Luquillo LTER

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Traveling around the @kelloggbiostn & the @kbslter

Traveling around the @kelloggbiostn & the @kbslter means tractor rides, long walks between row crops, and a lot of standing in fields.

We had a great field trip at our annual Science Council meeting earlier this month, and learned all about the long-term, ag-driven research at the KBS LTER. Ag covers a huge swath of the US and has large scale influences on carbon storage, nutrient cycling, food production, insect and other animal communities, and more—and the KBS studies the ecosystems created when we plant crops!

Thanks KBS for hosting the meeting—it's the only time of year when LTER leadership convenes in person to exchange ideas and so important to keep the network moving!

Litterfall is the stuff that falls from trees, but

Litterfall is the stuff that falls from trees, but what is it really made of? When does it fall? A new paper pays close attention, using tons of previously unanalyzed litterfall data from NEON and the LTER. Read the story and more in this month's Network News!

LTER Network News | April 2023

Some great new stories in the March Network News!

Some great new stories in the March Network News!

Read about how an LTER cross site synthesis effort reveals that soil carbon controls the nitrogen cycle across wide diversity of terrestrial ecosystems.

Not a biogeochemist? Explore how small differences in habitat preference across years allow for two similar invading species to coexist while native species decline.

More tech-minded? Explore new sensor technology in a new DataBits article! LTER Network News | March 2023

LTER Network News | March 2023

“What are people excited about? What should we c

“What are people excited about? What should we create together?”

Considerable work happens behind the scenes as Sarah Garlick, Hubbard Brook’s Director of Science Engagement, brings together researchers and forest managers to identify shared research priorities in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest.

Read the full story in this month's LTER Network News!

LTER Network News | February 2023

A new study in the Journal Ecology finds that nutr

A new study in the Journal Ecology finds that nutrient addition increases aboveground plant growth more than it increases belowground plant growth, suggesting that belowground ecology cannot be predicted from studies conducted only aboveground.

Read Spare A Thought For The Roots in this month's newsletter, and find tons of jobs, events, funding, and more inside!

LTER Network News | January 2023

Image: Jacob Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0.

We're hiring! Join the LTER & NCEAS as our new Com

We're hiring! Join the LTER & NCEAS as our new Community Engagement Officer!

We're looking for someone eager to make connections with diverse groups across ecology and environmental science. You join two influential organizations and will make a real impact in community engagement across both networks!

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Salary range: $70-$80k annual.

https://lternet.edu/opportunities/nceas-lter-community-engagement-officer/

Announcing New LTER Synthesis Working Groups! Sev

Announcing New LTER Synthesis Working Groups!

Seven groups join us in 2023! Read about how they plan to use LTER science to glean new ecological insight, from marine systems to disturbance, and more!

While glacial thawing shapes ecosystem processes i

While glacial thawing shapes ecosystem processes in the Green Lakes Valley, long-term data shows that it alone cannot explain the spatiotemporal patterns of stream chemistries at the Niwot LTER.

Read the full story by Angela Theodosopoulos in this months Network News, plus jobs, highlights from the year, papers, and more.

LTER Network News | December 2022-January 2023

In a harsh environment like the desert, resource a

In a harsh environment like the desert, resource availability can be absolutely critical. This is why researchers like the undergraduate student seen in the first image work to implement nutrient addition experiments. The impact of differential resource availability can be astonishing - just swipe to the second picture to see!

These images highlight the ongoing research overseen by graduate student Dylan Stover at University of Texas El Paso, seen in the third photo hauling gear.

Last but not least, we'd like to share a photo of Eleanor, the baby calf who can be found at College Ranch just south of the Jornada LTER. This site is also home to much of the research conducted by scientists working with the Jornada LTER.

Photo credit: Dylan Stover @dylan.stover

There’s a lot of wide-open spaces on the #jornad

There’s a lot of wide-open spaces on the #jornadaLTER where Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) has encroached into perennial #grasslands, driving a transition to a shrubland state. Without grass species covering the ground, #soilerosion can increase dramatically in these open areas between mesquite shrubs. Even with efforts to remove mesquite, grasses have a hard time repopulating these open areas following significant soil erosion (i.e. loss of seeds, nutrients) and may not recover without some additional help.

Enter the Connectivity Modifier (or ConMod for short)! These X-shaped ConMods made of hardware cloth are intended to help limit the movement of soil, plant litter, and seeds with wind or water-driven erosion through these open spaces. Over time, these materials will collect within the ConMods and create conditions more amenable to grass recovery. These ConMods were recently installed on plots treated or untreated with herbicide to see if they can be an effective restoration tool to aid grass recovery alongside mesquite control!
#LTER #longtermresearch #lternetwork #drylands #ecology #STEM #STEAM #fieldresearch #research #phdlife #scicommers

