Austin Allison: Ground squirrels hibernate to avoid predation, but not at the expense of reproductive opportunities

Austin Allison—a PhD student at Colorado State University and recent MS graduate from the University of Idaho—discusses his recently accepted paper: “Why hibernate? Tests of four hypotheses to explain intraspecific variation in hibernation phenology.” About the Paper Why do animals hibernate? I—like many people—assumed I knew the answer to that question. Animals obviously hibernate to avoid seasonally unsuitable environmental conditions such as freezing temperatures and … Continue reading Austin Allison: Ground squirrels hibernate to avoid predation, but not at the expense of reproductive opportunities

Georgia Hernández Corrales: Closely related tropical herbs have similar tolerance to high temperatures

In our newest post Georgia Hernández Corrales—PhD candidate at University of Connecticut, USA—presents her work ‘Evolutionary history constrains heat tolerance of native and exotic tropical Zingiberales’. She discusses the importance of evolutionary history for plant physiology, shares the beauty of tropical forests, and highlights the importance of mentorship for a happy start in research. About the paper Lowland forests are one of the warmest ecosystems … Continue reading Georgia Hernández Corrales: Closely related tropical herbs have similar tolerance to high temperatures