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Species shows resilience despite general decline in abundance

Heather Kenny, a biology master’s student at �鶹�ƽ��, has spent the past two years studying the parenting behavior of bluebirds. Specifically, she is working to understand how human-made noise influences nesting and productivity.

The �鶹�ƽ�� community celebrated Earth Week virtually this spring, working with other Virginia universities to offer events accessible to the public through multiple online platforms.

Greater tropical rainfall may increase microbes’ release of CO2 from soils into air, according to a study conducted by an international team led by Dr. Christopher Hein of �鶹�ƽ��’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

A new study by Zach Conrad, assistant professor in �鶹�ƽ��’s Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences, finds that the average American consumer spends roughly $1,300 per year on food that ends up being wasted.

The research lab of Patty Zwollo, an immunologist and professor of biology at �鶹�ƽ��, has discovered that just as whales swallow plastic thinking it’s food, some cellular components of the immune system in fish “swallow” bits of microplastic that they mistake for invading pathogens.

Professor Rob Hale of �鶹�ƽ��’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science is lead author of a new “Grand Challenges” paper commissioned to mark the 100th anniversary of the American Geophysical Union, the world’s largest association of Earth and space scientists with more than 60,000 members in 137 countries.

The annual update of their sea level “report cards” by researchers at �鶹�ƽ��’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science adds evidence of an accelerating rate of sea-level rise at nearly all tidal stations along the U.S. coastline.

That natural, bee-produced sweetener you stir into your tea and lavish on your toast may be laced with cesium-137.

The leaders of �鶹�ƽ��’s Institute for Integrative Conservation envision their nascent enterprise as a smooth pathway to the empowerment of students with the knowledge and skills to engage in the knotty environmental issues of the 21st century.

�鶹�ƽ�� has signed a power purchase agreement with Dominion Energy that will source nearly 50% of the university’s electricity from renewable energy.

Dan Cristol, a professor in the Department of Biology at �鶹�ƽ��, will publish his 200th “Birding” column in the Virginia Gazette on November 23.

A team of �鶹�ƽ�� geologists led by Jim Kaste and Nick Balascio has mined the time-capsule sediment of Lake Matoaka to find evidence that traces the development of the Industrial Revolution and the Age of the Automobile.