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Dr. Gene E. Likens, Founding Director of the Cary Institute and co-discoverer of acid rain in North America discusses the science behind acid rain and the policies needed to stop it from falling.

Dr. Baptiste Wijas is a landscape ecologist and zoogeochemist working with Dr. Amy Zanne to improve our understanding of deadwood decay within the carbon cycle of arid, temperate and tropical ecosystems.

A new study led by scientists from Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies found that termites are not thriving in replanted rainforests in Australia. Because decomposers like termites are essential for recycling nutrients and carbon, the researchers worry that the insect’s slow recovery could hinder the growth and health of the young forests.

Inspiring youth to be curious about data and eager to make sense of the world around them is the foundation of effective science education.

Linking individual-level mechanisms to larger-scale ecological processes, particularly those that affect the regulation of populations and evolutionary fitness, is a central challenge in ecology - particularly in the context of global change.

Understanding social-ecological-evolutionary dynamics of animals is key to promoting human-wildlife coexistence in urban systems.

Wetlands are potentially important natural climate solutions, as they uptake carbon dioxide and store carbon in plants and soils. Therefore, wetland protection in regions with a high density of wetlands like the Canadian Prairies could help meet climate goals.

How do animals shape our planet? Do their roles matter when compared with other seemingly obvious and dominant drivers such as climate, soils, topography or plants? These have been core questions in ecology for over half a century, yet the contributions made by animals to large-scale environmental processes and patterns remain elusive and difficult to quantify.

For most ecosystem types – from boreal forests to temperate grasslands, headwater streams to the open ocean – we have strong conceptual and empirical understanding of the typical annual patterns of gross primary production and ecosystem respiration. These patterns of ecosystem metabolism, known as “metabolic regimes”, are among the most fundamental descriptors of ecosystem function.

The National Science Foundation was established in 1950 by Congress to promote the progress of science; advance national health, prosperity and welfare; and secure national defense across all 50 states. Amidst the rapid-fire gutting of federal scientific institutions such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, local and regional researchers fear that the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency is cutting more than just costs.

Frances Moore Lappé, a pioneer of the sustainable food movement and the author of more than 18 books, including the classic Diet for a Small Planet, presents her latest book.

With more than half of all people living in cities, urban green spaces and the benefits they provide — including cooling, mitigating floods, and filtering water — are increasing in importance. Many cities are working to grow their green spaces by investing in parks, tree-planting initiatives, and more.

How does all that greenery impact plant and animal biodiversity, and what positive or negative impacts does biodiversity have on city residents? These are some of the questions being explored by Shannon LaDeau, an ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, in partnership with Scenic Hudson, an environmental organization in New York’s Hudson Valley.

A lecture by Duke’s Orrin Pilkey and environmental artist Mary Edna Fraser. Fraser discusses her batiks, which are used to illustrate the threatened ecosystems in Pilkey’s book, Global Climate Change: A Primer.