Fishing Pressure and the Shrinking Fish of Lake Turkana

By Ilian Medarov, Class of 2028 Figure 1: Lates niloticus, AKA the Nile perch In Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake, fish have been shrinking for a century. Madison F. Muehl and colleagues from Stony Brook University have set out to determine if growing commercial fishing pressure has impacted the biology of the fish species residing in the lake. Commercial fishing can drastically change the … Continue reading Fishing Pressure and the Shrinking Fish of Lake Turkana

Photocatalytic Removal of Methyl Red Dye from Water

By Samantha Libbey, Class of 2027 Figure 1: Polluted body of water. A major source of water pollution is industrial waste. One of the major contributors to this waste is the textile industry, where synthetic dyes are widely used and are not easily broken down in the environment. In response, researchers from the Kermanshah University of Technology set out to find a new method of … Continue reading Photocatalytic Removal of Methyl Red Dye from Water

Tiny Plastics, Big Impact: How Microplastics Affect Earthworms and Soil Health

Author: Diego Javier, Class of 2026 A concern that is emerging worldwide is plastic contamination in agricultural soils. Farmers frequently use plastic mulching films in order to improve crop yields and control weeds. However, these films can break down into tiny fragments, called microplastics, which are then ingested by soil organisms like earthworms and can affect soil health. In order to better understand these effects, … Continue reading Tiny Plastics, Big Impact: How Microplastics Affect Earthworms and Soil Health

Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Wildlife Conservation

Author: Amal Bilal, Class of 2028 Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a tool that can be leveraged to identify effective solutions for the current biodiversity crisis. As ecosystems are increasingly harmed by humanity, researchers are looking for ways in which AI can be used to create multimodal models that analyze ecological data to improve biodiversity loss predictions, track patterns in wildlife trade, and develop … Continue reading Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Wildlife Conservation