Biomass (ecology) Puns

Hi everyone, I hope you've all had a great week. Anyway, I have a new open ecology article, and we are returning to the journal Ecology Letters.

You can find the open access link here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.13474

Please feel free to discuss this article in the comments below if you like. Questions, comments, or anything remotely relevant is fair game!

Abstract: Satellite data indicate significant advancement in alpine spring phenology over decades of climate warming, but corresponding field evidence is scarce. It is also unknown whether this advancement results from an earlier shift of phenological events, or enhancement of plant growth under unchanged phenological pattern. By analyzing a 35‐year dataset of seasonal biomass dynamics of a Tibetan alpine grassland, we show that climate change promoted both earlier phenology and faster growth, without changing annual biomass production. Biomass production increased in spring due to a warming‐induced earlier onset of plant growth, but decreased in autumn due mainly to increased water stress. Plants grew faster but the fast‐growing period shortened during the mid‐growing season. These findings provide the first in situ evidence of long‐term changes in growth patterns in alpine grassland plant communities, and suggest that earlier phenology and faster growth will jointly contribute to plant growth in a warming climate.

Right, time to get this out of my head space, it's been demanding cognitive bandwidth ever since I got further into the game :P Hopefully lethologica doesn't eat too many words this time... Edit - yeap, it's being a pain, i can haz new brains?

First up - props to Turtle Rock for keeping things relatively cohesive and showing, rather than telling, some of what's going on with the Ridden. Allows plenty of space to infer things, especially if you have some university level background on the relevant areas of biology.

And there are footnotes, no citations though, because that would take days to find and work in

Part 1 - The Devil Worm And The Flu

On this we know relatively little about it from in game material, what we do know is it spreads via eggs in the water (in game stuff on always boiling the water, contaminated faeces (comments from Doc) and bites from Ridden. It also appears the worms can survive outside the body. This indicates that while they can infest bodies, they are not reliant on them to survive. A rather disturbing fact vis eradicating the bloody things if you kill all the ridden. Never mind either if they can infect other vertebrates either.

Otherwise - it's basically Canon that the worms came from outer space. Given the fact evolution does not appear to repeat and thus extra terrestrial life will probably not share the same codons or the same amino acids, chirality of biological molecules or even use DNA (panspermia is bs frankly) this raises some very disturbing hypotheses about the origin of the worms.

And then there's trigger mutations/manipulating growth and evading the immune system - all things that require compatible biology and either refined by millions of generations of evolution or well designed systems. Vis all the lovely things we've learnt about how parasites manipulate hosts immune system responses.. Add in the mind altering ability of the devil worms, which would require being able to manipulate neurochemistry and biology (r.e. all the lovely mind controlling parasites native to our biosphere) to a suitable degree and you've got something that can't have evolved with out some serious sci-fi woo.

My leading hypothesis thus is that the Devil Worms are designed organisms, created to be compatible with terrestrial biology and to be able to survive smacking into the earth, probably in a cryptobiotic state. And what ever created them has a much better understanding genetics, neurology and biosciences in general than what

So. I've recently fallen down the permaculture rabbit-hole, and I'm wondering if there are any stories that explores ecology in that way to at least some extent. That means stories which focuses on identifying local plant succession, and choosing plants from within these stages to move together with nature. But for something, I fantasise about terraforming entire planets following these systems - and not just off-hand mentions of 'robots did it'. The only thing I can think of is some parts of Dune, and Dune is not even a good example. Can anybody think of something else? Thanks.

Hello comrades,
I am part of anarchist organization which plans to create ecological/anti capitalist campaign which as a goal has to show the issue with current way of solving ecological disaster that looms on all of us, namely the capitalism, inertia of electoral democracy and lack of systemic solution to the issue. We got some materials in mind which we will be getting all around the territory we operate in, however we lack the content to keep the interested newcomers occupied enough to keep their attention and contribute to the movement. So I ask of you, all organizations and individuals, to give us a hand with task at hand, if you have some content to interact better with interested people, please share it with us. Or if you are interested about organizing parallel campaign let us know :)

I'm continuing my attempt at stimulating some discussion here, since people have asked for more discussion on /r/Conservation and /r/ecology. Everyone is welcome and strongly encouraged to participate in the recent threads. Click here for this same thread on /r/Conservation.

