Trends in Ice Cover and Harp Seals

Trends in Ice Cover and Harp Seals

As marine mammals, harp seals have developed strategies to survive changes in resource availability, but if essentials to live are made even less available due to climate change, it is not certain if these earless creatures will be able to cope. Seals use seasonal ice...
Native of the Month: Barn Owl

Native of the Month: Barn Owl

Barn Owl – Tyto albaBarn owls can be found in most of the lower 48 states, parts of southern Canada, and around the globe. These owls are non-migratory and reside near grasslands, marshes, deserts, forests, the open plains, and even in busy cities. They nest in...
What makes a plant “native”?

What makes a plant “native”?

Gardeners, horticulturists, botanists, nature lovers have different definitions of which plants are considered native, invasive, and noxious, but there exist some general conclusions about which flora belong where. One aspect of a native plant is that it...
Fantastic Fungus

Fantastic Fungus

How can mushrooms help restore the forest at SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve?  The Pacific Northwest is a great place to enjoy beautiful and varied fruiting bodies of fungi, or mushrooms, scattered about the mossy forest floor. What many people don’t know is that...
The Color in Leaves

The Color in Leaves

As temperatures begin to cool and the days get shorter, leaves on deciduous trees begin to change colors. But why? There are several hypotheses for this phenomenon, but it is likely a chemical reaction that is triggered by the amount of daylight the plant is receiving...
Living with Wildlife

Living with Wildlife

Living in rural parts of Washington state often means that some of your neighbors are local wildlife like raccoons, coyotes, and bears. Being in and around wildlife habitat results in frequent human-wildlife interactions and sometimes these...
Bat Research

Bat Research

At night, bats take over as pollinators and some plants rely on them to reproduce, but we don’t know everything about them. It may be commonly said that they carry rabies, but how many actually do? In a study by Jesse Bonwitt, Hanna Oltean, Misty Lang, Rochelle...