Stuart Allison

What Douthat misses are two other great extinctions - the extinction of global biodiversity and the extinction of human experience of the natural world. Both are as tragic as the loss of human institutions. The loss of biodiversity is also irreversible whereas human institutions can be reborn.

Opinion | An Age of Extinction Is Coming. Here’s How to Survive. Everything is under threat. What you care about can make it to the other side.

@nytopinion.nytimes.com, @DouthatNYT - Ross Douthat's recent column on living in an age of extinction is well worth reading and I think he is spot on about how the digital age is leading to extinctions of many human institutions. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/o...

Embedding information flows within ecological networks - Nature Ecology & Evolution Ecological network research has typically focused on flows of matter and energy, but species also exchange information signals and cues that influence behaviour and movement. This Perspective argues t...

Species communicate many ways in nature, often across large differences in taxa. There is so much we need to learn to better understand and preserve the world. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A Fungi Pioneer’s Lifelong Work on Exhibit (Gift Article) Mushrooms in 19th-century watercolors: The paintings of a self-taught female mycologist are featured at the New York State Museum.

Mary Elizabeth Banning, a 19th century mycologist, finally gets her due recognition. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/s...

Microplastics hinder plant photosynthesis, study finds, threatening millions with starvation Researchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400m in next two decades

If correct, this data on microplastics in plants is really bad news. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

150 Years of Change: How Old Photos, Recaptured, Reveal a Shifting Climate In the heart of Utah’s Uinta Mountains, a team of scientists is re-creating historical pictures to study how much, and how quickly, ecosystems are changing.

Rephotography helps to document our rapidly changing environment. And it is changing a lot - even in 24 years. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/t...

Sea otter's role as keystone species varies with location due to different suites of species in the two locations. Sea Otters are always important actors, but some places they are more important than others. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

How Fungi Move Among Us (Gift Article) Underground fungal networks are “living algorithms” that quietly help regulate Earth’s climate. Now scientists know what makes them so efficient.

This article has beautiful video of fungal networks expanding and moving material within their bodies. It is incredible stuff. So much of our world depends on the actions of fungi. Watch and be amazed. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/s...

Environmental Variability Shapes Life History of the World's Birds Theory suggests life history plays a key role in the ability of organisms to persist under fluctuating environmental conditions. Synthesising a collection of global data resources, we demonstrate a l...

Non-migratory bird reproductive strategies are related to annual climatic variability. Lots of annual variation - reproduce quickly with lots of offspring. Little annual variation - reproduce more slower. Climate change might mess up those strategies. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Ah, it is good to see how things spread - like ripples across the surface of a pond. Thank you

Muted Amazon Rainfall Response to Deforestation in a Global Storm‐Resolving Model This study is the first to explore the response of Amazon precipitation to complete deforestation using a global storm-resolving model Despite a strong decrease in evapotranspiration, mean Amazon...

The good news - rainfall in the Amazon basin may be more robust to deforestation than originally thought. So perhaps rainforest can become re-established following deforestation. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

Thank you Dan - I haven't used that line for a while. I need to go back to it.

‘The Interview’: Ed Yong Wants to Show You the Hidden Reality of the World (Gift Article) The Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer talks about burnout from covering the pandemic and how bird-watching gave him a new sense of hope.

Science writer Ed Yong reflects on the complexities of life and understanding the world we live in. And he provides a beautiful quotation to help us carry on - "Hope is a discipline." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...

Subterranean morphology underpins the degree of mycoheterotrophy, mycorrhizal associations, and plant vigor in a green orchid Oreorchis patens The evolution of full heterotrophy from photosynthetic ancestors is a longstanding question in evolutionary ecology. Our study demonstrates that coralloid rhizomes in a photosynthetic orchid p...

Orchids are fascinating. This species can parasitize wood decomposing fungi to gain nutrition while remaining photosynthetic and thus growing more vigorously. Cool stuff. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Canopy Temperature Reveals Disparities in Urban Tree Benefits Using canopy temperature as a proxy, we show that urban tree health and function varies across Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Trees in more urbanized areas and areas further from blue/green spaces exhi...

While not a surprise, this is a valuable study that reveals urban tree health and potential benefits vary with conditions in urban areas. Those closer to water and green spaces do better than those more surrounded by hard-scaping. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

A Deep-Sea Fish of Nightmares Strays Into Shallow Waters A scary-looking creature with “devil” in its name was spotted close to the surface off Tenerife, a Spanish island.

You just never know what may surface from the deep ocean. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/s...

Trump Killed a Major Report on Nature. They’re Trying to Publish It Anyway. The first full draft of the assessment, on the state of America’s land, water and wildlife, was weeks from completion. The project leader called the study “too important to die.”

Keep going researchers and writers! We need the National Nature Assessment to be published. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/c...

The L.A. Fire Where Something Went Right While some Angelenos cast around for someone to blame, a whole cooperative emergency-response system whirred to life.

Coordinated responses by experienced professionals can help limit the extent of disastrous wildfires. However, the current group in Washington would prefer to fire as many experience professionals as possible. How will they respond then? www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/m...

Centipede shape - or perhaps dendritic - in the ice on a driveway after yesterday's freezing rain.

Northern boreal forests will probably experience significant changes in the next century - moving further north and increasing in density in colder areas. The southern edge of the forests will become less dense. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Excellent bubbles in the ice on Lake Sharvy at the Green Oaks Field Research Center. You can't tell in the photo but the shallow bubbles are about 6 inches down, the deepest bubbles about 10 inches down.

Wide range of Earth’s species are showing a decline in diversity The loss of genetic variation means species may be less resilient to climate change and other stressors

Bad news for biodiversity - there is evidence for widespread declines in genetic diversity even in species that do not appear to be experiencing population decline. www.science.org/content/arti...

How Birds Survive Winter Cold: Adaptations and Behavioral Strategies (Gift Article) Their feathers, roosting behaviors and adaptability help birds survive the cold, “nature’s proving ground.”

It is amazing how tiny birds survive harsh winter weather. I'm always glad to see them flock to my bird feeders. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/r...

Wild Andean camelids promote rapid ecosystem development after glacier retreat - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Wild Andean camelids promote rapid ecosystem development after glacier retreat

In the Andes, vicuna dung and microbial activity speed post-glacial succession. Can their activity keep with accelerating rates of glacial melt? www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Could Trump Use the ‘God Squad’ to Override Environmental Law? The president wants to convene the rarely used panel, which has the power to carve out exemptions to the Endangered Species Act. Here’s what to know.

When the political meets the scientific and ethical, let's hope scientific and ethical win. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/c...

Sunset over Hope Cemetery, Galesburg IL.

I find it good - especially for science oriented content

Tuber cumberlandense and T. canirevelatum, two new edible Tuber species from eastern North America discovered by truffle-hunting dogs Ectomycorrhizal fungi in the genus Tuber form hypogeous fruiting bodies called truffles. Many Tuber species are highly prized due to their edible and aromatic ascomata. Historically, there has been...

Two new truffle species described in North America. I especially like that taxonomic/ecological research was aided by truffle dogs. I need to train my dog to help me find truffles. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....