Who inspired you to want to get into ecology? Was it a family member or person at school? Was it someone famous or who we're unlikely to have heard of? Share who inspired you to want to make the world a better place. Who are your current inspirations?

On 25 December, 2021 we lost Tom Lovejoy whose Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project since 1979 has helped us understand biodiversity and ecological integrity of rainforests. He worked to raise awareness for the deforestation of the Amazon and used his expertise to guide policy decisions at national and international levels. The linked Mongabay article is worth a read.

A day later E. O. Wilson passed away. He is "is renowned for his work on evolution, biogeography, sociobiology and myrmecology—the study of ants." He's proposed setting aside half the land and oceans to aid in preserving the health of the planet and its inhabitants. His foundation has a website on the subject.

On 2 January 2022, Richard Leakey passed away. He is known for a number of things and in the conservation world for his work in raising awareness for the devastating effects of the (then-legal) East African ivory trade and later the illegal ivory trade. He was the head of the Kenyan Wildlife Service and helped to create anti-poaching services to counter subsistence and militant poachers. He survived several suspected assassination attempts for his efforts.

After Vicki and Magnitude give their presentation, Professor Kane says to Magnitude "You know they're laughing at you, right? At least that's my theory." and Magnitude looks super upset.

Is it just me, or was that just an extremely crappy thing for Kane to say? Everyone at Greendale loves Magnitude, and Kane came in and just destroys his student without having any knowledge of how the school actually cares about him.

I wanted to hug Magnitude so bad.

https://preview.redd.it/z6im2dv0q9a81.png?width=362&format=png&auto=webp&s=eadbf36b46e4901d07465412826e1e3c32d5d906

I'm 17 and Ecology looks to be where I want to pursue in university. I'd like to read more and explore Ecology, so please recommend me some good books to read.

1. Isaiah 13:21 - Wild animals will rest there, the ruined houses will be full of hyenas. Ostriches will live there, wild goats will skip among the ruins.
2. Isaiah 13:22 - Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,and jackals, in the luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is almost up;her days are almost over.
3. Jer 50:39 - Therefore the desert creatures along with hyenas will live there. They'll live in it with ostriches, but people won't live in it again. They won't inhabit it from generation to generation.
4. 4. Jer 12:9 - The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. But other birds of prey are all around them. Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts. Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.
5. Isa 34:14 - The desert creatures will meet hyenas,and one wild goat will call to another.Indeed, the screech owl will stay there and will find a resting place for herself.
6. Jeremiah 5:6 - Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them, a wolf of the deserts will destroy them, a leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their apostasies are numerous.
7. John 10:12 - He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
8. Songs 4:8 - Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens
   and the mountain haunts of leopards.
9. 1 Samuel 17:34 - But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock."
10. Proverbs 17:12 - Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his folly.
11. Numbers 23:22 - God bringeth them forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox (Aurochs).
12. Job 39:9 - Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee? Or will he abide by thy crib?
13. Job 39:10 - Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
14. Isaiah 51:20 - Thy sons have been wrapped up, they have lain down, At the head of all out places, as a wild ox in a net, They are full of the fury of Jehovah, The rebuke of Thy God.
15. Amos 3:12 - Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of

Hello all, sorry if this has been asked before but I am a community college student who took a bunch of classes to see what I would like and the only one that stuck was ecology. Ideally I would like to work for the NPS. I’ve heard this is a dying field and that the job market is dead so that’s great. What do my prospects look like with a bachelors in ecology?

Hi, I am currently world building my DnD campaign and am planning to use to use real world examples to build my world. In this process I am having difficulties finding information about Wiltshire, UK. Is there anywhere where I can find detailed info about the geography, wildlife and fauna, and how all these interact in Wiltshire?

Lizardfolk, Reptilian, Draconian, Sethrak. We have all seen these types of creatures but how would they actually work?

First, let's talk about lifestyles. Being a cold blooded creature they would need to spend most of their time thermoregulating giving their bodies enough heat to stay alive and to function. Not needing to eat nearly as often, means they try to conserve energy but that also means when they do exert themselves they wouldn't be able to push themselves as hard and long as humans do. Most of their actions would rely on trying to conserve the energy they have.

Food consumption. A lot of reptiles are opportunistic eaters, and can eat once a day whereas adult snakes eat twice a month. Does this mean they can be pickier about their diets or maybe they can live in places much more difficult to habitat due to available food sources?

