News

This article, published in the "Rock Chalk Review" section of the Winter 2023 issue (paper and online to subscribers) of Kansas Alumni Magazine, is a version of the Nov. 16, 2022, KU News release on the Mapping Kansas Ecosystems website developed by Dana Peterson and Jennifer Moody.

The number of monarch butterflies that have survived the migration to Mexico this fall appears to have plummeted.

Vadim Karatayev studies ecosystem resilience, including land management strategies. His most recent work reveals that warmer climates trigger the collapse of giant kelp forests all across California.

Comments by one of our scientists added to coverage of the spill: more specific info is needed to understand the effect of oil in local waters.

Orley “Chip” Taylor, KU professor emeritus of ecology & evolutionary biology, and his wife, Toni, have made a $1.4 million gift to establish the Chip and Toni Taylor Professorship in support of Monarch Watch.

All Things Considered aired this version of a recent Kansas News Service story on silted-in reservoirs, water injection dredging at Tuttle Creek, and concerns about the plan.

Toxic blue-green algae threaten cattle and have collectively robbed Kansans of thousands of hours of recreation. They drain millions from lake-based economies when outbreaks close lakes to public access. Drinking water is susceptible to the toxin, too, rendering it smelly and foul-tasting.

Plant roots act as engineers for Earth’s surface, breaking up bedrock, transporting water and nutrients, and stabilizing landscapes. They’re so important that scientists have hypothesized that their evolution, beginning around 415 million years ago, altered landscapes and the course of Earth’s…

Dana Peterson hopes the new ArcGIS StoryMap, "Mapping Kansas Ecosystems," will draw attention to the wide range of landscapes across the state — and serve as an online resource in classrooms, libraries and homes, for all ages.

After years of declining populations, the monarch butterfly was recently declared endangered. CBS News correspondent Debra Alfarone meets the next generation of activists working to keep the insect population alive.