Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment最新文献

{"title":"Castaway coconuts","authors":"Adrian Burton","doi":"10.1002/fee.2693","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2693","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Had you lived in the Maldives in centuries long past, you might just have stumbled across a huge “nut” – the largest in the world – washing up on your beach. There would be no mistaking it, its remarkable shape and size identifying it beyond all doubt (Figure 1). Unfortunately, you wouldn't have been able to keep it; local law demanded (upon pain of hand amputation or even death!) that it be immediately turned over to the king. These rare, exotic curiosities, then believed to have a plethora of medicinal (and aphrodisiacal) properties, were worth a small fortune across the Indian Ocean, China, and Europe (that is, before a French sea captain trashed the market in 1769, but more about him later), hence the royal interest. However, as you left the ruler's court, no one could stop you pondering where the thing had come from. Indeed, nobody knew – nor could they have guessed the biological tragedy that its unveiling would reveal.</p><p>Certainly, no tree in the Maldives produced these “double coconuts”. Nor was one known in India, Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), the Malay Peninsula, or any of the other lands from where the bygone sailors and traders who plied the waters around the Maldives hailed. This lack of a clear, terrestrial origin, plus the fact that these huge seeds were more commonly found floating in the sea, led to the belief that they were produced by trees that grew on the ocean floor. Some marine-origin stories were, however, a bit more fanciful than others. Antonio Pigafetta, who sailed with Magellan on his round-the-world voyage, wrote in his 1525 account of that trip about a fabled tree (home to the Garuda, a fantastical, gigantic bird) that grew in the ocean, surrounded by whirlpools, somewhere beyond Java, that produced a fruit known as a “Buapanganghi…larger than a watermelon”, and that “those fruits which are frequently found in the sea came from that place” (from <i>The First Voyage Round the World by Magellan</i>, printed in 1874 for the Hakluyt Society, London). You get the feeling that not even Pigafetta believed it, but that didn't stop these “fruits” becoming known in Europe as <i>cocos de mer</i>, which is French, giving me the perfect segway back to that sea captain fellow.</p><p>Alright, you now need to know. These enormous seeds are produced by a palm tree that grows not on the seabed, but in the Seychelles: namely, <i>Lodoicea maldivica</i>. The person to figure this out was a chap known as Barré, who sailed with Marc Joseph Marion Dufresne to the then-uninhabited Seychelles in 1768 (if the mystery was ever solved by anyone who sailed that way before the French got there, no trace of that discovery is left). Another French seafarer, Lazare Picault, did record these palms growing on the islands in 1744, but he failed to put two and two together and connect the nut with the tree – arithmetic that Barré got right. Doing more mathematics, Jean Duchemin (<i>this</i> is the guy), who took command of Marion Dufresne's exped","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"21 10","pages":"504"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2693","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138468545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editors’ note","authors":"Richard L Wallace, Peter D Mooreside, Sabrina M Levey","doi":"10.1002/fee.2688","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2688","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"21 10","pages":"452"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138468490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tree frogs serve as a hotel for moth flies","authors":"Katherine González,&nbsp;Jaime Culebras","doi":"10.1002/fee.2692","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2692","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Antagonistic interactions between frogs and insects are generally well-documented. In typical predator–prey interactions, these taxa feed on one another at different life stages. Moreover, insects can function as disease vectors or as parasites of frogs, an example being myiasis-causing flies. However, certain antagonistic interactions between frogs and insects are poorly known, specifically interactions that are mediated by sensory cues such as sound or smell. Here, we report an unusual association between <i>Hyloscirtus lindae</i> (Hylidae) and moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae, Sycoracinae).</p><p>On 26 September 2021, JC observed more than 50 individual moth flies (<i>Sycorax</i> sp) on one male <i>H lindae</i> in a high-elevation Andean cloud forest (around 3000 m above sea level) within Ecuador's Napo province. The male tree frog was actively calling from a <i>Guadua</i> bamboo, at 1.5 m above the ground, under a light rain, close to a small creek. Meanwhile, male and female moth flies interacted with each other on the frog while the frog was calling. This reproductive behavior, known as lekking, has been previously observed in moth flies of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, specifically upon frogs of the Bufonidae, Microhylidae, and Megophryidae families. Similarly, in Ecuador, male moth flies are suspected to congregate on frogs to locate female moth flies with which to mate. <i>Sycorax</i> moth flies have been documented forming leks on actively calling male frogs, who advertise their presence to conspecific females through acoustic vocalizations. One possible explanation for how moth flies locate male frogs is through eavesdropping of the male frog advertisement signal. However, no study has tested this behavior to date. It has been previously suggested that moth flies form leks on male frogs because it provides an opportunity for lekking female moth flies to partake of a blood meal after copulating; however, we did not observe feeding on this occasion.