Planet’s Post

🌊 New Research Spotlight! 🌊 MGEL's Tina Yack, PhD, assisted in developing a groundbreaking method to estimate North Atlantic Right Whale abundance. This research employs a data fusion approach that combines visual observations from aerial distance sampling with acoustic detections from passive hydrophone monitoring, addressing the limitations of relying on single data sources. 📡 Innovative Approach: Using a Bayesian hierarchical model, the study integrates spatially precise but temporally limited aerial survey data with continuous yet spatially ambiguous acoustic data. This synergy produces robust estimates of whale distribution and behavior. 🔍 Key Contributions: -> Bridging Data Gaps: Synchronizes intermittent visual data with continuous acoustic monitoring to create a unified model. -> Enhanced Precision: Accounts for surface activity and vocalization patterns to refine population estimates, crucial for species management. -> Scalable Framework: Demonstrates potential for applying this methodology to other marine species and dynamic ecological settings. This work underscores the importance of multi-modal data integration in advancing conservation science and informing adaptive management strategies for critically endangered species. Authored by Erin Schliep, Alan E. Gelfand, Christopher W. Clark, Charles A. Mayo, Brigid McKenna, Susan E. Parks, Tina Yack, PhD, and Robert S. Schick. https://lnkd.in/gZWuUiy8 #MarineConservation #Biodiversity #OceanScience

PART 3 : Ecosystem Evolution: Short vs Long-Term Changes Part 3 of our series with Mr. Lara is here: The Power of Natural Selection in Shaping Ecosystems. Explore how long-term environmental changes prompt species to adapt, relocate, or perish. An essential discussion for professionals in environmental science, biology, and sustainability. #EvolutionaryBiology #ClimateAdaptation #Part3

🐭 Curious about the role of mice as model organisms? Check out our latest blog where we explore their history, pros and cons, research areas, and opportunities! Plus, we've included some reflective questions to guide your research. Dive in here: https://zurl.co/VuPB #Research

Oxygen Minimum Zones, or OMZs, are areas in the water column with less oxygen, primarily due to naturally occurring physical and biological processes within the Ocean. The core of the OMZ is anoxic, making them inhospitable to most large animals, yet microbes have adapted to live and thrive in this oxygen-starved environment. During the #OxygenMinimumMicrobes Expedition, an international team of researchers is working in the eastern tropical South Pacific off the coast of Chile. They strive to deepen our scientific knowledge of OMZs, which have substantial ecological significance, and this research will help us to predict and understand the future health of the ocean, our atmosphere, and the humans who depend on these resources for survival. Watch the full video: https://lnkd.in/d4n_RbZy

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) annual general assembly in Vienna is, as every year, a great place to gather, especially for its interdisciplinary potential Also in A(nta)rctic terms, a lot of ground (literally) is covered. Yet, since a while I was searching for "permafrost biodiversity sessions" - well say no more! Initiated by Sylvain Monteux and colleagues, we took that lack of Arctic soil-based biology sessions and hence decided to convene a session with a focus on cold-adapted soil biodiversity and functionality (https://lnkd.in/eHqmv-h2). Please consider our session and share it with your network. If you are not certain, if your work fits the scope, please feel free to contact me about it. --> Abstract submission until 15.01.2025, conference 27.04.-02.05.2025, so enough time still 😉 ---- Session Information: SSS4.3  Diversity and #biogeochemical impacts of soil organisms in #Arctic, #Antarctic and #alpine soils Convener: Sylvain Monteux, Co-conveners: Maria Scheel, Jan Frouz, Mathilde Borg Dahl, Stef Bokhorst Share: https://lnkd.in/eHqmv-h2

#Publication Alert! We are thrilled to announce the publication of our article, "Mapping the Dynamics of Particulate Organic Carbon: Satellite Observations of Coastal to Shelf Variability in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico," in Ocean Science Journal. You can access the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eK9-h5sf

Connecting species distribution and state and transition simulation models. In collaboration with scientists at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (NC CASC), we are connecting species distribution models with our state and transition simulation models of landscape change. The goal is to create a tool that can forecast species invasion across different landscapes in the future. This work combines two of our flagship #SyncroSim packages, WISDM and ST-Sim, taking advantage of our new SyncroSim 3 feature that allows models to be connected together into workflows. Our first project using these methods is for Buffelgrass in Saguaro National Park. We are developing suitability maps for Buffelgrass using climate models that are fed into ST-Sim to forecast dynamics of plant spread and management across the landscape. Check out our upcoming talk at the North American Congress for Conservation Biology (NACCB) for more information about this case study and other applications of WISDM within the new #SyncroSim 3 framework. Society for Conservation Biology #speciesmodeling #invasive https://lnkd.in/gJ28UD5d

WEST Senior Biologist Melinda Conners on our offshore team is lead author on the recently published research article, "Dynamic soaring decouples dynamic body acceleration and energetics in albatross," published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. This paper describes flight costs of two species of dynamic soaring birds: black-browed and grey-headed #albatrosses from the Southern Ocean. Dr. Conners and her coauthors found that traditional energetic metrics don't work when birds are soaring, and that novel rotational metrics can be useful to understand the nuances of energetics in dynamic soaring birds. And, while soaring energetic costs were low relative to flapping as one might imagine, they were measurable and accumulated across long foraging trips. “This is the first time we have measured instantaneous costs of rotation in soaring seabirds and it is a demonstration of the usefulness of novel metrics derived from additional sensors. Understanding the nuances of flight energetics is crucial for forecasting impacts of changing environments on albatross and other seabirds.” – Melinda Conners Click the link to learn more: https://lnkd.in/dcj9NEfq

The biome concept should theoretically facilitate scientific synthesis of global-scale studies of the past, present, and future biosphere. However, there is neither a consensus biome map nor universally accepted definition of terrestrial biomes, making joint interpretation and comparison of biome-related studies difficult. https://lnkd.in/e9CU2Ydb

Dive into the details of EMBL’s TREC project, a groundbreaking expedition dedicated to understanding coastal ecosystems and their responses to environmental changes. The team is collecting samples from European coastlines and analyzing them to explore biodiversity and molecular adaptability of microbial organisms like phytoplankton. #CryoEM techniques have enabled researchers to study the molecular architecture of single celled organisms. Watch the full video to learn more about the TREC project and the impact of cryo-EM on #StructuralBiology. https://ter.li/itdh3o #CoastalBiology #EMBL