Luquillo LTER

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The summer transect of the NES-LTER cruise is unde

The summer transect of the NES-LTER cruise is under way and our science team has been hard at work!
Image 1: Co-PI Rachel Stanley and grad student Diana Fontaine deploying the CTD
Image 2: Contents of a twilight zone trawl
Image 3: Scientists and crew putting the miniboat in the water @miniboats
Image 4: Moving barnacles collected with a net
#lter #lternetwork #neslter #whoi #urigso #phdlife #ecology #oceanography #stem #fieldresearch #miniboatmonday

We're halfway through our Photo Contest, and whoa,

We're halfway through our Photo Contest, and whoa, look at some of these submissions!

@harvard.forest @kelloggbiostn @nwtlter

What are we looking for? Photos that represent life at LTER's! Big landscapes, small details, the people, the office work, it's all valid!

There's a lot of time left to submit great photos and compete for prizes.

More info here: https://lternet.edu/2022-lter-photo-contest/

and the link is also in our bio!

After 2 years of being remote, the CCE LTER REU pr

After 2 years of being remote, the CCE LTER REU program is finally back in-person! This summer, our undergraduates are researching a wide array of topics from marine molecules to whales! Today our REUs got the opportunity to watch a zooplankton tow courtesy of the Ron Burton Lab here at the Scripps Pier. For more information about the CCE LTER REU program including past projects, please go to: https://cce.lternet.edu/education/opportunities/reu #lternetwork #ecology #scicomm

Some great early submissions from the LTER Photo C

Some great early submissions from the LTER Photo Contest! @nwtlter @blelter @toolikfieldstation

There's a lot of time left to submit great photos and compete for prizes.

More info here: https://lternet.edu/2022-lter-photo-contest/

and the link is also in our bio!

"It's MOCNESS time!" Is a phrase that gets zooplan

"It's MOCNESS time!" Is a phrase that gets zooplankton ecologists on the CCE-LTER cruise on their feet. The MOCNESS is a net system for sampling zooplankton and stands for Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System because it is equipped with ten nets to sample ten discrete depths across the water column. Here you can see Scripps Institution of Oceanography PhD Student Anya Štajner @planktonprincess helping to deploy the MOCNESS. Scientists aboard the CCE-LTER cruise use the MOCNESS net to sample zooplankton at different depths in the water. This helps them to see which creatures live where in the water and how many there are in each place. This information helps ecologists understand food webs and carbon export. Here, Anya is shown holding up a pyrosome from the MOCNESS net, a common creature captured on the 2021 cruise. #longtermresearch #lternetwork #ecology #fieldresearch #gradlife #phdlife #scicomm

Hi LTER community! We at the California Current Ec

Hi LTER community! We at the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) LTER site are a group of interdisciplinary scientists, students, and educators all working together to understand and communicate the effects of long term climate variability on the California Current marine ecosystem. Pictured here, you can see us at sea during the summer of 2021 after completing a 5 week research cruise off the coast of San Diego, CA. Stay tuned this week and next for some exciting science that was conducted on this cruise!🌊⛴ #lternetwork #longtermresearch #fieldresearch #research #scicomm

Our new RFP, Science Council Meeting, REU webinars

Our new RFP, Science Council Meeting, REU webinars, and more: an announcement heavy newsletter this month! Keep up to date with all the new opportunities around the network! Also, jobs, funding, cool site videos, and more.

LTER Network News | June 2022

https://mailchi.mp/lternet/lter-network-news-june-2022?e=8d59d3d612

Madison Sutton @madlav32 is a PhD candidate workin

Madison Sutton @madlav32 is a PhD candidate working at the @andrewsforest studying the mechanisms that underly songbird distributions.

Her research tests how social interactions can influence where birds choose to establish breeding territories. She also collects biometric samples from birds to measure condition. All wildlife species are handled with proper training and permits.

#hjandrewsexperimentalforest #research #ornithology #birds #oregon #science

An incoming researcher to the HJA, Emily Iskin @em

An incoming researcher to the HJA, Emily Iskin @emilyiskin.photo will be collecting data on the HJA Lookout Creek floodplain.

A PhD candidate in the Geosciences department at Colorado State University, her research focuses on comparing natural floodplain form and spatial heterogeneity across the United States, and her previous research was in Yosemite National Park.

She's also an artist, and passionate about combining her art and science to engage in science communication with the public.

