Climate change takes wing
Associate Professor of Biology Ravinder Sehgal was interviewed for a Sept. 25 Sacramento Bee article about the detection of avian malaria in Alaskan birds. "Right now, there's no avian malaria above latitude 64 degrees. But in the future, with global warming, that will certainly change." Sehgal said. "The parasite can affect the fitness of the birds, meaning how many eggs the birds may lay… it can kill many birds, too, such as penguins, and many birds in Hawaii went extinct in large part because of avian malaria."
Penny wise
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Alex Gerould discussed strategies to reduce crime in the city of San Jose despite a shrinking police force, for a Sept. 24 San Jose Mercury News report. "If they've had to cut back on a gang suppression unit, well, that's one of the last things that you should cut because that's an area involving the most serious violent crimes. You cut back in that area, and the crime rate really will go up," Gerould said, adding that an overall drop in national crime rates is credited to that kind of targeted policing.
Sea vomit
KCAW Radio Alaska on Sept. 24 discussed with Associate Professor of Biology Sarah Cohen her efforts to find a way to eradicate an invasive species of sea squirt in Alaska, dubbed "Sea Vomit" by locals. "The first thing we faced after brainstorming about different things to try for killing them was, 'Gee, how do we assess if they’re dead or not?'" Cohen said. "If you are used to studying fish, that’s just not something you get challenged by."
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