BioScience Talks

As global warming accelerates, it is increasingly clear that climate change is affecting our planet on every scale, from global shifts in weather patterns to local ecosystem changes. In a special section in BioScience, a group of authors hailing from the US National Science Foundation’s Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network synthesize insights from 40 years of long-term ecological research on how ecosystems are responding to climate change. For today's episode, we're joined by the authors of that special section's lead article, Julia Jones, Professor of Geography at Oregon state University and an investigator at the Andrews Forest Long-Term Ecological Research site, and Charles Driscoll, Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Syracuse University and an investigator at the Hubbard Brook Long-Term Ecological Research site.

According to the special section authors, although the variety of ecosystems have some responses in common, most ecosystem responses to climate change are unique and are the result of a combination of region-specific drivers, human activities, and interactions between multiple climate drivers. In the lead peer-reviewed article, Julia Jones of Oregon State University and Charles Driscoll of Syracuse University introduce and describe the section, explaining the conceptual framework behind the processes driving these ecosystem changes and the logistics of and varied results from the 28 LTER research sites that were used to collect the data.

A contribution from Hugh Ducklow (Columbia University) and colleagues describes the varied ocean ecosystem responses to climate change, as well as broader and more consistent marine physical system changes, such as declining sea ice and changes in the ocean surface layer. Tackling coastal ecosystems, Daniel C. Reed (Marine Science Institute) and colleagues use long-term ecosystem research at seaside sites to demonstrate the importance of site-based, long-term research for understanding the “natural capacity of coastal ecosystems to resist and adapt to climate change and the types of human interventions that effectively mitigate them.”

Back on land, Amy R. Hudson (US Department of Agriculture) and colleagues compare diverse drylands’ responses, revealing consistent warming across sites but variability in droughts and their subsequent effect on primary production. Discussing forest and freshwater ecosystems, John L. Campbell of the USDA Forest Service and colleagues delve into how these tightly linked ecosystems are directly and indirectly impacted by climate change, and how primary production is being affected.

The special section is rounded out by a Viewpoint article from Michael Paul Nelson of Oregon State University, who reflects on environmental scientists’ duty to not only tell the stories of climate impacts but also advocate for mobilization and change. In Nelson’s words, “our love and knowledge create a new kind of work for us in the face of the climate crisis. Beyond the work of revealing and explaining our ecosystems, we are called also to do the work of caretakers for those ecosystems.”

In this episode, we're joined by Alexandre C. Siqueira, a postdoctoral fellow at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, where he works in the lab of Professor David Bellwood. He joined us to talk about his recent BioScience article on reef fish evolution, and how we're learning more about that topic from some recent findings in Mayan temples. The article's abstract follows.

During the excavation of Mayan tombs, little did the archaeologists know that the fossils they discovered in the tomb stones would fundamentally alter our understanding of the earliest origins of coral reef fishes. Located just 500 kilometers from the point where an asteroid impact reconfigured the world's biological systems 66 million years ago, we find the earliest origins of three typical reef fish groups. Their presence in Mexico just 3 million years after this impact finally reconciles the conflict between the fossil and phylogenetic evidence for the earliest origins of reef fishes. The incorporation of these fossils into a global reconstruction of fish evolutionary history reveals a new picture of the early biogeography of reef fishes, with strong Atlantic links. From locations associated with biological destruction and societal collapse, we see evidence of the origins of one of the world's most diverse and spectacular marine ecosystems: coral reefs.

In Their Own Words chronicles the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields. These short histories provide our readers a way to learn from and share their experiences. We will publish the results of these conversations in the pages of BioScience and on our podcast, BioScience Talks. This history is with Daniel Simberloff, who is the Gore-Hunger Professor of Environmental Studies in Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, at the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, in the United States.

Note: Both the text and audio versions have been edited for clarity and length.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials and others have used concepts such as "waves" to convey information about the spread of disease. In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Louise Archer, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Laboratory of Quantitative Global Change Ecology at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, who wrote in BioScience about disease analogies. She and her coauthors found that some analogies are more useful than others -- for instance, wave analogies may instill a sense of inevitability and depress disease mitigation, whereas firefighting analogies may encourage action while simultaneously contributing to a more nuanced understanding of disease dynamics. 

We're joined by Dr. Pam McElwee, Professor of Human Ecology at Rutgers University, and Dr. Sarah Diamond, Associate Professor of Biology at Case Western Reserve University. They were here to discuss their recent BioScience article, Governing for Transformative Change across the Biodiversity–Climate–Society Nexus, which describes principles for addressing global environmental crises.

The abstract of their article follows.

Transformative governance is key to addressing the global environmental crisis. We explore how transformative governance of complex biodiversity–climate–society interactions can be achieved, drawing on the first joint report between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services to reflect on the current opportunities, barriers, and challenges for transformative governance. We identify principles for transformative governance under a biodiversity–climate–society nexus frame using four case studies: forest ecosystems, marine ecosystems, urban environments, and the Arctic. The principles are focused on creating conditions to build multifunctional interventions, integration, and innovation across scales; coalitions of support; equitable approaches; and positive social tipping dynamics. We posit that building on such transformative governance principles is not only possible but essential to effectively keep climate change within the desired 1.5 degrees Celsius global mean temperature increase, halt the ongoing accelerated decline of global biodiversity, and promote human well-being.

