Captain Robert Scott’s Antarctic Discovery expedition took place over 100 years ago—and yet its participants recently racked up another contribution to science. Thanks to the samples of bacterial mats they collected from polar ponds—samples that were pressed, dried, and stored … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recently published papers selected by Academy members
Tag Archives: ecosystem
Journal Club: A physicist’s take on the age-old ecological puzzle of how species form communities
Ecologists have long searched for the rules that govern how individual species join together to form a community. Whether forest or desert, the problem is complex. Myriad factors influence a community’s composition and stability —from how strongly species compete to … Continue reading
Categories: Animal Behavior | Applied Physical Sciences | Ecology | Journal Club | Mathematics | Physics
Tagged ecological community, ecosystem, Lotka-Volterra equation, species interactions
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Journal Club: Maya altered their environment significantly, for better or worse
The ancient Maya once had a civilization in the Americas that stretched over an area the size of Texas. Now scientists detail a number of key ways the Maya left behind a lasting impact on the environment during the so-called … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Anthropology | Ecology | Environmental Sciences | Journal Club
Tagged climate change, ecosystem, environment, Maya, soil
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