#science #phdstudent #hjandrewsexperimentalforest #lter #scientist

At the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest @andrewsfore

At the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest @andrewsforest, @ivonnebiologia is hard at work conducting research on stream ecology!

Tatiana is collecting aquatic insects using emergence traps, in order to understand how their assemblages due to stream conditions. Examining both inttermittent streams - streams that dry during the summer - and permanent streams - streams that flow year round - her research aims to understand how stream permanence impacts invertebrate communities.

#streamecology #pnw #oregon #science #entomology #research #invertebrates

At @andrewsforest, @jmmwills is conducting researc

At @andrewsforest, @jmmwills is conducting research investigating what factors influence detection probabilities for terrestrial salamanders.

Her research will help inform best practices for confirming salamander occupancy, and how seasonality impacts survey efforts.

#Science #salamanders #amphibians #pnw #oregon

At the Central Arizona-Phoenix LTER, people and th

At the Central Arizona-Phoenix LTER, people and the environment are intertwined—people change the environment, and the environment changes people. The Phoenix Area Social Survey probes how people respond to the urban environment around them. Read the story and find jobs, funding opportunities, great papers, and more in this month's newsletter.

LTER Network News | May 2022

old growth trees are a staple of the @andrewsfores

old growth trees are a staple of the @andrewsforest and are acclaimed for their myriad ecological functions. @ninaferrari is researching how birds and microclimate vary across a vertical gradient in large old growth trees 🌲

Water means life for dryland organisms. At the @se

Water means life for dryland organisms. At the @sevlter we manipulate rainfall amount and variability to help us predict how climate change will affect dryland plants, fungi, microbes, and carbon fluxes. In addition, we experiment with the timing and magnitude of monsoon rainfall to mimic climate projections for this century.

Photos: 1,2) Installing delayed monsoon experiment which postpones summer monsoon rain events to the fall 3) The Mean-Variance experiment manipulates both average rainfall and the interannual variability of rainfall 4) The Extreme Drought in Grasslands Experiment (EDGE) is now in a recovery phase after a 7-year drought treatment

Photo credit: 1,2) Tim Ohlert 3,4) Abby Granath

#sevilletanationalwildliferefuge
#newmexico #desert #monsoon #climatechange #ltercommunity #desert #dryland #fungi #drought #biocrust #plants

@sevlter is a member of global networks solving ec

@sevlter is a member of global networks solving ecological problems. The Drought Network includes an International Drought Experiment (IDE) distributed across 139 sites worldwide. IDE sites use rainout shelters to remove ambient precipitation and resulting data are used to assess how drought affects plant communities around the world. The Nutrient Network (NutNet) similarly includes over 130 grasslands on 6 continents. The NutNet experimental design includes adding nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer and monitoring plant and soil variables. In each of these Networks, sites at the Sevilleta LTER are among the hottest and driest!

Pictured: 1) Jade McLaughlin collecting data at Sevilleta NutNet site 2) mixed-grass IDE site 3) black grama IDE site

Photo credit: Tim Ohlert

#sevilletanationalwildliferefuge
#newmexico #desert #droughtnet #drought #climatechange #nutrientnetwork #nutnet #globalchange
#ltercommunity #plants

A throwback to 1997 when Michael Allen of UC River

A throwback to 1997 when Michael Allen of UC Riverside visited @sevlter on sabbatical. In this picture, he is using a minirhizotron system to take pictures of roots and mycorrhizae underneath juniper. The system includes a generator, a backpack for a computer with the camera attached to the pole in the tube, and a video recorder to view and store images on tape. This "Borg" outfit produced data to study the effects of nitrogen fertilization on fungal mutualisms in piñon-juniper woodlands!

Photo credit: Michael Allen

#mycorrhizae #piñon #juniper #woodland #sevilletanationalwildliferefuge #borg

At the Sevilleta LTER, we are planting seeds to re

At the Sevilleta LTER, we are planting seeds to research the future of dryland ecosystems. Seed additions allow us to test the conditions necessary for germination by foundation species. By gluing seeds to toothpicks, we can track germination and survival rates of tens of thousands of seeds across experiments in many ecosystems.

Photo credit: Brooke Wainwright

@sevlter

#seed #seedlings #sevilletanationalwildliferefuge #newmexico #chihuahuandesert #drought #climatechange #lter

Welcome to the Sevilleta (SEV) LTER! The Sevilleta

Welcome to the Sevilleta (SEV) LTER! The Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge sits at the ecotone of many dryland ecosystems in central New Mexico. We study climate variability and its impacts on drylands from carbon fluxes to biotic soil crusts.