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Robert Montgomery, Associate Professor of Biodiversity and Sustainability, Senior Research Fellow in Lady Margaret Hall College, and Senior Researcher in the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, at Oxford University. He's here to talk about his recent BioScience article, Integrating Social Justice into Higher Education Conservation Science. 

The abstract of the article follows.

Because biodiversity loss has largely been attributed to human actions, people, particularly those in the Global South, are regularly depicted as threats to conservation. This context has facilitated rapid growth in green militarization, with fierce crackdowns against real or perceived environmental offenders. We designed an undergraduate course to assess student perspectives on biodiversity conservation and social justice and positioned those students to contribute to a human heritage-centered conservation (HHCC) initiative situated in Uganda. We evaluated changes in perspectives using pre- and postcourse surveys and reflection instruments. Although the students started the course prioritizing biodiversity conservation, even when it was costly to human well-being, by the end of the course, they were recognizing and remarking on the central importance of social justice within conservation. We present a framework for further integration of HHCC approaches into higher education courses so as to conserve the integrity of coupled human and natural systems globally. DEI.

Thomas Larsen and Patrick Roberts of the Max Planck Institute of the Science of Human History join us to discuss how we can learn about early hominins diets using stable isotope analysis.

The abstract of their BioScience article follows.

Stable isotope analysis of teeth and bones is regularly applied by archeologists and paleoanthropologists seeking to reconstruct diets, ecologies, and environments of past hominin populations. Moving beyond the now prevalent study of stable isotope ratios from bulk materials, researchers are increasingly turning to stable isotope ratios of individual amino acids to obtain more detailed and robust insights into trophic level and resource use. In the present article, we provide a guide on how to best use amino acid stable isotope ratios to determine hominin dietary behaviors and ecologies, past and present. We highlight existing uncertainties of interpretation and the methodological developments required to ensure good practice. In doing so, we hope to make this promising approach more broadly accessible to researchers at a variety of career stages and from a variety of methodological and academic backgrounds who seek to delve into new depths in the study of dietary composition.

In this episode, we're joined by Liam Zarri, PhD student at Cornell University, and Dr. Eric Palkovacs, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. They discuss their recent BioScience article on evolutionary effects of dams and other anthropogenic water barriers, such as culverts, on riverine fishes. The impacts they highlight include rapid evolution affecting behavior, migration, behavior, temperature tolerance, and body type. Damming waterways can also lead to reductions in genetic diversity, with possibly harmful effects for fish populations.

In this episode, we're joined by Kim Novick, Associate Professor in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Richard Phillips, Professor in the Department of Biology at Indiana University, and Justin Maxwell, Associate Professor, Department of Geography at Indiana University. They were here to talk about their recent article in BioScience on the topic of drought resilience in eastern oaks, an issue of ever more urgent importance given the changing climate. 

The positive effects of scientist engagement with the general public are well documented, but most investigations have focused on the benefits to the public rather than on those performing engagement activities. Writing in BioScience, Nalini Nadkarni of the University of Utah and colleagues "reverse the lens" on public engagement with science, discovering numerous benefits for scientists involved in these efforts.

The authors distributed pre- and post-event surveys to individuals who are incarcerated in a state prison and a county jail as part of the Initiative to Bring Science Programs to the Incarcerated (INSPIRE) program, through which scientists present informal scientific lectures in carceral settings. This sort of engagement is particularly important, say the authors, given the growing emphasis among funding agencies and in academia on broadening the reach of science to include scientifically underserved groups, through DEI and other initiatives.

The results of the surveys were striking, with 100% of the scientist participants reporting that they would recommend the program to their colleagues. Scientists who gave lectures also reported an increased interest in taking action on issues related to social justice, with one respondent stating, “It has motivated me to take more actions. A couple of years from now, I plan to design programs for young adults from minority families.”

The experience also produced significant counterstereotypical effects, in which negative preconceived notions were dramatically shifted by their experiences. "My interaction with incarcerated individuals really opened my eyes. Previously, these individuals were a number or statistic that I hear on the news. After meeting individuals, I felt empathy for people in this situation," said one respondent.

The authors are hopeful about the prospects for the expansion of such programs, for the benefit of scientists and people who are incarcerated alike. They note that the program is cost-effective and accessible, as they calculated that if only 10% US scientists were to engage in similar work, that would result in a ratio of 95 scientists per correctional facility, and "every incarcerated person in the United States would have access to a scientist’s presentation."

Authors Nalini Nadkarni, Jeremy Morris, JJ Horns join us on this episode of BioScience Talks to discuss the article and the promise of greater public engagement with science.

Additional Resources

The Go To Prison Handbook 

More peer-reviewed publications.

Learn more about science in prisons.

The youth in custody program.