I am a tropical forest ecologist and PhD student at Wake Forest University. I currently study the disturbance ecology of tropical montane forests, which means I spend a lot of time scrambling up landslides in the Peruvian Andes! My work is important for understanding the structure, composition, and functioning of these dynamic forest ecosystems.
I want a new smartphone, but the human and environmental cost is giving me doubts
Read now →New gadgets are fun. They're also abysmally destructive
Here are some of the first snowflakes ever photographed
Read now →Photographer Wilson 'Snowflake' Bentley took the first picture of a snowflake in 1885
Biologists find the world’s southernmost tree on a wind-battered island in Chile
Read now →Wind, and not temperature, is the biggest determinant of where it lives (and where it does not)
Science games and challenges to pass the time while you are stuck at home
Read now →Here are some ways to kill boredom – and contribute to scientific research – while you're doing your part to flatten the curve
One person's techno trash is a scientist's research tool
Read now →It's hard to study plant roots, but a plastic CD case makes it easier to observe a plant's underground activities
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Floods in Germany are the latest wake-up call in the climate crisis
Read now →Germany has experienced nine flood-rich periods in the past 500 years, but this one is different
A real world version of Pokémon Go lets you track orangutans in the jungle
Read now →A new augmented reality smartphone game takes you into Borneo's jungles in search of great apes (and more!)
Stones from porcupine guts are a hot commodity on Instagram
Read now →The wildlife trade has moved online, and porcupines are under threat
A catastrophic power outage darkens California while horny spiders invade
Read now →Tarantulas, fire-inducing weather, and failing infrastructure make for a spooky October story
Black scientists are exposing the racist side of academia on Twitter
Read now →#BlackintheIvory is yet another illustration that academia is rife with racism. It's long past time for change
How to stay calm during a pandemic
Read now →We all have very valid reasons to be anxious right now. Here's how to keep your anxiety in check
The best science stories from around the web, hand-curated and eye-read by science writers
Read now →The week's not over yet but it's been pretty good so far
Forget baby shark: grandma whale, the real hero of the ocean, is looking after her grandkids
Read now →New research shows that grandmother orcas greatly improve the survival of their grand-offspring, advancing our understanding of the evolutionary role of menopause
Captive sea otters (adorably) raise orphaned pups as their own until they are ready to be released back into the wild
Read now →New research from Monterey Bay Aquarium scientists finds that the pups and their own wild babies account for 55% of the growth of a California sea otter population
Attention, birders! A new tool can help you automatically identify birds you spot, no field guide needed
Read now →This "digital guide" is the product of a collaboration between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Swarovski Optik
Your salad might bring an unwanted guest to the dinner table
Read now →A new study finds that bagged and canned produce can occasionally (but rarely) come with a side of frog, lizard, bird, or rodent