TV Interview about Thoreau and Climate Change

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“Truth is ever returning to herself. I glimpse one feature today – another tomorrow –and the next day they are blended.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

I was interviewed yesterday by meteorologist Jacob Wycoff for an Earth Day program on CBS TV Boston. 

Figure 1: Primack being interviewed by Wycoff.

 

I described how we are using the records of Henry David Thoreau from the 1850s to show that climate change is affecting the plants of Concord, Massachusetts. Wildflowers are flowering about 10 days earlier and trees are leafing out 14 days earlier. 

Figure 2: Thoreau made detailed observations of flowering in the 1850s.

 

Our team came to determine that climate change was affecting the abundance of species since Thoreau’s time, with around half of the native wildflower species declining in abundance or even locally extinct. We found that many of the declining species were cold-loving, northern wildflowers, while the species that tended to persist were warm-loving, southern species. 

Figure 3: 27% of the wildflower species present in Concord around Thoreau’s time are now locally extinct in Concord.

 

Our 22 years of work in Concord demonstrate that Thoreau should be revered in scientific circles the same way he's revered in literature. The evidence is strong that Thoreau was, in fact, a very accurate scientist. 

Figure 4: Thoreau is now recognized as an accurate scientific observer.

Here's the link to the interview: LINK

Big Scientific Conferences Return

By Richard B. Primack

 

“I have much to learn of the Indian, nothing of the missionary.” Henry David Thoreau in The Maine Woods.

 

During the COVID pandemic, researchers considered whether scientific conferences might change in permanent ways, perhaps to be held remotely or become more inclusive. Two recent large scientific meetings—the International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) in Kigali, Rwanda and the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in Portland, Oregon (USA)— suggest that scientific meetings have indeed changed, but not in all the ways imagined.

Photo 1: ICCB had strong representation from African countries.

Namely, the meetings were back to being held in-person, were expensive to attend, and involved long-distance travel generating greenhouse gases. Both meetings, however, emphasized diversity and the human context of science more than at previous conferences.

Photo 2: Conservation organizations brought their African staff to the ICCB meeting.

The meetings provided excellent opportunities to learn about new projects and directions in ecology and conservation, and their emphasis on diversity, Indigenous science, and working with local communities brought new voices and perspectives to the table and added to the vibrancy and quality of the meetings. 

Photo 3: Adrienne Sponberg (center) of the ESA addressed a workshop on ESA policies to encourage diversity and inclusion in the meeting and the Society.

Here is a complete report about the meetings: LINK

Mississippi Views

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“What can be more impressive than to look up at noble river just at evening - one perchance that you have never explored - & behold its placid waters reflecting the woods and sky lapsing inaudibly toward the ocean, tempting the beholder to explore it & his own destiny at once.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

Most visitors to Minneapolis will only see the Mississippi River in a highly modified state, with dams, bridges, power plants, and factories. 

Video 1: Industrial landscapes frame the falls at Minneapolis.

 

Photo 1: Several arch bridges spanning the river dominate the landscape. An abandoned flour mill can also be seen along the river. 

However, many parks lower down the river, such as Hidden Falls Regional Park and Minnehaha Regional Park, preserve beautiful river forests.  

Photo 2: Forests line the river gorge below Minneapolis.

 

Photo 3: Cottonwood trees grow in the sandy soil of the riverbank. 

 

Photo 4: Trees put out adventitious roots at ground level. 

 

Photo 5: The forest floor in spring is covered with decaying cottonwood leaves and recently-fallen red maple flowers.

 

Thoreau’s Concord in Italian

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“Language is the most perfect work of art in the world. The chisel of a thousand years retouches it.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

The research of our group about the ecological effects of climate change was included in a recent article in the print edition of Mondadori Scienza SpA, the leading popular science magazine in Italy.

 

Photo 1: Image of people speaking Italian.

Our research was the featured subject of a second article published in the online edition of the same magazine, based largely on the recent popular articles by Amanda Gallinat and me in Living Bird and American Scientist.

Photo 2: Image of waiter and diners speaking Italian.

