Ben Letcher, Andrew Whiteley, Jason Coombs and Keith Nislow‘s Brook Trout Study Identifies Top Climate Change Pressure Factor

Ben Letcher, Andrew Whiteley, Jason Coombs and Keith Nislow‘s Brook Trout Study Identifies Top Climate Change Pressure Factor

Story also featured in ScienceDaily:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151130182518.htm Courtesy of UMass News & Media UMass Amherst, Forest Service, USGS scientists track more than 15,000 brook trout November 30, 2015 Contact: Janet Lathrop 413/545-0444 AMHERST, Mass. – Results from a 15-year study of factors affecting population levels of Eastern brook trout in the face of climate change show that high summer air temperatures have a large influence, in particular on the smallest fry and eggs, which are most important to wild trout abundance in streams. Co-author Ben Letcher, fisheries biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey and adjunct faculty in environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says, “It took years of sampling four streams and tracking more than 15,000 individual fish, but we feel we can account for about 90 percent of the yearly variation in abundance. The bottom line is that high summer temperatures are bad. That is unfortunate because summer air temperature is expected to increase with climate change and extreme rain is also expected to...
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Joseph Elkinton’s Winter Moth Study Featured in Boston Globe

Joseph Elkinton’s Winter Moth Study Featured in Boston Globe

Joseph S. Elkinton, Environmental Conservation, says there is likely going to be an overall increase in the number of winter moths that are showing up in parts of New England this year. Elkinton has been trying to control the winter moths by releasing a type of fly that eats them. He says at a release site in Wellesley the number of winters moths appears to be down so far this year. Better results will be available later this winter, Elkinton says in the Boston Globe.    ...
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BCT Program Wins 2015 USGBC West Branch “Green Giants” Award!

BCT Program Wins 2015 USGBC West Branch “Green Giants” Award!

The UMass Amherst Building and Construction Technology program was honored on December 1st, 2015 at a joint WMAIA/USGBC event at Hampshire College for our efforts in educating future leaders in green building and sustainability. Program director Alexander Schreyer and Associate Professor Peggi Clouston accepted the award on behalf of the BCT program. This is a biannual award and we are very proud to have received it this year. From the program description: The Green Giants program honors the work of trades people, educators, and owners/program directors who help build, teach about, envision and fund green buildings in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Berkshire counties. This program is intentionally distinct from other building awards in that it honors a wider range of participants in the sustainable building industry of our region. This is the second year of the West Branch Biannual Green Giants Awards program. This award reflects the amazing work of our faculty, adjunct faculty, and our student groups. They are all engaged on a daily...
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