… North American, tallgrass prairie, frequent fires maintained grassland habitat and contributed to the diversity of birds, mammals, insects, and plants that are found in prairies today. Yet, widespread habitat loss and the elimination of fire are causing native plant populations to decline in the few prairie patches that remain. Prescribed burns promote native plants. They … we are using 25 years of demographic data from purple coneflower ( Echinacea angustifolia ) to parameterize demographic models and quantify the extent to which improved germination and …
Type: Research
… this week, our favorite came from 8-year-old Prairie! In the video below, Prairie wants to know, in essence, if she can transport Spike’s malodorous odor from the Chicago Botanic Garden to her classroom. Good question, Prairie! Conservation scientist Dr. Shannon Still has a fascinating response. Dr. Still will attempt to pollinate Spike’s flowers during bloom with pollen shared by our friends from The Huntington …
Type: Blog
… of topographic relief, this expansive habitat appeared as a “sea of grasses” that extended to the horizon. On closer examination, this seemingly uniform and unvarying landscape was made up … increasingly isolated, and many populations are declining and exhibiting reproductive failure. To slow the decline of this regionally important species, we propose to identify demographic, genetic, and management-related drivers of population decline. …
Type: Research
… that gauged the effectiveness of insects for controlling weeds. Introducing insects to control weeds has been helpful, but often the insect does not damage the target weed, and … iDiv Research Institute in Germany, showed that most studies were not appropriately designed to assess the impacts of biocontrol agents on population growth rates of targeted weeds. Kayri … about the risks and rewards of introducing insects to control weeds. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/69/4/247/5427085/ …
Type: Research
… and hydrangea, embellished with ferns and rose hips, poppy pods and nuts. Afix a paper clip to the back of the leaf, and you’ve got a holiday ornament. Pumpkin stack Use a “cheese” pumpkin or other squat squash to create a wide, solid base, and then stack away. Add unexpected tinges of blue with Australian … with clippings from your garden or found natural material. You can add your cornucopia to a tabletop or hang it on the front door. Start with a bit of floral foam and tuck in or use a …
Type: Blog
… will have the same heavenly memory of the fragrance and flower. Over the years I have tried to bring the bounty of this flower into my home and have often failed. The flowers would droop … I had them in a clean vase full of fresh water. Through trial and error I found the trick to help the blooms last as long as possible: Fill a bucket Fill a bucket half full of fresh, cool … Place stems in the water. Leave the bucket in a cool, dark place and allow the flowers to take up water for at least an hour. Remove leaves Remove all of the leaves from each stem. …
Type: Blog
… Scientists have discovered that what and how caterpillars eat has led to the evolution of new species. Plant-eating insects make up nearly 25 percent of all animals globally, but we know little about how this great diversity came to be. Historically, scientists have affiliated this diversity with insects eating foods of … millions of years, the diversity of Mompha can be explained by moth caterpillars switching to new host plant species, plant parts (flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots), and how they eat …
Type: Research
… occurring among species. These interactions can vary considerably through time—from hours, to days, seasons, years, decades, and beyond. Nevertheless, species interaction … most often studied as temporally static entities, even though the interactions that give rise to networks are often quite temporally flexible. We’ve been exploring temporal variation in plant-pollinator interaction networks to try and better understand how and why species interactions form, whether or not interaction …
Type: Research
… In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, we are working to harvest and map open-sourced community science data submitted through Budburst and iNaturalist … has two major goals: determining how (1) the ecological community context (e.g. proximity to natural areas or open space, land management, percent tree cover, etc.) and (2) the human … patterns of plant and animal biodiversity and participation in community science related to biodiversity mapping. (Taddeo, Havens, Oschrin) …
Type: Research
… beautiful flowering branches from early-spring flowering shrubs, such as forsythia. Prune 2- to-3-foot lengths, put them in a container filled with water, and place them in a sunny location. … and serve double duty in the summer garden. Tim Pollak likes giving indoor blooming plants to friends and family, because they serve as a lasting reminder. Forsythia (Forsythia ‘Northern Sun’) Want to remember Mom on Valentine’s Day? Fragrant and long-lasting carnations can denote love for a …
Type: Blog