Tell me about your lizardfolk in your world? What do they look like, what are their behaviors and habits. Don't have lizards in your world? What do you think they would look like?

I love the machines and I love fake biology. If anyone made a field guide of the machines about their diet, behaviour & stuff It would be awesome if knew where I could find this. Thank you

This is just something I noticed and wanted to discuss and share. Have you ever wondered how Monsters swim through sand and dirt? Is this even possible?

The answer is yes and we see it on our own world. Recently the series dune has inspired me to think more about monster hunter, specifically the ecology of desert diggers. The Giant worms actually use the same methods to burrow as Diablos and Monoblos and Cephalos.

What do all those monsters and even basarios have in common?

What do they have in common with giant Dune worms?

What do they have in common with real life snakes that dig?

Gas. They all release gasses. Scientists can even replicate this. By releasing gases into the sand, the grainy texture becomes almost the same as liquid. By releasing gases into the ground they can easily submerge themselves and reemerge. Likewise it would look like quicksand when the monster re emerges.

I just thought this was so clever of the devs and wanted to share :)

Hi Everyone,

I'm having trouble finding work that pays more than 40k a year, even if I'm willing to move. I gained a masters in Ecology a year ago. I've done several years of fieldwork and a couple as a lab instructor. I'm competent in R and know the basics of Arcgis.

Has anyone taken a similar skillset to a different field and found more success than in ecology?

Thanks!

So I've been looking for stories set on worlds with some seriously weird or extreme climates. Bonus points if society has adapted to living there in interesting or convincing ways -- like social structures, magic systems or technologies to adapted to make things work. There's going to be a lot of overlap with sci-fi here, which I'm also perfectly good with

I don't have a ton of examples of what I was looking for but hoping you all can help me find some more!

Books

Broken Earth series by NK Jemision

Set on extremely tectonically unstable planet that serves up a truly eclectic mix of disaster and mayhem on a regular basis called Seasons, magic users (called orogenes) are used by the current ruling empire to stifle impending quakes and maintain relative calm in their territory.

Tech -- analogous to medieval (though with some really interesting magic that blurs the line)

Book of the Ancestor series by Mark Lawrence

The climate doesn't feature quite as heavily in this book, but gets a mention for being really cool. On on an otherwise uninhabitable ice ball of a world, a corridor of habitable temperate land is kept clear of the ice by the orbiting 'Focus moon' (poorly understood by the inhabitants).

Tech -- medieval

Games

Frostpunk

In an alternate steampunk Earth the climate rapidly cools, leading to the planet becoming only barely habitable. Cities have to be built around some source of heat to keep the cold at bay such as massive coal fired generators.

Tech -- steampunk

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

Another honorable mention, but I found the world building really interesting. Set on a small, barely habitable world with a collapsing ecosystem the vast majority of the planet is desert. Only the poles have greenery and enough water to support life. Desertification is chipping away at the poles as well though, leading to ambitious projects to protect it -- i.e. a multinational effort to construct a massive storm wall around poles. A majority of the planet is also unexplored due to the overall hostility.

Tech -- analogous to present day

Hey everyone! So my friends and I are thinking of moving to Kelowna and since I have yet to graduate I’m thinking of transferring. What are the differences between the ecology program at University of Calgary and UBC? Or differences in courses overall, ranking, opportunities to gain experience and success in finding a career afterwards?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I'm currently a college professor with a PhD in ecology. But teaching at the college level isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm looking for an exit strategy, and GIS seems like a logical next step. I've done a teeny, tiny bit of GIS, so I'd basically be starting from scratch getting trained.

So on to my questions:

• how should I get my training. Are GIS bootcamps (like bootampgis.com) respected by employers? or should I take courses from actual colleges or universities?
• will my PhD help or hurt my chances of landing a job.

Any advice, especially from people who've made the transition from academia are welcome.

I applied to UCI last November with EEB as my first choice major, but now I am struggling about whether to switch to public health science should I be accepted since there doesn't seem to be much info on this major online. If anyone here is currently majoring in EEB I would greatly appreciate your insight on what you like/dislike about the program!

Context, I want to study biology in some capacity but specifically Fisheries and wildlife but I don’t know if it can actually getting me a foot in the door in the field. Long term I would like to work in the field in after I get my bachelors to see if I would get a masters? Can I even get a decent job with a bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife?