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Seventy-five supporters and perfect weather made our first Fall Luncheon a resounding success. 

As director of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, Pickett leads an ambitious, multi-partner effort looking at how urban areas function as ecosystems. 

Millbrook, NY – On January 2nd, WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies will debut a new radio show called Earth Wise: A look at our changing environment.

Christmas is only a week away. For those of us celebrating the holiday, many have already installed and adorned the household tree.

The forest, normally filled with the chorus of calling frogs, falls silent. Something drops from the trees. And then another. Dead frogs are falling from the canopy.

Humans have carelessly moved thousands of species outside their native ranges through activities such as transfer of ballast water, release of pets and bait, movement of untreated wood, escapes from agriculture and aquaculture, and deliberate release of species that we thought to be beneficial.

There was nothing "normal" about the weather in the 2011 growing season. We started out with a tremendously wet spring, making planting vegetables and field crops challenging.

We've had a wet stretch of weather. First we were drenched by Irene, then again with Lee. Saturated soils had additional rainy days. And as a result, mosquitoes have been out in droves.

The great American lawn is about as far from a natural ecosystem as one can get. These artificial landscapes require an inordinate amount of resources to keep them in the green and manicured condition Americans have come to expect.

For almost a quarter of a century, Dr. Gene E. Likens has focused on one overriding goal, fostering excellence in his staff. From the moment he took the helm of the Institute in 1983, he had a simple and steadfast plan: hire the brightest people possible and encourage them to blossom professionally. 

Cary researcher gathers water samples from remote Adirondack lakes via retrofitting a float plane for lake sampling.

In January, IES announced a new era in its 23-year legacy of education. Dubbed the Ecosystem Literacy Initiative (ELI), this new effort aims to help people think about the ecosystems we depend upon and link that understanding to their daily lives.

The Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) is a collaborative of over 30 researchers, educators and policy makers working together to understand how urban ecosystems function. Led by Institute Distinguished Senior Scientist Dr. Steward T. A. Pickett, other IES staff members involved in the effort include: Microbial Ecologist Dr. Peter M. Groffman, Educator Dr. Alan R. Berkowitz, BES Education Coordinator Ms. Janie Gordon, BES Information Manager Mr. Jonathan Walsh, and Administrative Assistant Ms. Holly Beyar.

Last month, over 80 distinguished scientists from around the world gathered at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES) to participate in a conference on infectious disease ecology. From West Nile Virus and Ebola to Sudden Oak Death, emerging infectious diseases threaten human health, wildlife, livestock, agriculture, and forests. Once established, infectious diseases are economic and ecological burdens that can cause, in some cases, irreversible damage. 

Reconsider relocating aquarium fish into your backyard pond. Restrain yourself from ordering exotic pets through the Internet, no matter how interesting they might look in the pictures. 

Sporadic weather events can alter the structure of forests. When subject to intense climate conditions, trees face new survival obstacles. The recent tsunami activity in Southeast Asia is testimony to nature’s ability to alter the landscape.

Several summers ago, IES post-doctoral Associate Dr. Winsor Lowe, with colleagues, set out to unravel where spring salamanders (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) find their food. Do animals forage for their insect prey in aquatic or in nearby woodland habitats? If they venture out of the water to hunt, does the vegetation they encounter influence their success? 

This past winter, the National Science Foundation renewed funding for the Institute’s long-term research on how the Hudson River is responding to zebra mussels. Introduced in 1991, the invasive bivalves are now the most abundant animals in the river. Institute scientists have generated the longest published record of this invasive species. 

If you’ve walked much along the Hudson’s shores, you’ve probably seen thorny, black water-chestnut seedpods piled up along the high-tide line, thick stands of common reed in wetlands and along the railroad tracks, mute swans gliding across the water, carp splashing in the shallows, chunky shells of Atlantic rangia on the beaches of Haverstraw Bay, and the thin, sharp shells of zebra mussels littering shorelines from Newburgh north.