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"21 10","pages":"498"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2692","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138468543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impulse and momentum","authors":"Scott Collins","doi":"10.1002/fee.2689","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2689","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;It is both an honor and a privilege to be selected as the next Editor-in-Chief of &lt;i&gt;Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment&lt;/i&gt;, which will be starting its 22nd year of publication in 2024. The journal is an amazing legacy of Sue Silver, whose creative energy and leadership helped to establish and define the journal for many years. I will be taking over this role from Rich Wallace, who further increased the journal's impact while streamlining its many moving parts. I guess that means I am batting third. I hope I don't strike out. During their stints as Editors-in-Chief, Sue and Rich were full-time employees of the Ecological Society of America (ESA). In my case, I will be the first Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of &lt;i&gt;Frontiers&lt;/i&gt; with a full-time academic job. Fortunately for me, Rich remains with ESA as the Director of Publishing, so I can bug him whenever I need to.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;According to some dictionary I found online, impulse is “a strong and unreflective urge or desire to act”. Unreflective may best define my impulse to apply for the EiC job. I impulsively applied for the EiC position because I believed I had the experience necessary to do the job. In December 2023 I completed two terms (six years) of service as EiC of &lt;i&gt;BioScience&lt;/i&gt;, the journal published by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). At the time I was thrown into the deep end of the pool because the previous editor left somewhat suddenly to take on editorial duties elsewhere. I had a lot to learn, and fast. Fortunately, I had fantastic help and guidance from the Senior Editor of &lt;i&gt;BioScience&lt;/i&gt; along with a very strong supporting network of AIBS staff. As EiC of &lt;i&gt;BioScience&lt;/i&gt; I interacted with and provided guidance to authors, met regularly with journal staff to stay on task, developed and communicated with Editorial Board members, encouraged submissions, and oversaw recruitment of special features. Furthermore, I worked hard to expand and diversify the Editorial Board both internationally and through recruiting members of underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In addition, I increased the gender equity of the Editorial Board. I plan to bring this experience to &lt;i&gt;Frontiers&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;Frontiers&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;BioScience&lt;/i&gt; have much in common regarding content and operation. Both are broadly interdisciplinary journals that publish content strongly aimed at management and application. Also, both journals use the ScholarOne manuscript-handling software to challenge authors. I really enjoyed working for AIBS, and at the end of my six years I especially enjoyed the lack of emails in my inbox each morning. In the case of &lt;i&gt;BioScience&lt;/i&gt;, I was also the first academic EiC following a series of editors who were full-time employees of AIBS. I'm starting to get the feeling that I represent a cost-savings to scientific societies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I have been an active member of ESA throughout my career. As Chair of the ESA Publicatio","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"21 10","pages":"451"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2689","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138468541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tree removals as socioecological experiments in cities","authors":"Caragh G Threlfall,&nbsp;Camilo Ordóñez-Barona,&nbsp;Stephen J Livesley,&nbsp;Jess Baumann,&nbsp;David Callow,&nbsp;Melanie Davern,&nbsp;Alex English,&nbsp;Richard A Fuller,&nbsp;Kelly Hertzog,&nbsp;Dieter F Hochuli,&nbsp;Rodney van der Ree,&nbsp;Dave Kendal","doi":"10.1002/fee.2686","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fee.2686","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As keystone structures in urban ecosystems, trees are critical to addressing many of the current livability, health, and environmental challenges facing cities. Every day, trees are removed from urban landscapes as part of routine management. These tree removals are an opportunity for implementing manipulative experiments to directly measure the social and ecological functions of trees. Here we review the kinds of tree removals that commonly occur in cities, assess the relevant opportunities that arise for research–practice partnerships, and discuss the challenges posed when implementing experiments of this nature. We argue that experimental studies on the routine removal of urban trees will improve and expand the mechanistic understanding of how trees support biodiversity and human well-being in cities beyond current knowledge, which is largely based on correlative studies. Finally, we highlight the opportunity for experiments to be co-designed by scientists and urban land managers, and how “learning while doing” can generate tangible research impacts and improve urban forest decision making.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2686","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135680909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Overcoming obstacles to prescribed fire in the North American Mediterranean climate zone","authors":"John N Williams,&nbsp;Lenya Quinn-Davidson,&nbsp;Hugh D Safford,&nbsp;Ashley Grupenhoff,&nbsp;Beth Rose Middleton,&nbsp;Joe Restaino,&nbsp;Edward Smith,&nbsp;Chris Adlam,&nbsp;Hiram Rivera-Huerta","doi":"10.1002/fee.2687","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fee.2687","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Prescribed fire is an important management tool for restoring fire-adapted ecosystems and mitigating the risk of high-severity wildfire in the North American Mediterranean climate zone (NAMCZ), much of which was historically characterized by frequent low- to moderate-severity fire. For over a century, policies that excluded fire, curtailed Indigenous cultural burning, and prioritized timber harvesting have, in combination with anthropogenic climate warming, driven large-scale, high-severity fires that are wreaking ecological and socioeconomic havoc. Despite its recognized need, the use of prescribed fire at appropriate scale has been slow to occur. We describe some of the principal obstacles to increasing the application of prescribed fire in the NAMCZ and suggest four strategies for policy makers and high-level managers to overcome them: (1) redoubling federal and state agency commitment and rewarding assertive leadership, (2) increasing funding for prevention-focused management (as opposed to suppression), (3) building capacity through cooperation, and (4) expanding monitoring to inform burn strategies and adaptive management.