We're taking over the LTER instagram to showcase some of the excellent research going on at our LTER site!

@sevlter
#sevilletanationalwildliferefuge
#newmexico #desert #monsoon #climatechange #ltercommunity #desert #pronghorn #chollacactus #drought #seeds

Photo credits: Tim Ohlert (1, 2, 4, 5), Brooke Wainwright (3)

We were hard at work at the @cap_lter for our annu

We were hard at work at the @cap_lter for our annual Science Council meeting, but everyone got a morning to sneak out into the 100 degree heat and see a few of the CAP LTER’s research sites!

1. At South Mountain, they run a number of nutrient fertilization experiments in the dry desert-and a short hike feels long when it’s 100 degrees out!

2: this unassuming green space is actually designed for stormwater mitigation-and we learned how the CAP Social Survey studies how people interact with the urban ecological infrastructure around them, like this park.

3, 4: an oasis in the desert? It’s completely artificial, and it’s designed as the last step of sewage effluent treatment from Phoenix’s largest treatment facility. And it’s become an incredibly beautiful biodiversity hotspot!

📸 @gabedela

Applications still open for this cohort of Grad Wr

Applications still open for this cohort of Grad Writing Fellows!

Fellows write 3 stories a year about new and exciting research around the LTER network, and get paid to do it!

It's an awesome opportunity to build writing skills, receive great feedback and editing, and get a few published articles for that CV. And we all get to read the great stories that come through 🎉.

More info: https://lternet.edu/stories/lter-grad-writers-2022/ or link in bio.

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Tamara Heartsill-Scalley describes research at the

Tamara Heartsill-Scalley describes research at the Bisley Experimental Watersheds (BEW)
https://buff.ly/3xk1V9E Also see this story map:
https://buff.ly/3tiREYH

On behalf of the GSRC: If you missed our LUQ LTER

On behalf of the GSRC: If you missed our LUQ LTER lightning talk sessions, you will find the recording links below. Thank you to all of our excellent invited speakers!

June 1st https://youtu.be/iRTccduKC8M

June 2nd https://youtu.be/z6h130n4fwc

Email any questions to mvega2@ncsu.edu

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

Check out this video from Tatiana Barreto Vélez a

Check out this video from Tatiana Barreto Vélez and Nicholas D. Nunez Rodriguez. They illustrate water sampling performed in the Luquillo LTER https://buff.ly/3NjUPaC. An ArcGIS Sotry map was also created for this video https://buff.ly/3GTmPPT

Check out this video from Roi Ankori-Karlinsky, Ph

Check out this video from Roi Ankori-Karlinsky, PhD candidate with Columbia University
https://buff.ly/3xiwyfA
An ArcGIS Sotry map was also created for this video https://buff.ly/3xix90O

🚨 GSRC: This is a reminder that starting tomorr

🚨 GSRC: This is a reminder that starting tomorrow we will be hosting the "Luquillo LTER Lightning Talks: Research History in a Tropical Caribbean Forest"!

When? June 1st and 2nd at 1:00 pm AST/EDT.

This event is open to everyone, so please distribute it to those that might be interested.

Email mvega2@ncsu.edu for meeting details.

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

On behalf of the GSRC: We are thrilled to invite

On behalf of the GSRC:

We are thrilled to invite you to the GSRC-hosted event: "LUQUILLO LTER LIGHTNING TALKS: RESEARCH NETWORK IN A TROPICAL CARIBBEAN FOREST"! They will occur on June 1st and 2nd starting from 1:00 pm AST/EDT. We have a fantastic set of speakers on both dates who will talk about some of the main projects and committees at our site.

This event will be open to everyone, so please distribute it widely to others that might be interested.

We want to thank all the speakers for their time and effort to make this event possible. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Email mvega2@ncsu.edu for meeting details.

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

On behalf of the GSRC: Thank you to all who voted

On behalf of the GSRC: Thank you to all who voted for the LUQ LTER Student Art Contest! And thank you to the students who submitted their work. The resulting submissions were fantastic. We received nearly 600 votes!! Even though we could only choose one winner today, know that the support and admiration for each submission was great!

A winner has been selected by the community! Join me in congratulating Ana Maria Meza Salazar as the winner of our Student Art Contest Competition (see her submission attached)! Ana is the winner of the $500 award for research-related costs. Congratulations, Ana!

