate change may be depriving juvenile fish of their most crucial early food source by throwing off the synchronization of when microscopic plants known as phytoplankton bloom and when fish hatch, according to Princeton University researchers. The long-term effect on…
Course explores the Millstone River, Princeton’s backyard wilderness
May 23, 2019 ・ Morgan KellyAn 8-foot deer shape cut from a discarded mirror stood along one wall of the Lucas Gallery at 185 Nassau St. on the Princeton campus, its humanoid body reflecting the people gathered around a table set with native New Jersey…
Back-to-back heat waves likely to accelerate with climate change
May 8, 2019 ・ Joseph AlbaneseAs the planet continues to warm, multi-day heat waves are projected to increase in frequency, length and intensity. The additive effects of these extreme heat events overwhelm emergency service providers and hospital staff with heat-related maladies, disrupt the electrical grid…
Plants and microbes shape global biomes through local underground alliances
April 17, 2019 ・ Morgan KellyDense rainforests, maple-blanketed mountains and sweeping coniferous forests demonstrate the growth and proliferation of trees adapted to specific conditions. The regional dominance of tree species we see on the surface, however, might actually have been determined underground long ago. Princeton…
PEI Urban Grand Challenges awards $509,000 to new urban sustainability projects
January 17, 2019 ・ Morgan KellyVertical farms in post-industrial America, origami-based noise-pollution barriers, and cement made from burned waste make up the latest round of projects funded by the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) Urban Grand Challenges program. Totaling $509,000, the new awards are active through September…
Habits and history determine if conservation succeeds or fails
December 20, 2018The ghosts of harvesting past can haunt today’s conservation efforts. The conservation or overharvesting of a resource such as fish, timber or other wildlife often is determined by past habits and decisions related to that resource, according to a study…
Hummingbirds dive to dazzle females in a highly synchronized display
December 18, 2018When it comes to flirting, animals know how to put on a show. In the bird world, males often go to great lengths to attract female attention, like peacocks shaking their tail feathers and manakins performing complex dance moves. These…
Stoddard receives Packard Fellowship for early-career scientists
October 15, 2018 ・ Morgan KellyMary Caswell “Cassie” Stoddard, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) associated faculty, was one of 18 researchers nationwide to receive a David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship for Science and Engineering, which is awarded to…
Photosynthesis and engines evolved in remarkably similar ways
July 25, 2018 ・ Adam HadhazyA plant: natural, grown, leafy. An internal combustion engine: artificial, machined, metallic. At first blush, these two objects couldn’t appear less alike. Yet, according to a Princeton University study published June 29 in the journal PLoS ONE, the two complex…