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2687","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135684511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Glass-like flowers in the rain","authors":"Tsubasa Toji","doi":"10.1002/fee.2684","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2684","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In June 2022 during the <i>Tsuyu</i>, a month-long season of persistent light rain unique to East Asia, I observed <i>Diphylleia grayi</i> flowers taking on a fantastic glass-like appearance in Nagano, Japan. Endemic to Japan and Sakhalin but distributed mostly in central Japan, the species is known informally as the “skeleton flower” outside of Japan. In dry weather, the petals of the skeleton flower appear white because light is diffusely reflected by numerous air-filled gaps in their cellular structure. When these gaps become filled with rain, however, the petals become transparent – a phenomenon that has attracted the attention of materials scientists (<i>ACS Appl Mater Interfaces</i> 2018; doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b12490). Notably, the petals do not become transparent immediately after rain begins to fall; rather, light rain must fall continuously for about one day. Also, even after the weather clears, the petals remain temporarily transparent, until they dry.</p><p>Three <i>Diphylleia</i> species are known. In addition to <i>D grayi</i>, the familiar skeleton flower, <i>Diphylleia sinensis</i> occurs in central China, and <i>Diphylleia cymosa</i> is found in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern US (<i>J Arnold Arbor</i> 1984; doi.org/10.5962/p.36691). However, it is not known whether the flower petals of these two species also become transparent during rainy weather. If transparent petals are unique to <i>D grayi</i>, they may be an adaptation to the <i>Tsuyu</i>. What ecological function might the transparent petals have? Do flowers with transparent petals provide signals for pollinating insects? Is it possible to discern whether insect pollinators are more or less likely to visit flowers with transparent petals versus those with white petals, despite the potentially confounding presence of rain?</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"21 9","pages":"443"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71919574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Choosing suitable hosts","authors":"Marcelo O Gonzaga","doi":"10.1002/fee.2682","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2682","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The parasitoid wasp <i>Hymenoepimecis bicolor</i> (Ichneumonidae) is able to manipulate the web-building behavior of its host, the golden silk orb-weaver <i>Trichonephila clavipes</i> (Araneidae). The host spider constructs a modified and complex web, which serves not only as a stable platform to suspend the wasp larva's cocoon but also as a barrier against hyperparasitoids and potential predators. Before depositing an egg on the host spider's abdomen, the <i>H bicolor</i> female immobilizes the spider by inserting its ovipositor – and releasing paralyzing substances – into the spider's mouth. Selecting a host of the proper size is essential: too small a spider may provide an insufficient source of food for the developing larva, whereas too large a spider may pose a serious risk during host interception and immobilization.</p><p>The attacking and subduing behaviors of polysphinctine wasps are not well known but may involve sophisticated sequences, including pulling a thread of the intended host's web with the foreleg, imitating struggling prey, to attract the spider (<i>Entomol Sci</i> 2009; doi.org/10.1111/j.1479-8298.2009.00338.x) and waiting for an opportunity to attack while resting on the web's non-viscid barrier threads (<i>Naturwissenschaften</i> 2007; doi.org/10.1007/s00114-006-0177-z). The above-described direct attack behavior of <i>H bicolor</i>, however, is preceded by a short period in which the wasp hovers around the potential host. Would it be possible for the female wasp to correctly evaluate the risks and quality of their potential hosts with just a quick visual inspection? Are chemical cues involved in host selection?</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"21 9","pages":"410"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71919567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Disgusting, delicious durians","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/fee.2685","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2685","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;On the stairway in a rather nice hotel where I stayed once in Thailand, a prominent plaque insisted: &lt;i&gt;No durians&lt;/i&gt;. Bananas, fine; papaya, no problem; rambutan, knock yourself out. But the spiky, foot-long products of &lt;i&gt;Durio&lt;/i&gt; spp (commonly &lt;i&gt;Durio zibethinus&lt;/i&gt;)? Absolutely not! Yet durian flesh is widely regarded as exquisite (Figure 1). So why ban it? The renowned English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace can answer that: “When brought into a house the smell is often so offensive that some persons can never bear to taste it” (&lt;i&gt;The Malay Archipelago&lt;/i&gt; 1869; &lt;b&gt;1&lt;/b&gt;: 117, London: Macmillan &amp; Co). Sadly, the above plaque offered no solution to the evolutionary conundrum of why a fruit, ostensibly seeking the dispersal of its seeds through its wonderful taste, should reek enough to ward potential helpers away.