Murky Depths and Mysterious Ecosystems By Joshua Daskin Pans (small seasonal ponds) are mysterious habitats. Little is known about their ecology and their occupants are usually well hidden below the murky depths. That’s about to change. In this episode of “Gorongosa Field Notes,
Gorongosa Field Notes: Capturing Photographs of Bats in Flight By Jen Guyton “Come on, little dude. Fly for me.” I gently prodded the outside of the fabric box that held the dark brown fuzzy lump. It was an Angolan free-tailed bat, Mops condylura, and it wasn’t cooperating. I was work
The Hippos of Lake Urema By Jen Guyton I scanned the shadows in the gray pre-dawn light, my senses on high alert as I listened for the crackling of twigs beneath a heavy hoof or the throaty sawing huff of a leopard on a sunrise prowl. After a few minutes, feeling sure the coast was cl
The Many Sides of Africa’s Elephant By Tyler Coverdale According to a centuries-old story, one day an elephant was brought in front of a group of blind men and each was asked to describe the animal by touching only one part of its body. The first touched the leg and reported that elep
Going Back in Time Four Decades Baseline observations help scientists measure the health of an ecosystem. A lot has changed since the floodplain had its last review, so it is time for a check up. In this episode of “Gorongosa Field Notes,” ecologists Tyler Coverdale and Ty
Huffington Post January 21, 2015 By Rob Pringle Assistant Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University As we have all become acutely aware over the past few years, the United States government loves to collect data. Lots of data. In the present, that can seem
Satellites, Spies, and Savanna Science By Josh Daskin Doing ecology in new and exciting places sometimes means that perfect historical data aren’t readily available for comparison with the present, and more creative efforts might be in order. As part of my PhD dissertation with the Pr