ecology

Down the Rabbit Hole: The Search for New England’s Disappearing Cottontail

Posted on by Anna Bennett

Connecticut is a small yet ecologically interesting state. Over 85% of the human population lives in cities, yet more than 60% of the land is covered by forest, creating a diverse mix of habitats where wildlife and urban life overlap. In this landscape, bobcats have staged an impressive comeback over the past several decades, reclaiming their role as one of the region’s top predators. But as bobcat numbers rise, a quieter story is unfolding alongside them: the New England cottontail, the region’s only native rabbit, is vanishing.

a brown rabbit facing the camera with grass in the background.
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Hot Off the Seep: Novel Cyanobacteria with Hefty Implications for Carbon Cycling

Posted on by Anna Bennett

Cyanobacteria, microscopic photosynthetic bacteria, have been quietly shaping our planet for billions of years. Responsible for producing the oxygen we breathe, these tiny organisms play a critical role in the global carbon cycle and are now stepping into the spotlight for another reason: their potential to both understand and potentially combat climate change. 

Image of Volcano Island (Baia di Levante) in Italy where the cyanobacterial strains were isolated. Image contains rock formations and a body of water in the foreground with more rock formations in the background.
Baia di Levente. Marine, volcanic seeps in Italy where UTEX 3221 and UTEX 3222 were discovered. Image credit: Adobe Stock.

Recently, researchers discovered two new strains of cyanobacteria, UTEX 3221 and UTEX 3222, thriving in a marine volcanic seep off the coast of Italy. While cyanobacteria are virtually everywhere there is water and light—from calm freshwater ponds to extreme environments like Yellowstone’s hot springs—this particular habitat is remarkable for its naturally high CO₂ levels and acidic conditions. For these newly identified strains, a geochemical setting like marine volcanic seeps have likely driven the evolution of unique traits that could make them valuable for carbon sequestration and industrial applications. 

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How Fire Coral has an Edge Over Other Species in the Caribbean Reef

Posted on by Riley Bell

Coral reefs are the most productive marine ecosystem known, providing essential habitats and shelters for fish and other organisms. Additionally, they help protect coastlines, support economies, provide important food sources for local fisheries, and so much more. Coral reefs are ecologically essential—but are continuing to vanish. Fire coral (Millepora) brings new hope to this marine crisis due to their unusual ability to grow in two forms and survive under various habitat stresses.

Bladed fire coral (Millepora complanata) undersea, Caribbean Sea, Cuba, Playa Cueva de los peces
Bladed fire coral (Millepora complanata) undersea, Caribbean Sea, Cuba

What Is Fire Coral?

Fire coral has been around for millions of years and is most commonly found in sunny, shallow reefs. They tend to grow in tropical and subtropical waters with many thriving in different areas of the Caribbean Sea, one of the planet’s most biologically diverse ecosystems. Fire coral resembles typical stony corals but has a wicked sting that can cause burning skin reactions, reflecting their relationship as a close relative to jellyfish.

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Manipulating Koala Microbiomes Using…Poo Pills?

Posted on by Natalie Larsen
“Koalas – mum and baby” by Amanda Penrose is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

In recent years, it’s become a well-documented fact that koalas are about as picky as they are adorable. These beloved Australian marsupials have evolved to become ecological specialists: consumers that feed primarily on a single organism, or small number of organisms. Eucalyptus, their organism of choice, encompasses approximately 900 species, most of which are native to Australia. To the koala’s benefit, the leaves of eucalyptus trees are difficult to digest, low in protein content and their chemical composition contains compounds that are toxic. This makes their competition for eucalyptus with other species virtually nonexistent.

That’s not to say there isn’t competition amongst themselves. Of those 900 species of eucalyptus, koalas are only really known to feed on about 40–50 of them, and of those 40–50, they tend to limit their diet to around 10. Depending on their location, however, some koalas will only stick to one preferred type, which can lead to trouble.  

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Deep in the Jungle Something Is Happening: DNA Sequencing

Posted on by Promega

This blog was written by guest blogger and 2018 Promega Social Media Intern Logan Godfrey.

Only 30 years ago, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the first time, allowing the exponential amplification of a specific DNA segment. A small amount of DNA could now be replicated until there was enough of it to study accurately, even allowing sequencing of the amplified DNA. This was a massive breakthrough that produced immediate effects in the fields of forensics and life science research. Since these technologies were first introduced however, the molecular biology research laboratory has been the sole domain of PCR and DNA sequencing.

While an amazing revolution, application of a technology such as DNA sequencing is limited by the size and cost of DNA sequencers, which in turn restricts accessibility. However, recent breakthroughs are allowing DNA sequencing to take place in jungles, the arctic, and even space—giving science the opportunity to reach further, faster than ever before. 

Gideon Erkenswick begins extractions on fecal samples collected from wild tamarins in 2017. Location: The GreenLab, Inkaterra.

Gideon Erkenswick begins extractions on fecal samples collected from wild tamarins in 2017. Location: The GreenLab, Inkaterra. Photo credit: Field Projects International.

The newfound accessibility of DNA sequencing means a marriage between fields of science that were previously largely unacquainted. The disciplines of genomics and wildlife biology/ecology have largely progressed independently. Wildlife biology is practiced in the field through observations and macro-level assessments, and genomics, largely, has developed in a lab setting. Leading the charge in the convergence of wildlife biology and genomics is Field Projects International. 

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It’s a Girl! Welcoming Black-Footed Ferret Kit Elizabeth Ann!!

Posted on by Kari Kenefick

Updated February 2021.

