Crowdsourcing ConGen – Effective size of a population in flux

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 2 Comments on Crowdsourcing ConGen – Effective size of a population in flux
Conservation, Science

ResearchBlogging.org

When presented with a threatened population in need of conservation, the simplest and most basic question a manager can ask is “how big is it?” Unfortunately, this is one of the most challenging questions to answer. Determining the number of individuals in a population is fundamental to effective management. Small, concentrated populations can be destroyed in a single sweep, while large, broadly distributed populations require more resources and complex management involving many stakeholders.

A population that is easy to sample is rare. Animals move – sometimes over enormous distances. Habitats are difficult or impossible to access. Entire popualtions may be adept at avoiding capture. For most populations, it is impossible to count every individual. In marine ecosystems populations can span the entire globe, and the cost of mounting an expedition to systematically sample all members is huge. In order to get accurate estimates of the number of individuals, ecologists have had to devise statistical techniques to estimate the size of a population.

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local coastal dinner

Posted on By Bluegrass Blue Crab 2 Comments on local coastal dinner
Science

When I first moved to coastal North Carolina, my garden yielded miniature sweet potatoes, a handful of blueberries, and an abundance of mustard greens.  That’s it.  After trying pretty much every vegetable under the sun.  Turns out, not many plants like to grow in our soil… wait, I mean sand.

Coastal gardening and farming presents some unique challenges that I thought would mean the end of my quest to become a locavore.  But after a year of learning and connecting with our local farms, which aren’t necessarily the type to market to the local buyer, I have resumed my quest.  And I think I’ve succeeded, at least for today.

My dinner included only a few things not from the coast: champagne vinegar, olive oil, gin, and avocado.

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How to build a canoe from scratch on a graduate student stipend

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 45 Comments on How to build a canoe from scratch on a graduate student stipend
Uncategorized

You do not want to be seen in this canoe

For the last week, my Twitter feed (@sfriedscientist) has been overrun with pictures of half built canoes. Well, we finally finished the boat, so here is Bluegrass Blue Crab and the Southern Fried Scientist’s guide to building a plywood canoe on a graduate student budget.

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Save the Planet, it’s the only one we’ve got… or is it?

Posted on By David Shiffman 8 Comments on Save the Planet, it’s the only one we’ve got… or is it?
Science

In honor of President Obama’s newly announced space exploration plan, I am reposting one of my favorites from the old site. Original comments can be found at the old site.

On this blog, we’ve discussed how many current fisheries practices are completely unsustainable, because we are simply taking too many fish from the oceans. We’ve also discussed how we can’t just stop fishing because too many humans need the food.

We’ve  discussed the energy crisis, and how some the present methods our civilization uses to power our lives are destroying the planet through pollution, environmental destruction, and emissions that cause global warming. We’ve also discussed the fact that people need energy.

We’ve discussed how some current mining practices, such as top-mining, are an environmental catastrophe. However, it is undeniable that we need the minerals that come from mining.

Many more problems are facing the world today. There simply isn’t enough room for all the people we have, and there are more people every day (and less room for them because of sea level rise). Many people today simply don’t have enough fresh water to drink, and thousands die each day from this– a problem that is only getting worse as population increases. The present economic crisis, one of the worst of all time, means that in addition to millions being out of work, governments don’t have money for solutions to these problems.

Things look pretty grim…. but is there any kind of solution that can solve all of these problems at once? A universal solution, as it were (pardon the pun)?

To find it, we need to think well outside of the box. In fact, we need to look in a whole new direction.

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