In science news this week: What would a powerful earthquake feel like where you live?; Biggest California earthquake in two decades ruptured on at least 24 faults; Gray Insect Clouds Descend on Berkeley; Fishy Fortune Teller: Improving Salmon Abundance Forecasting; Climate Whiplash: Wild Swings in Extreme Weather Are on the Rise; Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Turkeys; Bats in attics might be necessary for conservation; and more…
What would a powerful earthquake feel like where you live? “Although scientists cannot predict when or where the next major earthquake will occur, the U.S. Geological Survey produces hundreds of earthquake scenarios to help us plan for the inevitable. We worked with three experts from the USGS to select 14 significant earthquake scenarios on faults across California. Some we chose because they have been heavily studied by emergency officials; others we chose to represent the seismic risk across the state.” Read more from Los Angeles Times here: What would a powerful earthquake feel like where you live?
Biggest California earthquake in two decades ruptured on at least 24 faults “When an earthquake strikes, the instinct of many Californians is to ask: Which fault ruptured — the Newport-Inglewood, the Hayward, the mighty San Andreas? But scientists are increasingly saying it’s not that simple.” Read more from San Francisco Gate here: Biggest California earthquake in two decades ruptured on at least 24 faults
The Vibrant, Vivacious, Varied Thrush “With the look of a particularly flamboyant robin, the varied thrush (Izoreus naevius) is an eye-catching part-time resident in California forests. This colorful male, spotted by one of our biologists, gives even the notoriously vibrant Bullock’s oriole a run for its money in terms of elegant orange plumage. Often seen feeding on the ground or perched low in trees, this bird is not picky about its food, subsisting on bugs in the breeding season and switching to a vegetarian diet of nuts and berries in the winter.” Read more from FishBio here: The Vibrant, Vivacious, Varied Thrush
Gray Insect Clouds Descend on Berkeley “The tiny gray gnats that fly in Bay Area autumns arrive suddenly and seem to alight on just about everything. They’re on window screens, car doors, and street signs. They don’t seem to be doing any harm, and they don’t seem to come from anywhere in particular, but there sure are a lot of them.” Read more from Bay Nature here: Gray Insect Clouds Descend on Berkeley
Fishy Fortune Teller: Improving Salmon Abundance Forecasting “Pacific salmon fisheries management is driven by efforts to predict the future. These predictions are known as preseason abundance forecasts, and prediction inaccuracies can have major impacts on fish populations and fisheries. However, few evaluations have been conducted on just how reliable these ecological forecasts are. Relationships between an environmental variable and an ecosystem response (like salmon abundance) may follow a pattern, but sometimes these variables will pass a “tipping point,” leading to sudden, major shifts. Accurate forecasting requires understanding the conditions that drive these shifts.” Read more from FishBio here: Fishy Fortune Teller: Improving Salmon Abundance Forecasting
Change Is Hard: The Vulnerability Of Salmon Populations To Climate Change “The novel and rapidly evolving challenges of global climate change will test the adaptability of all species, and some will be hit harder than others. Identifying the species and populations most vulnerable to climate change is critical to target restoration and adaptation efforts for those closest to the brink. With this in mind, climate vulnerability assessments, which are an effective method of evaluating the relative risk faced by different populations, were recently applied to Pacific salmonids (Oncorhynchus species) in the United States (Crozier et al. 2019). These populations represent a rich diversity of life histories and adaptations that have allowed them to persist in a wide variety of ecosystems. But when it comes to adapting to a changing climate, it appears not all salmon are created equal.” Read more from FishBio here: Change Is Hard: The Vulnerability Of Salmon Populations To Climate Change
Flashback Friday: What’s All The Commotion? “Ever on the lookout for interesting wildlife, one of our field technicians recently stumbled upon quite a commotion. A group of American Coots (Fulica americana) is aptly called a “commotion” due to their large noisy gatherings. A common sight on many wetlands, the birds sometimes go by the colloquial name “marsh hen” or “mud hen” due to the similar way in which they bob their heads when walking or swimming. Often mistaken for ducks or similar waterfowl, coots are in a different family altogether, and are more closely related to wading birds like rails or cranes. A key feature that differentiates coots from ducks is their big feet with lobed toes that allow them to swim, rather than webbed toes.” Read more from FishBio herer: Flashback Friday: What’s All The Commotion?
Climate Whiplash: Wild Swings in Extreme Weather Are on the Rise “From 2011 to 2016, California experienced five years of extreme drought, during which numerous high temperature records were broken. These hot, dry years were followed by the extremely wet winter of 2016 -2017, when, from October to March, an average of 31 inches of rain fell across the state, the second highest winter rainfall on record.” Read more from Yale Environment 360 here: Climate Whiplash: Wild Swings in Extreme Weather Are on the Rise
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Turkeys “Last week, the CGS team sat down for our usual editorial planning meeting. November was just around the corner, and it was time to talk turkeys. Who has an idea for a Thanksgiving story?” Read more from Cool Green Science here: Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Turkeys
Bats in attics might be necessary for conservation “For the little brown bat – a small mouse-eared bat with glossy brown fur – a warm, dry place to roost is essential to the species’ survival. Reproductive females huddle their small furry bodies together to save thermal energy during maternity season (summer), forming “maternity colonies.” In the face of severe population losses across North America, summer access to an attic or other permanent sheltered structure, as opposed to just trees or rock crevices, is a huge benefit to these bats.” Read more from The Ecological Society of America here: Bats in attics might be necessary for conservation
Floodplains: Protecting & Restoring an Overlooked Ecosystem “Most days, the lower Meramec River flows placidly as it winds past St. Louis to the Mississippi River. In the summer, tubers, boaters and anglers cruise its channels as hikers walk along river greenbelt paths. In December 2016, a different scene emerged: a record flood destroyed thousands of homes and left a major interstate closed in St. Louis.” Read more from Cool Green Science here: Floodplains: Protecting & Restoring an Overlooked Ecosystem
Four ways to curb light pollution, save bugs “Artificial light at night negatively impacts thousands of species: beetles, moths, wasps and other insects that have evolved to use light levels as cues for courtship, foraging and navigation. Scientists reviewed 229 studies to document the myriad ways that light alters the living environment such that insects are unable to carry out crucial biological functions.” Read more from Science Daily here: Four ways to curb light pollution, save bugs
Pollution from Athabasca oil sands affects weather processes “Scientists have been looking at pollution affecting the air, land and water around the Athabaska Oil Sands for some time. After looking at contaminants in snow taken from up-to 25 km away from the oil sands, a McGill-led scientific team now suggests that oil sand pollution is also affecting the weather patterns in the surrounding regions.” Read more from Science Daily here: Pollution from Athabasca oil sands affects weather processes
Caribou migrate farther than any other known land animal “Some animals really go the distance to find food, a mate or a place to raise their young. And now, thanks to scientists’ tracking efforts, we know just how far some land species will travel.” Read more from Science News here: Caribou migrate farther than any other known land animal
Lisa’s XKCD Comic Pick of the Week …
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About Science News and Reports: This weekly feature, posted every Thursday, is a collection of the latest scientific research and reports with a focus on relevant issues to the Delta and to California water, although other issues such as climate change are sometimes included. Do you have an item to be included here? Submissions of relevant research and other materials is welcome. Email Maven