On behalf of the LUQ LTER GSRC: Only one week left

On behalf of the LUQ LTER GSRC: Only one week left to vote!

Choose your favorite student art contest submission! Submissions cover a diversity of interesting research topics creatively represented.

Show support by voting here: https://t.co/WDJ6EF2bv0

Share widely!

Trouble viewing or voting? Email mvega2@ncsu.edu

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

In case you missed it! LUQ LTER GSRC presents: D

In case you missed it!

LUQ LTER GSRC presents: Dr. Ariel Lugo - Land Use and Research History of the Luquillo Mountains

Watch on: https://youtu.be/JZmh1DFU4X4 via

@YouTube

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

On behalf of the GSRC: Join us today at 1:00 pm ED

On behalf of the GSRC: Join us today at 1:00 pm EDT/AST for the seminar titled: "Land Use and Research History of the Luquillo Mountains", with our Invited speaker Dr. Ariel Lugo!

Email mvega2@ncsu.edu for details

LUQ Students! Don't miss out on the chance to shar

LUQ Students! Don't miss out on the chance to share your work and creativity, and to win $500 for your research-related costs*! Only three more days to submit. Deadline: April 25th, 2022. Submit here: https://t.co/yt6EFljWRl or to mvega2@ncsu.edu

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

Check out our new Virtual Site Visit! https://buff

Check out our new Virtual Site Visit! https://buff.ly/3xJR4GK

Attention students! We are thrilled to announce ou

Attention students! We are thrilled to announce our first GSRC-hosted seminar with invited speaker Dr. Ariel Lugo! All are welcome to attend!

Topic: "Land Use and Research History of the Luquillo Mountains"

May 5th at 1:00 pm AST

Email mvega2@ncsu.edu for meeting details

🚨 LUQ students! One week left to submit to the

🚨 LUQ students! One week left to submit to the LUQ LTER Art Contest! Show and tell us about your work for a chance to win $500* for research purposes (see images). Email mvega2@ncsu.edu with questions and for non-Gmail user submissions!
Submit here: https://t.co/yt6EFlBxIT https://t.co/Y81Lhcbuuq

LUQ LTER STUDENT ART COMPETITION! The winner of th

LUQ LTER STUDENT ART COMPETITION! The winner of the competition will receive a $500 prize* towards research-related costs! Submissions will open from March 28th - April 25th, 2022.

Submit Here: https://buff.ly/3Dm0Orl
Please email mvega2@ncsu.edu for more info.

Hello LUQ-LTER community! The GSRC is accepting su

Hello LUQ-LTER community! The GSRC is accepting submissions for the LUQ LTER STUDENT ART COMPETITION. Share your creativity and stories with us! Compete for a $500 PRIZE* for research-related costs (see further details in the attached images). Any questions or submissions from non-gmail account users? Please, contact mvega2@ncsu.edu.

Submission Form: https://forms.gle/jjv15AhD3uDbD2my5

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

On behalf of the LUQ-LTER GSRC: please join us in

On behalf of the LUQ-LTER GSRC: please join us in learning about the research of Ph.D. candidate Mariely Vega-Gómez. Show Mariely your support by leaving a comment below!

"Hello everyone! My name is Mariely Vega Gómez. I am Puerto Rican 🇵🇷 and passionate about my island and its natural resources. It has been a thrilling journey to research the streams of the El Yunque National Forest (EYNF). In collaboration with the LUQ-LTER’s Stream Flow Reduction Experiment (StreamFRE) team, my project will answer how tropical stream ecosystems respond to natural disturbances.

My trajectory studying freshwater ecosystems started as an undergraduate at @upr.rp 🐔. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Biology at @ncstateappliedecology 🐺 under the mentorship of Dr. Alonso Ramírez. I have been a part of the Ramírez Lab since I was an undergraduate. This is when I was introduced to the striking diversity of stream fauna.

Stream ecosystems are teeming with life! For my thesis, I will evaluate how macroinvertebrates and their egg masses respond to natural disturbances and to an experimental flow reduction. In collaboration with the StreamFRE team, monthly macroinvertebrate sampling has been ongoing since 2016.

I love my study site and organisms, and this amazing opportunity to learn more about them every day. Part of my drive is the opportunity to contribute to the island that I love and increase our understanding of its amazing natural resources.

