Change in Percent Coral Cover Across Main Hawaiian Islands Between 2000 - 2017 using the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS)

The current methods being used to study coral fails to account for coral health at a scale that encompasses the entire reef ecosystem. Hyper-spectral remote sensing through an airborne visible infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) sensor was used to quantify benthic cover of reef ecosystems. The images were processed pixel by pixel to retrieve benthic cover of coral, algae, and sand. The difference between the two data sets were calculated and used to quantify percent coral cover change. Studying benthic cover on a reef-wide scale through remote sensing can allow us to better understand spatial and temporal trends of coral health

Lessons From the Colchester Bog: Translations of Plant-Environment Interactions

How scientific insights and conclusions are communicated to broad audiences is an important consideration. Sharing knowledge about ecosystems and places can help to create greater connection between the human and non-human world. Creative and approachable means of scientific communication can create interest, build curiosity and connection, and encourage further questioning among audience members. This project uses artmaking as a means of ecological storytelling. Information, centered around plant species, and their patterns of distribution, adaptive life strategies, and connections to environmental conditions in bog ecosystems, was established as a background. Attaching ideas from scientific literature to a specific place, the Colchester Bog, helped to contextualize ecological themes and form experiential connections. Regular visits to this place allowed for observational practice. Learning from a specific place allowed for questioning that was guided by curiosity and holistic interactions. To track ideas, and translate processes that were observed at the Colchester Bog into a visual form, tools within drawing and painting were used. Hopefully, sharing this body of work can help to create greater awareness of the function and importance of bog ecosystems, as well as explore human relationships to local ecologies

Histone modifications mediate sublethal insecticide stress response in an agricultural insect pest

The ability of agricultural insect pests to rapidly evolve resistance to chemical and microbial insecticides undermines the sustainability of pest control. Agricultural insect pests such as the Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata, display a remarkable ability to rapidly adapt to insecticides and other stressors. Although insecticide resistance is considered inevitable, the processes underlying its development in insect pests remain poorly understood. One possible explanation is that exposure to insecticides may alter epigenetic modifications, which change patterns of gene expression without affecting the underlying DNA sequence. Surprisingly, no studies have tested how the intensity of insecticide exposure alters changes in histone modifications and how those changes affect phenotypic plasticity. We found key differences in histone acetylation among stressed and unstressed pests, and observed hormesis (low-dose stimulation) and intergenerational differences in performance after exposure to imidacloprid. Our results describing the role of histone modifications in stress response will be a crucial starting point for developing more sustainable and targeted pest control

Wanted: Engaged Writers and Practical Writing Experiences

This Practitioner Perspective paper discusses literacy as a vital skill that empowers users. After an initial discussion of the twin aspects of literacy, I present a student teacher’s overly complex seventh-grade lesson, which served as a springboard for reflection about alignment of assignments and student interest. The transformative classroom experience yielded a powerful insight—that effective pedagogy contributes to writer confidence

Collective Nostalgia’s Effect on Consumer Behavior

Nostalgia is pervasive in today’s advertising landscape and for good reason. Research has shown that people exposed to advertising with nostalgic themes have higher purchase intention and greater willingness to spend. Most research on nostalgia’s effect on consumer behavior treats nostalgia as a singular construct. This experiment expands the focus to include collective nostalgia, which are memories made with other close people rather than being exclusive to oneself. It explores collective nostalgia’s impact on consumer behavior and the effects it has on participants desire for money

The Relationship between Middle Grades Algebra and Advanced Carnegie Credits: A QuantCrit Analysis

This study examines the impact of early Algebra I coursework on advanced Carnegie credits among 12th graders from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, using data from the NCES HSTS (1990-2019). Findings indicate that early Algebra students, particularly Black and Latinx, earn more advanced credits, revealing a widening gap in advanced course attainment. The study underscores the importance of early Algebra in college readiness and STEM preparation, highlighting the need for interventions to address educational disparities. Future research should explore additional factors influencing college readiness

