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From UC Santa Cruz News New study shows plants struggle to keep pace with climate change in human-dominated landscapes December 06, 2021 By Allison Arteaga Soergel Researchers found that changes in plant phenology are lagging behind rising temperatures across a majority of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in the most human-dominated landscapes, like crop lands. Researchers at UC Santa Cruz are contributing new insights into the challenges plants face in adapting to climate change. Prior research [...]

Yiluan Song participated in the ESA-SEEDS Interdisciplinary Power of Data Workshop in Baltimore, Maryland. Over five days, graduate students and early career ecologists from diverse underrepresented groups learned about and explored opportunities for collaborative research using big data in ecology.

Yiluan received the E.C. Pielou Award from the Ecological Society of America (ESA) with her oral presentation "Novel data-driven method to model the nonlinear dynamics of leafing phenology" at the 2021 ESA Annual Meeting. The E.C. Pielou Award is given to graduate student(s) for their scientific contribution to statistical ecology. https://www.esa.org/stats/awards/e-c-pielou-award/   Congratulations, Yiluan!

Kai, together with Katia Obraczka (Computer Science and Engineering) and Ricardo Sanfelice (Electrical and Computer Engineering), received a $40,000 campus seed fund from the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS). The project focuses on wildfire risk assessment by developing a decision support tool with a drone-assisted IoT (Internet of Things) monitoring network. https://citris.sites.ucsc.edu/funded-projects/ EUREKA: A Decision Support Tool for Wildfire Risk Assessment Using a Drone-Assisted, Scalable and Efficient UAV-Assisted IoT [...]

Quantitative ecologist Kai Zhu wins NSF funding for climate change research and education UC Santa Cruz News July 02, 2021 By Allison Arteaga Soergel SHARE THIS STORY:TwitterFacebookLinkedInReddit Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Kai Zhu specializes in research that combines traditional ecology methods with cutting-edge data science tools. Changes in plant phenology—like earlier emergence of flowers and leaves in the spring—are a more easily observable impact of rising global average temperatures. Photo: Carolyn Lagattuta  Associate Professor of [...]

Lab members, partners, and friends enjoyed kayaking and group dinner in Elkhorn Slough as the first in-person gathering after normal life returns.

Yiluan Song is awarded the Hammett Fellowship established by Benjamin and Ruth Hammett in the Department of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz. The Hammett Fellowship funds interdisciplinary research on climate change or climate change and water issues. Yiluan will use this fellowship to improve the ecological forecasting of leafing and flowering phenology during climate change to inform public health.

From UC Santa Cruz News Climate change sends tropical species racing to higher elevations, while temperate counterparts lag behind Responses to rising temperatures vary by latitude, but researchers fear there may be no clear winners among these strategies May 17, 2021 By Allison Arteaga Soergel   Mount Karimui, in Papua New Guinea, is one example of a mountainous tropical environment where species are rapidly moving to higher altitudes in an attempt to escape warming temperatures. [...]

Kai and Prof. Yu Zhang (Electrical and Computer Engineering) are awarded a Collaborative Research Grant from the Committee of Research at UC Santa Cruz for 2021-2022. The research topic is to model and predict wildfires using artificial intelligence.

ESA Announcement UC Santa Cruz News UC Santa Cruz faculty recognized for excellence in ecology March 25, 2021 By Allison Arteaga Soergel   UC Santa Cruz Professor Ingrid Parker earned a 2021 ESA fellow award for her work partnering with resource managers to conserve biological diversity through invasive species removal and ecosystem restoration.  Professor Karen Holl's award recognizes her accomplishments in "bringing science into decision making," through her efforts to improve the effectiveness of tree-growing campaigns. Professor [...]