Thank you all! Feel free to reach out to me with any questions!
Email: mvega2@ncsu.edu
Twitter: @MarielyV10
And learn more about my work and the work of my colleagues by following the @ARamirezLab on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Photos by M. Jewell, A. Ramírez and Y. Acosta”

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

On behalf of the LUQ-LTER GSRC: We are delighted t

On behalf of the LUQ-LTER GSRC: We are delighted to highlight undergraduate student Sophia Gómez and the work she conducted this summer as part of the 2021 REU. Show Sophia your support by leaving a comment below!

"This past summer, I worked with Dr. Jesús Gómez to understand how the presence of a predator impacts insect grazing behavior and rates of periphyton accrual in the absence of the dominant large-bodied grazer (Atya shrimp). Current climate trend projections suggest that the hydrological connectivity of stream systems is expected to become increasingly stratified in response to an increased frequency of droughts. This trend could lead to a restructuring of the trophic community in response to the loss of top-level consumers (Macrobrachium shrimp), where small-bodied consumers become new top-level predators, such as Xiphocaris shrimps in mountainous streams.

Through a series of predator exclusion setups in 2 parallel tropical montane streams (Quebrada Prieta A and B), we investigated the impact of predator presence on periphyton accrual. Our results suggest that a decreased population and spatial distribution of omnivorous shrimps, due to projected alterations in hydrological connectivity, could lead to changes in the accrual of periphyton biomass. Data collection and analyses regarding Chlorophyll-A values in periphyton are ongoing in collaboration with Dr. Jesús Gómez.

I loved being a part of this internship for so many reasons, including the incredible, supportive, and diverse group of peers I worked with. It was so incredible to work with such an amazing group of people. I learned so much by aiding my colleagues with their respective projects. I found it motivating to gain all the possible knowledge and experience I could while in Puerto Rico. I love (and really miss) Quebrada Prieta and getting to be there every day was motivation in it of itself. My experience as an REU student with the LUQ-LTER was truly amazing, and I hope to return to Puerto Rico soon!"

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

On behalf of the LUQ-LTER GSRC: We are excited to

On behalf of the LUQ-LTER GSRC: We are excited to highlight the research of M.Sc. student Max Kelly. Please show your support for Max below by leaving a comment.

"Hi Everyone, I’m Max Kelly, a second year M.S student working with Dr. Catherine Pringle at the University of Georgia (UGA). I am collaborating with the Luquillo LTER StreamFRE experiment to study rates of leaf litter decomposition in high elevation montane streams in the presence and absence of freshwater shrimp. Studying leaf litter decomposition excites me since leaves are an incredibly important food source for in-stream organisms.

Prior to starting at UGA, I received my bachelors from Mercyhurst University, where I first developed my interest in aquatic ecology. My interest in freshwater ecosystems grew from my involvement in the sport of rowing in both high school and college. After spending countless hours on lakes and rivers, I developed a deep love for these ecosystems. After gaining field work experience in streams of Northwestern Pennsylvania, I was motivated to learn about streams in different parts of the world and when I learned about the Luquillo LTER site, I was immediately excited to start working in the tropics!

I am excited to stay involved with the StreamFRE project and meet more members of the luquillo LTER. Feel free to email me at max.kelly@uga.edu"

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

On behalf of LUQ-LTER GSRC: We are thrilled to lea

On behalf of LUQ-LTER GSRC: We are thrilled to learn about the work of undergraduate student Vamery González Hernández. Please show Vamery your support by leaving a comment below.

"Hello everyone, my name is Vamery R. González Hernández. I am a fourth-year bachelor student majoring in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico Aguadilla. I have been fascinated with nature my whole life, which is why I decided to pursue this research area of natural sciences and environmental conservation.

I had the opportunity to participate in the REU in Tropical Ecology in El Yunque National Forest this past summer. This allowed me to develop my independent research in plant ecology, working with the diversity and distribution of one genus of Bryophytes, the Plagiochila sp. We determined that eight species of Plagiochila were present in a delimitated area in El Yunque and determined that there was no substrate preference according to the species.

While participating in this summer experience, I had the opportunity to become involved in projects regarding urban rivers' temperature in the Rio Piedras watershed with the @aramirezlab .This allowed me to discover that my future research interests are related to this, and I wish to continue pursuing them.

Instagram - @vm.rs
Twitter - @rosevamery"

#lter #luqlter #studentsofluquillo

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