If you are looking to practice your Italian, here is a paragraph to start with:

Di certo, la natura sta cambiando i propri tempi. Una delle ricerche che evidenziano il fenomeno in corso è quella condotta da anni da Richard Primack, biologo della Boston University (Usa), nella zona di Concord (Massachusetts), nel Nord-est degli Stati Uniti. Qui, a metà 800, il filosofo e ambientalista Henry David Thoreau annotò, durante le sue passeggiate nella zona di Concord e in particolare attorno al lago Walden, una serie di osservazioni sui tempi di fioritura, sulla comparsa delle foglie e sull'arrivo degli uccelli migratori in primavera. 

Washington Cherry Blossom Festival

 By Richard B. Primack

 

“To him who contemplates a trait of natural beauty no harm or disappointment can come.” Henry David Thoreau in Excursions.

 

The cherry blossom festival in Washington, DC is a celebration of the beauty of nature. But planning for the festival is challenging because the timing of the peak display of cherry flowers on the National Mall depends on the weather. This year was the second earliest flowering date for the cherry trees in the last 100 years. 

 

Photo 1: Cherry trees flowering in Washington, DC. (photo source: Washington Post)

It is impossible to predict in advance when the cherry trees will bloom each spring, because warm weather speeds up flowering and cool weather delays flowering. But over the last 50 years, the cherry trees in Washington have bloomed about 2 weeks earlier than in the past due to a warming climate. And the prediction is that this earlier flowering trend will continue over the coming half century as the climate continues to warm. 

Figure 1: Cherry trees have been flowering ever earlier over the past 50 years. (figure source: Washington Post)

 

This shift has happened because cherry trees respond primarily to spring temperatures, and springs have been getting warmer due to ever increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Aside from temperature, other factors, such as precipitation, humidity and sunlight, have relatively little effect on the flowering times. 

In addition to earlier flowering times, it is also possible that these rising temperatures could harm trees directly through heat and drought, or indirectly through increases in insect pests and disease. The results might be a diminished floral display in future years. 

For more details, see full article: LINK   

Glass Flowers Field Trip

 By Richard B. Primack 

 

“We discover a new world every time that we see the earth again after it has been covered for a season with snow.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

 

Last fall, the Plant Biology class took a field trip to the Glass Flowers exhibit at the Museum of Natural History at Harvard University. It’s a great place to study the characteristics of plants during the winter, and to learn to recognize economically important plants and the features of plant families. 

 

Photo 1: The Plant Biology class at the exhibit.

 

Photo 2: A tea plant made of colored glass.

 

Photo 3: Students carrying out a class activity. Note that one student is using pencil and paper, while the other student is taking notes with a smartphone. 

 

Photo 4: Students working together as a team, again using electronic devices. 

 

 

Bare Pond in the Webster Woods

By Richard B. Primack

 

“[Walden] pond never breaks up so soon as the others in the neighborhood, on account both of its greater depth and its having no stream passing through it to melt or wear away the ice. It indicates better than any water hereabouts the absolute progress of the season, being least affected by transient changes in temperature.” Henry David Thoreau in Walden.

 

Bare Pond is a hidden gem in the Webster Woods. 

Due to its small size and shallow depth, Bare Pond is constantly changing from day to day and bringing new surprises with each season. 

Photo 1: Bare Pond in autumn, with unusually high water levels for this time of year. 

 

Bare Pond’s rapid changes are in contrast with larger and deeper bodies of water, such as Walden Pond in Concord. 

Video 1: On a winter afternoon as the sun is setting, springtails jumping on the pond surface create a delightful sparkling display.  

In a typical year, the pond fills with water in the autumn and winter and dries out by the following summer, making it “bare” (and explaining the reason for its name). Because of this cycle, the pond does not have any fish, making it ideal for breeding amphibians and their larval stages. 

The pond is a breeding site for the rare yellow-spotted salamander. “Save the salamanders” became the rallying cry of citizen efforts to protect this section of the Webster Woods. Wood frogs and spring peepers also breed in the pond.

Video 2: On Sunday, March 10 of this year, hundreds of wood frogs floated on the surface of the pond, creating a distinctive quacking chorus.