“CoEnv Science in Motion” features community-generated stories from our faculty, staff and students, relating to how they share their science–through such means as blog cross-posts or guest posts, science communication through non-science outlets, and stories about engagement offline as well.
For this installment of SiM, we’re sharing a blog post from Hilary Palevsky, grad student in Oceanography, about the Graduate Climate Conference, a unique annual conference that she helped organize this year.
Graduate Climate Conference, 2012, held at Pack Experimental Forest.
The study of climate and climate change involves an array of disciplines, including atmospheric, biological, earth and ocean sciences, as well as environmental policy and economics. The Graduate Climate Conference (GCC), held for the 6th time October 26-28, 2012, is a unique setting designed for young researchers in these fields, bringing together graduate students only,in a forum organized by graduate students only,to discuss current research in climate science. We have the opportunity to share new techniques and avenues of research, discuss recent findings and their implications, and consider the major questions in the future of climate research. The format is designed to encourage new climate scientists to grow acquainted with the details of diverse areas of climate research and to place their own research in the broader context of the climate science community. We envision fostering connections that will lead to future collaborations across disciplines and between institutions.
This year’s conference at the Pack Forest Conference Center at the base of Mount Rainier brought together 83 graduate students from 37 different academic institutions across 19 US states and three foreign countries, and included 33 graduate students from the University of Washington. Participants were selected in a competitive application from among 214 submitted abstracts, and represented diverse research interests, from inferring past changes in atmospheric circulation from records in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core, to modeling the response of the hydrologic cycle to global warming, to analyzing how US renewable energy policies can drive green innovation. The three-day conference included opportunities for participants to formally present their research in an oral or poster session, as well as opportunities to informally discuss research and network with colleagues during cafeteria-style meals, over social breaks, and during group hikes and canoe trips at the conclusion of the conference.
The 2012 GCC continued a tradition begun in 2006, when students in the Program on Climate Change at UW hosted the first ever all-graduate student climate conference. After hosting the GCC four times from 2006-2010, UW students developed a partnership with students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) expand the reach of the GCC; in 2011 the conference transitioned to a traveling format, and MIT students hosted the 5th GCC in in Woods Hole, MA. This partnership has already seen success in building connections between UW and MIT students and expanding the conference to students on the east coast of the US. We envision that the conference will continue to alternate between our two institutions, and MIT students are already at work organizing the 7th GCC for 2013.
“CoEnv Science in Motion” features community-generated stories from our faculty, staff and students, relating to how they share their science–through such means as blog cross-posts or guest posts, science communication through non-science outlets, and stories about engagement offline as well.
Would you like an invasion with your heat wave? Extreme climatic events and species invasions
Extreme weather, like the July 2012 heat wave, may not only increase air-conditioning bills but also the likelihood and success of species invasions. A new paper co-authored by Dr. Olden in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, shows how these events – droughts, hurricanes, floods, and heat waves – can influence transport, establishment, spread, and impact of non-native species. Both empirical evidence and invasion theory suggest that these extreme events can 1) increase transport of non-native species, 2) reduce resistance of native communities, and 3) change the balance of competition between native and non-native species.
Extreme and more variable climate events are predicted to become more frequent and intense with ongoing climate change. Slowing the rate of species introductions around the world will probably require managers to factor in increases in the magnitude and the number of extreme climatic events.
Check out these highlight stories and videos from units such as arts and sciences, College of the Environment, built environments, landscape architecture, continuing education — as well as news outlets like KUOW and Dogster. You can read more about all of what’s happening in the sustainability arena at UW here!
A new feature of CoEnv Currents, “CoEnv Science in Motion” will feature community-generated stories from our faculty, staff and students, relating to how they share their science–through such means as blog cross-posts or guest posts, science communication through non-science outlets, and stories about engagement offline as well.
Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff: A spotlight on recent research
Humans aren’t the only ones who might experience culture shock – and for some animals a failure to adjust to the novel “culture” of an invasive species might be lethal! This may be especially true for aquatic species, which generally don’t have parents to teach them any better, and have to rely on innate responses to survive predators. A recent Olden Lab paper published in the journal Freshwater Biology (March 2012) documents this story for juvenile salmon in the Pacific Northwest and invasive smallmouth bass. Young salmon innately recognize and run from the smell of northern pikeminnow – a native predator – but either don’t recognize the smell of non-native smallmouth bass or associate it with danger. We documented the behavioral responses of salmon to the cues of both predators in laboratory and field experiments, adding to the body of literature on how aquatic species and ecosystems respond (or don’t!) when a mysterious stranger moves into town. You can link to the article here – you can also check out a short video clip (below) which shows the differences in behavior to the two predator odors that we saw in our laboratory experiment.
This video shows behavioral responses of juvenile Chinook salmon exposed to the smell of native and non-native fish predators. The fish in the top tank is smells a native northern pikeminnow cue, and is trying desperately to escape the tank. The fish in the bottom tank has smallmouth bass odor entering the tank, but either doesn’t recognize the odor or doesn’t associate it with a predator threat.
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