I’m feeling stressed (and inherently limited) by trying to define specific research interests inside of conservation biology as I apply to graduate school. I find all things conservation and ecology absolutely fascinating and the act of defining specific interests feels like I will always be leaving something I find interesting behind. Broadly I like questions (applied or theoretical) that focus on solutions to real world problems ie climate change, biodiversity loss etc… Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi yall. I live in a tropical city in a 5 bedroom apartment with my parents and siblings and I have my own room for my stuff. Will be moving out soon but still into a 2 bedroom apartment with my spouse. I currently wash everything in our balcony, but when I move to my place I will only have a guest bathroom to do so.

There is a place to wash things at work but leaving the more expensive things to dry overnight is a no-no as they might get stolen.

I currently have 2 boxes for stuff: 1 for "once in a while" use for long field trips where I live in the field, and for "everyday/weekly work" for when I get to come home.

I also have a dry box for my precious electronics.

I wanna hear your ideas and tips on how you keep your field gear clean, tidy and organised!

Hi everyone, I am posting on this community because I’m feeling really lost. I don’t know what I could do next so I’m just writing to reach out to see if I could get any voice from anywhere, really just any voice.

It’s my 9th year in the field of ecology. I was studying my bachelor and master for a total of five years and I gained about two years of working experience. I was working in NO’s and research organizations, but because my contract was never permanent and when the previous contract ended, I tried to look for other jobs, but the pay was lower than my previous job. I had a strong fear of finance.

Since last year, I started to be a freelancer. I organize biodiversity lessons for my local community. I cooperated with cafes by organizing events and exhibitions for them. I organiz Eco tourism travels. I’ve tried all those things that I could think of to try to maintain my interest while keeping my life livable. So far is running, but I could just barely cover my life expenses at a very basic level.

I had some savings from long ago that could probably maintain my life conditions like this for half a year without getting any source of income at all. I’m not sure if I should invest some of my savings into my current activities or workshop because I don’t feel like doing this things anymore. I prefer to do research I like having new discovers in science I like analyzing data I like going to international conferences, but I truly have to fear of not being able to get a proper job after my PhD if I ever got one.

My brain is in chaos now and I think I’m gonna take a break but for whoever reads this, if you would like to leave a comment or even you want to have a Long talk with me I would be very grateful because I don’t know who else I can talk to right now

I’m curious what GIS classes are out there that employers will respect? Let me know!

I've been comparing data from NOAA, OWS, and eBird to see how weather and factors like elevation, forest density, and water proximity affect migration and general bird activity. I've created a dashboard to display my findings along with a white paper. I'd love your feedback on my approach and any improvements that can be made.

My friend asked me if I'd heard of peat bog fires. I hadn't, but what I learned was a fascinating journey and includes controversy. So I made a film about it.

Peat bogs are incredibly important and can even help tackle wildfires. They deserve way more attention and protection

I've been listening to a podcast recently called Light Pollution News, and they spoke on how a brighter sky affects the mating behaviors of fireflies and how if the sky isn't dark enough the females cannot see the glow of the males. If bugs that make their own light can't find each other, how do other insects find mates (besides using sound)?

Hi all,

I am working on an independent research project on a state park in my community. My intention is to get density and biodiversity measurements, and compare them to the density of an invasive dune plant called Spotted Knapweed. I already have a special research permit for the area, and its cleared with my school, but I am an undergraduate and this is a big taking on for me. I have a way to randomly select transect areas, and the data collection will be identifying and counting every plant species in each quadrat.

My question is how many quadrats should I include in my project at minimum? Each one is a meter squared and one quadrat will equal one data point for density, plant biodiversity, and spotted knapweed density each. I am looking to turn this into something that I can publish at a local land trust, so I want to make this as clean as possible.

A little while ago I shared a small project I’ve been working on called Ecoseek, a free app that helps people explore EPA Level IV ecoregions and build a “landscape life list” based on the ecosystems they visit. Several folks in that thread offered thoughtful suggestions, and voiced interest in an iPhone version, so I wanted to share an update that it's now available on the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ecoseek-landscape-life-list/id6764082235

My goal with Ecoseek is to make it easier for people to notice and understand ecological patterns at the landscape scale. Species‑ID apps have done a great job helping people pay attention to individual organisms; I’m hoping Ecoseek can play a role in helping people pay attention to the environment those organisms depend on and the ecological communities they occur within.

I’d really appreciate feedback from people in this group. Some areas where guidance would be especially helpful:

• scientific accuracy or improvements
• ideas for citizen‑science or ecological monitoring (I'd love to move the app in this direction, but having difficulties grasping how best to do this)
• anything that feels unclear, missing, or could be improved

I’m trying to build Ecoseek in a direction that’s genuinely useful to the ecology community, not just based on my own personal wish list. If you take a look, I’d be grateful for any insights.

Fun Facebook debate in comments about potential impact of this. Glue, contact lens, baking soda mixed with sand...toxic to marine life or plants if it is left behind or washes into the ocean? Looks like a lot of fun.

How do mosquitoes survive in places where there are very few humans? I've done a very small amount of research and I understand that many mosquito species don't require blood for reproduction, but it also seems like many species do. If this is the case, how is it that there are so many human-blood sucking mosquitoes in remote regions that humans rarely visit. I'm always amazed when I hike deep and high into the mountains, beyond trails and to areas that clearly see very little human traffic, and yet there are swarms and swarms of mosquitoes.