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That durians stink is uncontested. Writers have described them as smelling like everything from rotten onions to raw sewage, and the experience of eating the flesh as ranging from consuming carrion in custard to ingesting raspberry blancmange in a lavatory, and even to kissing a corpse (https://tinyurl.com/zu6r56uu). Getting beyond the stench is hard, but it brings its reward, as Wallace himself noted: “This was my own case when I first tried it in Malacca, but in Borneo I found a ripe fruit on the ground, and, eating it out of doors, I at once became a confirmed durian eater”.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The &lt;i&gt;how&lt;/i&gt; part of the durian's funk has more recently been clarified. Analyses have revealed the fruit to produce over 40 odor-active compounds, many reminiscent of onions (raw, rotten, and roasted), along with others that conjure up the aromas of skunk, cabbage, and sulfur, tempered with soup-seasoning and caramel (&lt;i&gt;J Agric Food Chem&lt;/i&gt; 2012; &lt;b&gt;60&lt;/b&gt;: 11253–62). And as durians get riper they get smellier, producing ever more ethionine, which enzymes then convert into the fruits’ signature “stink bomb”: ethanethiol (&lt;i&gt;J Agric Food Chem&lt;/i&gt; 2020; &lt;b&gt;68&lt;/b&gt;: 10397–402). Even in minute quantities humans can detect its malodorous, garlicky-cabbage whiff (and given our paltry olfactory powers, that really does say something about ethanethiol!). But where is the evolutionary advantage in all this?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It's a tricky one. Some might argue that the colors, scents, sizes, tastes, and shapes of fruits have evolved to match the abilities of the animals that disperse them; clearly it's little help being too big for an intended bird's beak, or being red if a target primate can’t distinguish that color. But others might disagree, arguing that fruits are commonly eaten by many disperser species; just how could they match the needs (including the aromatic requisites) of all of them? So what about durians? Is their odor a use&lt;i&gt;less&lt;/i&gt;, counterproductive byproduct as it might appear to be, or could it be a very use&lt;i&gt;ful&lt;/i&gt; signal that worked out because some potential dispersers, more inquisitive or more desperate for food, found, like W","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"21 9","pages":"448"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71919575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fostering ecological understanding in and engagement with local communities","authors":"Lauren McGrath","doi":"10.1002/fee.2681","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2681","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;While growing up in the forests and fields of northeastern Pennsylvania, I spent time with some of the best homegrown naturalists in the country. Anglers, hunters, and trackers taught me firsthand how to look at nature, as they themselves had been instructed by previous generations – and I was gifted with taxonomic keys for identifying plants and wildlife, which sparked what would be a lifelong desire to understand the natural world. It was not until after I left rural Pennsylvania and found my way into higher educational spaces when my “formal” introduction to ecology started.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But while I continued on an ecologist's path I began to repeatedly ask myself an important question: “&lt;i&gt;Do I belong here?&lt;/i&gt;” The further I became involved in my research and schooling, the more I felt the need to adopt scholarly language, at the expense of being able to speak to the community of naturalists in the forests and fields where I grew up. As I pursued my degrees, I delved deeper into ecology until it was all I could see. It was not until after graduating with my master's degree, when I began work at a small nonprofit land trust, that I realized I had become disconnected from the sense of wonder that had first drawn me to this discipline. Bogged down by the constant news of habitat loss due to development, the loss of protections for sensitive ecosystems, and the brutality of climate-change-driven disasters, I questioned the impact of my efforts. If I were to key myself out in my professional landscape, I would not know where I belonged.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I have met many scientists pursuing critical ecological questions who feel either separated from the impacts of their work or unwelcome in decision-making circles where their voices are desperately needed. Ecologists are trained to identify, to question, and to probe relationships in nature, but how many of us learn the ways to share that information with a wide public audience? How can we bridge the divide between the rigors of scientific research and the broad discussions of policy or application of theory to the natural places we love? In my experience, the answer is straightforward: first listen, understand the social context, then share.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In my transition from academia to a nonprofit I was forced to reckon with a painful reality: my degrees in science are effectively in a language that the people in my local community do not speak. Only by recentering on my community's needs was I able to understand where my work was necessary: helping residents in local watersheds build emotional connections with their neighboring streams. These people did not feel passionate about the population dynamics of stream insects or patterns in eel migrations; instead, they cared about the danger of their homes flooding and the safety of their children from potentially polluted waters. It is my responsibility to meet community members where they live and ensure they feel welcome where discussions about water resources are ta","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"21 9","pages":"403"},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71919577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}