As humans spread invasive species around and alter fire regimes, we change the basic functioning of single keystone species, which ultimately radiates to other species. With whitebark pines declining from 40%-90% throughout their range, these high elevation regions are drastically being transformed. Grizzly bears depend on these fatty pine nuts to get them through the harshest winter months when little else is available. As these tree populations decrease, the fight for survival intensifies. It is time we all think about plant conservation and our role as humans in protecting these truly wild places. I’m here to remind you, and remind myself, that the struggle for survival in Yellowstone is ramping up, and that the decimation of one species radiates throughout the food web, which increases competition, which unfortunately increases the rates of human-bear conflicts.
Read moreThe invasive Aureoboletus projectellus
The invasive Aureoboletus projectellus. Photo by boletebill.
The term invasive species is reserved for non-native organisms that cause ecological damage. When I think of invasive species, I immediately think of species that have originated from a foreign place, that have impacted the ecosystems I know and love in a negative way. I think about invasive species through this perspective, not really recognizing that there are native species from my own backyard that have infiltrated ecosystems in Europe. Take Aureoboletus projectellus for example.
Read moreInvasive thistle; An adaptive non-native plant
Cirsium arvense entices armies of generalist pollinators with its copious nectar production.
This new 2017 study links latitudinal mesofaunal diversity with plant strategy, and highlight the dynamic evolutionary nature of an adaptive invasive weed.
Read moreA fungus that changed American ecosystems forever, the Chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica)
Fruiting bodies of the chestnut blight, Cryphonectria parasitica.
Within just 40 years of the fungus making its way to our continent, nearly four billion American chestnuts were wiped out. You can still encounter a ghost of the forest floors distant past, in the form of shrub-like chestnut trees emerging from intact roots, not killed by the fungus.
Read moreUrban erosion of mycorrhizae
Learn what researchers found out about how communities shift with human devolvement. Discover how fungal communities change with urbanization.
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