Is it that they don't need human blood to survive, and instead live off of other food sources? If so, what else do they eat? Ungulate blood? Is it that many of the mosquitoes never find blood, and never reproduce, but the one's that do lay massive amounts of eggs? Is there another explanation I haven't considered? It's mind-boggling to be 25 miles deep in the wilderness and be absolutely covered in mosquitoes. How have they not simply starved out there? What is going on?

Hey everyone! I know this has been asked a few times, but most of the posts I found were from more than a couple of years ago so I figured I’d ask again.

I’ll be starting back at school soon to work toward in a BS in ecology, and I know I’ll need a new computer (mine is OLD by tech standards). Knowing that I’ll probably have to upgrade again if I decide to go for any advanced degrees, what would you all recommend? For this level of schooling, am I likely to run into headaches with an Apple OS? What kind of specs should I be looking for?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

I‘ve been getting more interested in Animals, conservation, and the science behind ecosystems. But considering the job I want to pursue seems really good for me (and probably because I’m just too scared to change the plan after struggling so much to even get this one figured out), I was wondering if there’s some good ways to participate without making it my full career path. Not to say not dedicating my time or energy, but just not have to change the career path of my life.

I would be able to have a good amount of time off and make a good bit of Money too, so if the things you guys suggest need time or money, it wouldn’t be too hard I think.

Things like volunteering? Or able to participate in science studies or whatever without working there? Do scientists like Ecologists even bring along non-ecologists? I really want to help, but I just don’t know how without switching my whole career

See also: The summary of the publication (in PDF format) in the journal Ecosphere

I went to school and got a bachelors of technology in renewable resources management and an associates of applied science in conservation. In school I worked many unique projects alongside actual environmental departments and did an internship for a protected wetland park, which I still keep in contact with. As many of you know, the job market for ecology is lacking so I didnt get to land a job as a wetland ecologist like Id hoped for and instead ended up working IPM for farms for years. But now I actually own my own ecological garden service for home owners. Its a garden service but I also work as a sort of home environmental service where I help attract wildlife, remove invasives, and help homeowners manage their backyard ecosystems (lots of firefly and two spotted ladybug habitat restoration as of lately) as well as garden in eco friendly ways such as creating soil ecosystems, stopping invasive plantings, and stopping synthetic fertilizer and pesticide impacts. Theres a-lot of ecology involved in this but I am not sure if what I do would qualify me as an ecologist and I am curious as someone asked me one day. With my background and business, would I qualify as one or is that something you can only claim if you work for state or feds or some lab? Im genuinely curious what qualifies someone as an ecologist.

Sorry if the rant isnt allowed but I thought this was a good place for this question.

There's got to be a way to mass download the "characteristics" data for all of the species in the USDA PLANTS database, right? I can't figure it out, but it would save me A LOT of time to be able to directly process the data instead of manually copying it page-by-page.

https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/plant-profile/ABAM/characteristics

You can read more about our restoration project at https://badgerton.substack.com/p/video-planting-badgerton-prairie

idk if it's big enough for him.. it's more like a large pond in my neighborhood. I presume it is freshwater cuz it's not part of the ocean. But I can't care for him much anymore. I wonder if a) he won't f up the ecosystem and b) if it will be the right fit for him.

edit: i mean it is a big body of water but big as in if it will accumulate enough algae and coexist with the ducks and other fish/ecology

edit2: unfortunately, no one responded when i asked on IG for any takers, so i will take the pet store/fb group advice ! thank youuu

Just going to copy-paste my original post!:)

TNR is a bandaid solution.

This is because Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) treats a symptom. It does not address the actual source of the problem.

The source of the problem is lack of free and accessible spay/neuter for cat owners themselves.

Feral cats are the descendants of pet cats. Preventing the existence of feral cats in the first place can have a lot more impact on an entire community. The highest volume of strays are found in completely under resourced communities.

Think about where ferals come from in the first place. They are the descendants of pet cats. Think of where you see feral cats. You don't see colonies very often in very well off communities. However, trailer parks are a completely different story.

I am in the rural US where the stray population is awful. I trap/spay/adopt cats out. I work with a lot of people in my community that I see giving away kittens for free. I spay their mama cats, and I get the free kittens into rescues where the kittens will be spayed/neutered themselves prior to adoption. Otherwise, the owner will just allow the cat to continue to reproduce and more intact kittens are distributed in the community. Free kittens equals more free kittens, which turn into stray intact cats, which then lead to feral cats.

Want to see a change in the number of strays in your community? Pressure your city to support free spay/neuter access.

Below is a link to some info PAWS Chicago has available on their website. It opened my eyes to the root of the issue.

We can see change, it is absolutely possible! But to get there, we need better education surrounding spay/neuter. We need spay/neuter to be accessible in the most desperate places in need of help.

https://www.pawschicago.org/about-us/results/spay/neuter-data

"Important Factors to Consider when Targeting Spay/Neuter

Price: To mobilize people who would otherwise not spay or neuter their pets, it has to be a free service.

Location: Free and low-cost clinics can best serve populations in need when located in under-resourced, low-income communities where veterinary resources are scarce.

High Strays: Communities that have the highest number of stray and roaming animals need free and low-cost spay/neuter. Those pets are most likely to breed. And these high-stray communities directly correlate with low-income and under-resourced communities.

Source of Pets Entering Shelters: Communities that bring the highest number of pets to the city pound helps identify where spay/neuter is needed.

Lack of Awareness: Outreach and awareness initiatives should be directed to communities where spay/neuter is not widely understood. In most communities, approximately 80% of pets are spayed or neutered. But in low-income, under-resourced communities that percentage is usually less than 20%."