Photo and writing credit: Molly Reichenborn

Samples being prepared to send for sequencing. lon

Samples being prepared to send for sequencing. longtermresearch #lternetwork #microbes #soilmicrobes #microbialecology #STEM #STEAM #womendoingscience #laboratorylife #fieldresearch #research #phdlife #gradlife #scientistswhoselfie #thisiswhatascientistlookslike #scicomm

Doing science in desert be like. #Jornada #LTER #s

Doing science in desert be like. #Jornada #LTER #science #scicomm #STEM #STEAM

Collecting soil samples from Jornada,LTER for soil

Collecting soil samples from Jornada,LTER for soil microbial analysis. The sites are part of Duneland Restoration Project. From the soil, once the DNA is extracted, it is send for amplicon sequencing. Results from it will help us learn about different microbial communities found in ecological state changes seen in Jornada,LTER. #longtermresearch #lternetwork #ecology #STEM #STEAM #womendoingscience #laboratorylife #fieldresearch #research #phdlife #gradlife #scientistswhoselfie #thisiswhatascientistlookslike #scicomm

DataBits has been around since 1989, and a new ret

DataBits has been around since 1989, and a new retrospective shows how the newsletter tracks the evolution of information technology. Also, jobs, REU's, AGU, articles on corals and long-term research, and much more.

LTER Network News | November, 2022

At the Santa Barbara Coastal (SBC) LTER, we do a l

At the Santa Barbara Coastal (SBC) LTER, we do a lot of swimming, reeling out transect tapes, counting, measuring, and writing underwater! We survey our local kelp forests along permanent transects at 11 sites. We count mobile animals including fishes and invertebrates, identify macroalgae and sessile invertebrates on the substrate, and measure and count the number of kelp plants along the transects.

Our divers perform monthly, seasonal, and annual surveys of our sites to characterize benthic community structure, production of giant kelp, and track changes in canopy biomass over time.

@sbc_lter
📹 @jgogawa96

Have you ever wondered what kelp forests and sandy

Have you ever wondered what kelp forests and sandy beaches look like from above?

Researchers at the Santa Barbara Coastal (SBC) LTER are using aerial drones to capture high resolution images of kelp forest canopy density and kelp wrack deposition on beaches. Drones can capture images with high resolution (6mm to 4 cm pixel sizes) compared to the coarser resolution (tens of meters) captured by satellites. These tools can help researchers understand how kelp forest canopies fluctuate over time and in space.

Drone images of sandy beaches help scientists like postdoctoral researcher, Kyle Emery @k_emery2012 evaluate how subsidies from kelp forests to sandy beaches can influence sandy beach invertebrate communities.

Orthomosaic images by @k_emery2012
@katie.cavs
@sbc_lter

Welcome to the Santa Barbara Coastal (SBC) LTER! R

Welcome to the Santa Barbara Coastal (SBC) LTER! Researchers at SBC study the ecological processes structuring kelp forest ecosystems, sandy beaches, and the coastal ocean within the Southern California Bight and the Santa Barbara Channel.

Part of our long term monitoring efforts include monthly sampling of water column biology and biogeochemisty at 5 of our coastal reefs. We use small boats to access our local kelp forests where our expert technicians, graduate students, and undergraduates collect water samples for further analysis in the lab.

Drone footage from Bowin de Barros

@sbc_lter #kelp #kelpforest

Who likes mustard? Not earthworms 🪱! We use mus

Who likes mustard? Not earthworms 🪱! We use mustard to irritate invasive earthworms out of their burrows and survey their diversity and abundance in forests across the Twin Cities Metropolitan Region. This work is part of a larger project through the #msplter investigating how vegetation influences soil properties in urban forests. By rearranging and consuming leaf litter, earthworms play an important role in shaping these dynamics!

We’re signing off now. See you soon!

#longtermresearch #lternetwork #ecology #STEM #STEAM
#laboratorylife #fieldresearch #research #phdlife #gradlife
#thisiswhatascientistlookslike #scicomm

👻👻👻Are urban butterflies 🦋 spookier be

👻👻👻Are urban butterflies 🦋 spookier because of the pollutions? MSP LTER post-doc Lindsey Kemmerling and her team are sacrificing butterflies and using all parts of the butterflies to measure how pollution affects body condition. They are also using lichens as bio-monitor of air pollution across the Twin Cities.

1. Urban butterfly
2. Lichens as biomonitor
3. Looking for butterflies near rail yard
4. Lindsey on the field
5. Field site cuing Halloween
6. The decapitated head of a clouded sulphur.

👻Happy Halloween! 🎃

#longtermresearch #lternetwork #ecology #STEM #STEAM
#laboratorylife #fieldresearch #research #phdlife #gradlife
#thisiswhatascientistlookslike #scicomm

Minnesotans love our lakes, but what happens in wi

Minnesotans love our lakes, but what happens in winter in the land of 10,000 frozen lakes? This is the watershed group from Minneapoli-St. Paul (MSP) LTER, the newest urban site to the LTER network.

The Twin Cities area has decades-long water quality monitoring data, but only in the summer months. We started winter lake core collections to better understand the nutrient dynamics in the winter time (which is about 5-6 months out of a year).