In February 2018 we wrote about a resurrection effort to bring the then endangered black-footed ferret back from the brink of extinction in western U.S. This effort was undertaken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with assistance from Revive & Restore and partners ViaGen Pets & Equine, San Diego Zoo Global and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

On February 18, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced announced the successful cloning of a black-footed ferret, introducing the world to a 38-day-old black-footed ferret kit “Elizabeth Ann” cloned from cells of a female ferret that died in 1988.

Photos of Elizabeth Ann, the first cloned black footed ferret. Image credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service

Cells from ferret, “Willa” were preserved by freezing, and when somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) became a possibility, Willa’s cells were used to create Elizabeth Ann, the kit born just over one month ago.

Before Elizabeth Ann’s birth there were upwards of 1,000 black-footed ferrets alive in the western U.S., but they were all descendants of just 7 ferrets, and thus genetically very similar.

Analysis of Elizabeth Ann’s genome has revealed more than three times the genetic variants found in the existing wild U.S. ferrets. This means that if she is able to reproduce, her contribution to the genetic diversity of wild ferrets would be huge.

Interested in learning more about ferrets and the challenges they’ve faced in surviving and thriving in the wild? Below is our original 2018 blog with those details. Don’t miss the video clip of a young black-footed ferret doing the “weasel war dance” (below).

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Just in Time for Wisconsin’s Invasive Species Month: Goats

Posted on by Michele Arduengo, PhD
Invasive kudzu vine
Invasive kudzu vine covering a forest

“In Georgia, the legend says
That you must close your windows
At night to keep it out of the house
The glass is tinged with green, even so
As tendrils crawl over the fields…”
—James Dickey (1)

I grew up in Georgia, where on a hot, humid summer day you could almost hear the hiss of growing vegetation, especially the Kudzu as it climbed over fence posts and encroached upon the roadside, the king of invasive species. In Florida you worry about the alligators along the roadside if you have a flat tire; in Georgia, beware the Kudzu.

Invasive species, animal and plant, are an issue in all ecosytems. Imported from distant (and not-so-distant) areas both by accident and misguided intent, invasive species are species that have escaped the checks and balances of natural competitors and predators that existed in their native habitats. This lack of predation and competition enables them to outcompete and overrun other species.

Kudzu may be one of the most recognized invasive species in the United States, but it’s probably not the worst. The zebra mussel is an aquatic animal that has invaded our waterways in Wisconsin. Oak savannahs and prairie ecosystems in the Midwest United States are threatened by many invasive plant species like garlic mustard and blister parsnip. The USDA maintains an extensive invasive species list so.

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Cold-War Bunkers Enlisted in the Fight Against Cold-Loving Fungus: More on the White-Nose Syndrome Story

Posted on by Michele Arduengo, PhD
Bunkers at Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge. photo credit: USFWS/Steve Agius
Bunkers at Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge. photo credit: USFWS/Steve Agius

A lot has happened since I first wrote about White-Nose Syndrome, the fungal disease that has devastated bat populations in North America. The disease, caused by the cold-loving fungus Geomyces destructans (now renamed Psuedogymnoascus destructans), has been identified in many more places, including most recently confirmed cases in Georgia, South Carolina, Illinois and Missouri in the United States and Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Controlling the spread of this disease is a tremendous problem, because as I indicated in a previous blog post, keeping a hardy fungus from spreading among a population of densely packed small animals in tiny, cold damp areas is not a simple task.

This problem is going to require creative solutions, and scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may have come up with a great idea that answers two questions: How do you control the spread of White-Nose Syndrome and what do you do with 43 unused Air Force bunkers?

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Rob Mies: Lessons From A Real Life ‘Bat Man’

Posted on by Robert Deyes

On a blustery, frigidly cold day in mid-April, a small gathering of cub scouts from one of several local packs congregated outside the Lussier Heritage Center on the southern end of Madison for the annual bat festival. They had braved the elements to see these furry creatures, perhaps for the first time in their lives, and to put aside the myth that they are little more than Transylvanian-born vampiric vermin. The cub scouts had come to hear the experts talk. And there could have been no better person for the job of getting the education process started than conservationist Rob Mies- indisputably the star of this year’s bat show.

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Mate Selection at Frog Cocktail Parties: Keep it Short, Low, Loud, and Stand Out from the Crowd (Oh, and have a colorful vocal sac, too)

Posted on by Michele Arduengo, PhD
Hyla versicolor (Copes grey treefrog) Photo credit: LA Dawson wikipedia
Hyla versicolor (Copes grey treefrog) Photo credit: LA Dawson wikipedia

When I lived in Sioux City, IA, I had the opportunity of hanging out with a zoologist who studied the Plains Spadefoot Toad (Spea bombifrons). I would go out with her on nighttime listening surveys, and we would slowly drive the gravel farm roads in the middle of nowhere, weaving from one side to the other as we dodged hopping frogs and toads, and I would be amazed as the clamor of these calling anurans rattled my eardrums.

Just last week in Madison, as I took my lunchtime walk, I passed by a roadside wetland, and my ears filled with the calls of Chorus frogs, singing with all their one-inch might in hopes of attracting a mate. And, later that evening, as my daughter and I weeded our garden at home, I heard the crisp bell trill of two American toads carrying over the chorus frogs in the neighborhood.

Congresses of snoring Spadefoot Toads. In-your-face Copes Gray Tree Frogs. Peepers, Chorus Frogs and and Leopard Frogs. The evenings are noisy when the temperatures moderate and these frogs and toads come out to call. The din of the local roadside wetland begins to resemble the din of the local roadside bar, in more ways than one as it turns out.

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