When collecting data, essential information on datasets, such as how variables were measured or how missing values were handled, is often only recorded in field notebooks or a researcher’s memory, and it can be easily lost over time. Good documentation makes it easier for others (and you!) to understand the dataset. One important way to document data is through a README file. A README is … Continue reading How to write a README
Post provided by Yin Shenglai How can models help us better understand avian influenza transmission and decide what to do next? Our review of 182 studies highlights opportunities to turn scientific understanding into practical decisions. These include using complementary modeling approaches, considering interacting host species, and connecting processes across space, time, and biological levels. Models help researchers explore how outbreaks begin, where the virus might … Continue reading How can we improve models of avian influenza transmission?
Post provided by Bruno Vilela Just over a decade ago, I was beginning my PhD in Ecology and Evolution at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Brazil. I was especially excited about the program’s emphasis on quantitative approaches. During my undergraduate and master’s studies at a natural history museum, I had been struck by how much information biological collections held and how little of it … Continue reading Rethinking Space: from geographical maps to multidimensional biodiversity with letsR
Post provided by Jaume A. Badia-Boher In 1997, a pair of peregrine falcons settled on a cliff in Hungary. It was the first breeding pair in the country since the species disappeared during the pesticide crisis, in the 1960s. Since then, researchers, rangers, and volunteers of MME-BirdLife Hungary’s peregrine conservation group have checked nearly every breeding site, every season, and ringed chicks whenever they could. … Continue reading Making survival spatial: merging mark-recapture and territory occupancy data to estimate one of ecology’s most elusive patterns
Post provided by Liming Cai Much of the species diversity on Earth is driven by biotic interactions. Ecologists and evolutionary biologists, including myself, strive to characterize these phenomena through careful field observation. However, cryptic underground interactions still largely remain a black box even with long-term surveys. Luckily, some of these cryptic interactions, such as plant parasitism, leave a unique genetic footprint that allows researchers to … Continue reading Dead alien DNA tells the story of underground ecological interactions
Post provided by Guillermo Gomez-Peña Roads, power lines and wind turbines kill an enormous number of animals every year. To measure this, researchers go out and count the carcasses we find along these infrastructures. Whatever the infrastructure, however, we are only able to record the animals we can find, which is far fewer than the number that actually die. Researchers have long known these counts … Continue reading The roadkill we never see
Post Provided by Derya Akkaynak I am an aerospace engineer turned oceanographer, and I am obsessed with colour in the ocean. How could I not be? The seafloor is full of colourful organisms, but we almost always see them through the coloured light that water leaves us, never in colours of their own. However, this is not a limitation of my eyes, or yours. Water … Continue reading The photograph you didn’t take: why underwater colour science starts before the shutter
Post provided by Jonathan Gallego Londoño Most of us can recognise the voice of a friend or family member without seeing them. Sometimes, just a few words are enough to know who is speaking. But could we do something similar with birds? Research suggests we can. However, recognising the species behind a song is one challenge, while identifying the particular bird that produced it is … Continue reading Identifying individual birds even when vocalisations run long
Post provided by Elena Baños Lara I am currently completing my PhD at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC) in Spain, where I use environmental and sedimentary ancient DNA to explore past marine ecosystems. As part of my PhD, I had the opportunity to spend three months at the Globe Institute in Copenhagen, joining Kristine Bohmann’s group and working side by side with … Continue reading From replicate detection to DNA concentration: What can ddPCR tell us about sedaDNA metabarcoding?
Blog post provided by Ann Russell The Need for Authentic, Open Educational Resources Given the rapid changes underway in undergraduate STEM education, the teaching community aspires to move beyond models that involve static content to develop agile, scalable ways to create authentic open educational resources (OERs). Researchers can provide authentic case studies, but they may lack the skills to create engaging OERs based on their … Continue reading Fostering a network for creating and implementing open education resources in ecology