By the way, sunglasses are key for winter fieldwork!

#longtermresearch #lternetwork #ecology #STEM #STEAM
#laboratorylife #fieldresearch #research #phdlife #gradlife
#thisiswhatascientistlookslike #scicomm

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Asegúrese de registrarse para la sesión pública

Asegúrese de registrarse para la sesión pública de la reunión anual del Luquillo LTER en El Portal, el 5 de junio! Modalidad híbrida. Abierto a todos.

Make sure to register for the Luquillo LTER annual meeting General public session at El Portal on June 5th. Hybrid meeting options are available. Open to everyone.

If you’d like to play along, post a photo of you

If you’d like to play along, post a photo of your Luquillo LTER field or lab work that fits this theme! Tag us or add us as a collaborator 🙂 🌱🌿
#LTER #LUQLTER #luqstudents

IT'S EARTH MONTH 🌎 Let's celebrate our planet

IT'S EARTH MONTH 🌎

Let's celebrate our planet and its biodiversity by sharing some of your favorite natural areas, it could be your field site or where you enjoy your free time 🍃

Please tag us in your pictures, we would love to see and share them!

#LTER
#LUQLTER
#LUQSTUDENTS

Last Friday April 14th, we successfully celebrated

Last Friday April 14th, we successfully celebrated the 9th Luquillo-Sevilleta Virtual Symposium: “Connecting Across an Ecological Divide: How Students Explore Their Local Ecosystems Through Science and Education”, from the Luquillo-Sevilleta LTER Schoolyard Program. Middle and high school students from Albuquerque and Puerto Rico gathered virtually to share the scientific research done in their respective ecosystems. The achievement of this event was also possible thanks to the collaboration the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) has with the Luquillo Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Schoolyard in Puerto Rico, the Sevilleta LTER, the University of New Mexico, The Learning Partnership, Forward Learning, TERC (Technical Education Research Center), and the Department of Environmental Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras.
We would like to thank all our students and teachers that participated in this year’s event!

El pasado viernes 14 de abril celebramos con éxito el 9º Simposio Virtual Luquillo-Sevilleta: "Conectando a través de una brecha ecológica: cómo los estudiantes exploran sus ecosistemas locales a través de la ciencia y la educación", del Programa Luquillo-Sevilleta LTER Schoolyard. Estudiantes de secundaria y preparatoria de Albuquerque y Puerto Rico se reunieron virtualmente para compartir la investigación científica realizada en sus respectivos ecosistemas. El logro de este evento también fue posible gracias a la colaboración que el Programa de Monitoreo de Ecosistemas Bosque (BEMP) tiene con el Patio Escolar de Investigación Ecológica a Largo Plazo (LTER) de Luquillo en Puerto Rico, el LTER Sevilleta, la Universidad de Nuevo México, The Learning Partnership, Forward Learning, TERC (Centro de Investigación de Educación Técnica) y el Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.
¡Nos gustaría agradecer a todos nuestros estudiantes y profesores que participaron en el evento de este año!

data Jam 2023! El Simposio Estudiantil del Proyect

data Jam 2023!
El Simposio Estudiantil del Proyecto ITEST Data Jam del Programa Luquillo LTER Schoolyard se llevó a cabo el 27 de enero de 2023. El simposio fue presencial y nos complace anunciar que 200 personas se unieron a este evento en el centro de visitantes de El Portal en el Bosque Nacional El Yunque (EYNF ). Durante el simposio, se presentaron 44 pósters de Data Jam en 3 sesiones de afiches diferentes. Un total de 145 estudiantes compartieron con científicos, educadores y sus compañeros para comunicar los resultados de su investigación científica utilizando datos ecológicos a largo plazo recopilados por científicos que trabajan en el Bosque Nacional El Yunque (EYNF).
The Student Symposium of the ITEST Data Jam Project was held on January 27, 2023. The symposium was in person, and we are happy to announce that ~ 200 people joined this event at the visitor center of El Portal in El Yunque National Forest (EYNF). During the symposium, 44 data jam posters were presented in 3 different poster sessions. A total of 145 students engaged with scientists, educators, and their peers in communicating the results of their scientific research using long-term ecological data gathered by scientists working in El Yunque National Forest (EYNF).

LUQ is hiring three masters-level positions for fi

LUQ is hiring three masters-level positions for field and program support at El Verde!
Positions Described in English:
https://buff.ly/3RuSvPf
Cargos descritos en español:
https://buff.ly/3SAPlLk

Proud of our Luquillo LTER team presenting their w

Proud of our Luquillo LTER team presenting their work and research at the #LTERasm2022 #researchers #research #studentsofluquillo #lter #tropicalecology #science

Amazing week and participation from our #LuquilloL

Amazing week and participation from our #LuquilloLTER team at #LTERasm2022. Our hearts are with those who could not attend due to #HurricaneFiona. #research #researchers #tropicalecology #ecology #lter #studentsofluquillo

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

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