Unraveling the Role of Patellin1 in Expansive and Polarized Cell Growth

The Patellin gene family, a subgroup of Sec14-like proteins containing lipid binding domains, has been shown to play a role in membrane trafficking in Arabidopsis. The family members PATL3 and PATL6 have been implicated in impeding viral movement by binding to viral movement proteins (Peiro et al., 2014) . In addition, the patl2 patl4 patl5 patl6 quadruplet mutant, is defective in recycling of the auxin transport proteins PIN1 and PIN2 (Tejos et al., 2018). PATL1 localizes to the cell plate and the plasma membrane, and this is thought to be facilitated through its affinity for specific species of phosphoinositides (Peterman et al., 2004). We have characterized PATL1\u27s involvement in expansive and polarized growth by examining two T-DNA null alleles (patl1-2 and patl1-3) in Arabidopsis. We show that patl1-2 and patl1-3, have a short root hair phenotype and that both mutant alleles exhibit a long root phenotype characterized by longer cells in the root elongation zone. Furthermore, we show that PATL1 colocalizes with VTI13-containing early endosomes in Arabidopsis seedlings roots. We are currently testing whether PATL1 may be recycled from VTI13 endosomes back to the plasma membrane

Change in the Abundance of Coral Across the Hawaiian Archipelago During 2000–2017 in Relation to Thermal Stress

Coral reefs are declining at unprecedented rates across the world, threatening ecosystem goods, services, and functionality. Previous research suggests thermal stress is a major driving factor of coral decline, however, these studies primarily draw conclusions from small-scale, in situ data collection. This study represents the first effort to quantify large-scale change in coral cover across the Hawaiian Islands over an extended time period using remote sensing. Hyperspectral imagery from the Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) was used to quantify benthic cover of reef ecosystems across the Main and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in 2000 and 2017. A total of 320.28 km2 of benthic area was mapped and analyzed across Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Lanaʻi, Maui, and French Frigate Shoals. Average coral cover dropped from approximately 23% to 8% over the 17-year time period, representing a relative decline of more than 65%. Various thermal stress metrics were obtained through NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch bleaching area alert data and compared to the coral cover data. Adjusted R2 values ranged between 0.02 and 0.043, indicating weak correlations between bleaching area alert metrics and absolute change in coral cover. This study offers preliminary evidence that Hawaiian coral reefs are declining not only on a small-scale, but across entire reef ecosystems. However, thermal data alone cannot explain the decline in coral cover observed. Although the question of what causes this decrease in cover remains, hyperspectral remote sensing may be the missing link. Only once we understand coral change at the reef scale can we hope to conserve these ecosystems

Principles and practices for the resourcing of agroecology

This article responds to the disproportionate amount of public-sector and philanthropic funding allocated to reinforce modernized conventional agricultural systems that exacerbate our climate, biodiversity, and socio-ecological crises. Recent research casts a light on the grant-making community’s meager investment in efforts to scale up alternative agroecological approaches, which would not only regenerate natural resources, but also address social inequalities within food systems. Furthermore, the limited funds that are ultimately directed towards agroecology tend to support narrow and incremental transitions rather than larger transformative change. Rightly, such well-intentioned funding models have been criticized as perpetuating outdated development paradigms. Our analysis synthesizes perspectives from eleven interviews and four focus groups with actors deeply involved in financing agroecological initiatives. We explore their theories regarding the scaling of transformative agroecology and how grant-makers’ day-to-day operations and decision-making can align with the principles of plurality (i.e., diverse ways of knowing and being), as well as justice and liberation. Key themes include prioritizing specific types of initiatives, integrating decolonization in funding decisions, and crafting evaluations that respect diverse perspectives. This paper contributes insights for (and inspires healthy debate on) the use of philanthropic and public resources to foster just ecological and social restoration within agricultural landscapes and food systems