“Coral hospital” tool could help safeguard reefs facing climate change Researchers have found a novel way to identify heat-stressed corals, which could help scientists pinpoint the coral species that need protection from warming ocean waters linked to climate change, according to a Rutgers-led study. “This is similar to a blood test to assess human health,” said senior author Debashish Bhattacharya, a Distinguished Professor in …
Department of Environmental Sciences Wins Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award
By the Office of Communications at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Rutgers Department of Environmental Sciences (DES) was named winner of the 2020 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award, in the Environmental Education (Educator Led) category, at a virtual ceremony held on Dec 14. This award category recognizes “an educator, student, group of students, or class that has planned …
COVID-19 Pandemic had Big Impact on Commercial Fishing in Northeast
Rutgers study shows resilience among fishermen facing market disruptions With restaurants and supply chains disrupted due to the global coronavirus pandemic, two-fifths of commercial fishermen surveyed from Maine through North Carolina did not go fishing earlier this year, according to a Rutgers study that also documented their resilience and adaptation. Of those who kept fishing, nearly all reported a decline …
Planning Ahead Protects Fish and Fisheries
Effective planning for climate change helps avoid conflicts over ocean uses Conservation of fish and other marine life migrating from warming ocean waters will be more effective and also protect commercial fisheries if plans are made now to cope with climate change, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Science Advances. “Sticking our heads in the sand doesn’t work,” said lead author Malin …
The Department of Environmental Sciences is Awarded a 2020 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award
The award recognizes the department’s excellence in environmental education The Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, has been named the recipient of the 2020 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for Environmental Education (Educator Led). In a December 7 email, Marc Rogoff, Lead Education Specialist at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Public Participation and Environmental Education, notified Donna Fennell, professor and …
#EOAS in the News: Heidi Fuchs Discusses how Snail Adaptations to Climate Change are Potentially Deadly
Noticing that two snail species on the U.S. east coast have adapted to climate change by moving into shallower, warmer water, a habitat that could be potentially deadly for them, #EOAS faculty member Heidi Fuchs and her colleagues examined 60 years of data on 50 invertebrate species including shellfish, sea stars, and worms in the Atlantic, and saw that they too had …
#EOAS in the News: How Snowy will this Winter Be? David Robinson Weighs In
La Niña will be strong during the upcoming winter, so does this mean New Jersey will get more than the average amount of snow this year? EOAS faculty member and N.J. State Climatologist David Robinson told The Star Ledger (nj.com) in the article La Niña has strengthened, what this means for N.J. this winter, “snow is awfully difficult to predict, as …
#EOAS in the News: Ximing Guo speaks to Science Magazine about the Impact of Genomics on Aquaculture
Science Magazine interviewed EOAS faculty member Ximing Guo for the article “New genetic tools will deliver improved farmed fish, oysters, and shrimp. Here’s what to expect” published Nov. 19, 2020 Guo is a Professor at the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Rutgers Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. His primary research interests are the biology, genetics, and evolution of marine mollusks, and marine aquaculture. He is interested …
Best Region For Life on Mars Was Far Below Surface
Rutgers-led study sheds light on subsurface melting of thick ice billions of years ago The most habitable region for life on Mars would have been up to several miles below its surface, likely due to subsurface melting of thick ice sheets fueled by geothermal heat, a Rutgers-led study concludes. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, may help resolve what’s known …
Elizabeth L. Sikes to Deliver the Cesare Emiliani Lecture at the AGU Fall Meeting
The annual lecture recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of paleoceanography. EOAS faculty member Elizabeth L. Sikes will deliver The Cesare Emiliani Lecture at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. Sikes will deliver her lecture, titled “The Southern Ocean’s role in glacial cycles: Engine not caboose?” at the Ocean Sciences section luncheon on Tuesday, December 8, 2020. The AGU Fall Meeting will be held virtually December 1 – …