Christopher X J. Jensen
Associate Professor, Pratt Institute

Cod gone on Cape Cod

Posted 25 Jan 2014 / 0

NPR Morning Edition “Why The Cod On Cape Cod Now Comes From Iceland” It is fascinating how “cultural” the alteration of this fishery turns out to be. Somehow “Cape Dogfish” just does not have the same ring.

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Biodiversity Loss, Conservation Biology, Cultural Evolution, Marine Ecosystems, Radio & Podcasts, Sustainable Harvesting, Wild Foods

Scientific American “Tiny Plants” article provides a primer on the inter-relationship between ecological and evolutionary change

Posted 07 Jan 2014 / 0

I am always on the lookout for great popular science articles to assign to my students. What makes a popular science article great? Well, to start with it should address concepts that are core to my classes (admittedly, this definition of “greatness” is highly relative to what I decide is important to teach). Concept density Read More

A Major Post, Adaptation, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, Coevolution, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Experiments (General), Extinction, Habitat Destruction, Interactions, Macroevolution, Marine Ecosystems, MSCI-271, Ecology for Architects, Pollution, Resilience, Sustainability, Terrestrial

Would a different term make us better appreciate ecosystem services?

Posted 04 Jan 2014 / 0

The Chronicle of Higher Education “Who Is Conservation For?” This article takes an interesting turn when it suggests that our inability to appreciate and value ecosystem services stems from… well, the term “ecosystem services”. It is common to blame scientists for failing to make their fields appropriately accessible to the general public, and sometimes this Read More

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, Conservation Biology, Ecosystem Services, Habitat Destruction

With all we know, we still know too little to reliably re-engineer ecosystems

Posted 06 Sep 2013 / 0

NPR Morning Edition “Saving One Species At The Expense Of Another” There are a number of really important points made by this nice short. The first is that scientists — even when acting carefully on the best available evidence and theory — can still fail to produce desired outcomes. The second is that modifying ecological communities Read More

A Minor Post, Biodiversity Loss, Community Ecology, Conservation Biology, Habitat Destruction, Radio & Podcasts, Rivers & Streams

New evidence of whooping crane culture on the rebound

Posted 30 Aug 2013 / 0

NPR Morning Edition “Wise Old Whooping Cranes Keep Captive-Bred Fledglings On Track” What’s incredible here is the fact that scientists studying these cranes can show — even with their very small sample size — that experienced birds are aiding less-experienced birds in successful migration.

A Minor Post, Biodiversity Loss, Conservation Biology, Cultural Evolution, Habitat Destruction, Radio & Podcasts

US EPA’s EnviroAtlas project promises to give researchers, students new insights into the geography of ecosystem services

Posted 13 Aug 2013 / 0

At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, I first learned about a really interesting initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The project –now dubbed EnviroAtlas — is dedicated to creating a free, interactive online tool for exploring the geography of ecosystem services. I had the opportunity to check out a beta version Read More

A Major Post, Biodiversity Loss, Biomes, Bogs & Wetlands, Climate Change, Computer Science, Conservation Biology, Deserts, Ecology, Ecology Education, Ecosystem Services, Educational Software and Apps, Environmental Justice, Freshwater Ecosystems, Geography, Grasslands, Habitat Destruction, Information Design, Invasive Species, Pollution, Ponds & Lakes, Population Pressure, Public Policy, Resource Consumption, Rivers & Streams, Sociology, Sustainability, Teaching, Teaching Tools, Temperate Forest, Temperate Rainforest, Terrestrial, Tropical Forest, Water Supply, Web

Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno

Posted 21 Jul 2013 / 0

I have been preparing for next semester’s Evolution of Sex course by looking for new media that might help my students. I just spent a few enjoyable hours checking out Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno series, produced by the Sundance Channel. I have been aware of Rossellini’s rather interesting foray into the world of animal sex and reproduction for awhile Read More

A Major Post, Adaptation, Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Biodiversity Loss, Ecology, Film, Television, & Video, Marine Ecosystems, MSCI-362, The Evolution of Sex, Parasitism, Predation

Want to know where the Presidential candidates stand on science? There’s a site for that!

Posted 25 Oct 2012 / 0

Science Debate dot org “The Top American Science Questions: 2012“

A Minor Post, Astronomy, Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, Economic sustainability, Economics, Ecosystem Services, Food, Grants & Funding, Health & Medicine, Marine Ecosystems, Political Science, Public Policy, Resource Consumption, Science (General), Space Travel, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Energy, Web

Rogue iron fertilization? Things have gotten weird!

Posted 24 Oct 2012 / 0

The New York Times “A Rogue Climate Experiment Outrages Scientists“

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Biodiversity Loss, Citizen Science, Climate Change, Community Ecology, Ecology, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Ethics, Food, Marine Ecosystems, Polar Marine, Public Policy, Sustainability

Rob Nixon on Rachel Carson’s prescience

Posted 14 Oct 2012 / 0

The Chronicle of Higher Education “Rachel Carson’s Prescience“

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Biodiversity Loss, Biography, Climate Change, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Economics, Environmental Justice, Habitat Destruction, Marine Ecosystems, Political Science, Pollution, Public Policy