Tag Archives: Ecosystems

In the wake of the US Supreme Court decision that weakened the EPA’s capacity to protect wetlands, we explore the role of wetlands in sustainability, biodiversity, and the economy. What might the decision mean for our environment, and economy? We examine Sackett vs. EPA, in a broader context what this means for the implementation of the Clean Water Act, what it means specifically for wetlands. What is the implication of framing the EPA as being against economic development?

What exactly does “waters of the United States” mean as discussed in this decision? [ dur: 58mins.]

David Keiser is Professor in the Department of Resource Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is the co-author of The low but uncertain measured benefits of US water quality policy, Consequences of the Clean Water Act and the Demand for Water Quality and Economic effects of environmental crises: Evidence from Flint, Michigan.
Richard N. L. (Pete) Andrews is a Faculty Fellow of the Institute for the Environment and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is the author of Managing the Environment, Managing Ourselves: A History of American Environmental Policy.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin, Mihika Chechi, and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Consequence of Oil Spill on the Southern California Coast – October 31, 2021

October 30, 2021 host

Earlier this month, an oil spill devastated parts of the ecosystems off the coast of Southern California. We explore how to limit the destruction arising from oil production and spills during the transition away from fossil fuels. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Deborah Gordon is Senior Principal in the Climate Intelligence Program at Rocky Mountain Institute where she leads RMI’s Oil and Gas Solutions Initiative. She is also a senior fellow at the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University and the principal investigator for the Oil Climate Project. She is the author of No Standard Oil: Managing Abundant Petroleum in a Warming World.
Ron Tjeerdema is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology and the Donald G. Crosby Endowed Chair in Environmental Chemistry in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at University of California, Davis. He is the co-author of A Tale of Two Spills: Novel Science and Policy Implications of an Emerging New Oil Spill Model, Environmental variations and toxicological responses and Effects of dispersed and un-dispersed oil on developing topsmelt embryos.
Jill Sohm is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Program at the University of Southern California. She is the co-author of Microbial mats of the Dry Valleys: oases of activity in the cold desert and The distribution and relative ecological roles of autotrophic and heterotrophic diazotrophs in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica.
David Ginsberg is Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California. He is the co-author of Effects of depth-cycling on nutrient uptake and biomass production in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera and Methane Reduction Potential of Two Pacific Coast Macroalgae During in vitro Ruminant Fermentation.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Election Laws in America ; Underestimated Impact of Seabed Mining – August 15, 2021

August 14, 2021 host

Since the 2020 election, Republican state legislators have passed a series of laws intended to shrink the number of eligible voters in future elections. What are the legal implications and what does this mean for the future of American democracy? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 36mins. ]

Nicholas Stephanopoulos is Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is the author of The New Vote Dilution, Election Litigation in the Time of the Pandemic and Depoliticizing Redistricting.
Kimberly Wehle is Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She is the author of What You Need to Know about Voting—and Why and How to Read The Constitution—and Why.

The search for minerals is leading some corporations to begin mining the ocean floor but scientists warn that this could devastate fragile ecosystems that will have repercussions that we still don’t understand. What is going on in the deep sea? What precautions should be taken to prevent devastating fragile ecosystems? hosted by Maria Armooudian. [ dur: 22mins. ]

Craig Smith is Professor of Oceanography at the University of Hawai’i.
Verena Tunnicliffe is a marine biologist at the University of Victoria in Canada where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Deep Ocean Research.

They are co-authors of the study Deep Sea Misconceptions Cause Underestimation of Seabed-Mining Impacts.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – How are Environmental policies formed? and How is climate change reshaping oceans and marine life? – July 18, 2021

July 20, 2021 host

A look at changes in environmental policies on local, state, national and international levels. How are they formed? How do they converge? [ dur: 12mins. ]

Astrid Carrapatoso is assistant professor of political science at University of Feiberg, Germany. She has published many studies on climate change policy implemented by local, state, national and international governments. She is the author of The Greening of Free Trade: Domestic Politics and Environmental Issues in New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement Negotiations and co-editor of Climate-Resilient Development: Participatory solutions from developing countries. List of her publications can be found here .

How is climate change affecting the oceans and marine life? What are the interactions between the earth, the atmosphere, and the ocean, and how does that affect human life? What measures can people take to prevent massive environmental damage? [ dur: 46mins. ]

Karina Nielsen is Professor of Biology and Executive Director of Estuary and Ocean Science Center at San Francisco State University. She is the co-author of California’s 4th Climate Assessment: Coast and Ocean Summary Report and Emerging understanding of seagrass and kelp as an ocean acidification management tool in California, and Are meta-ecosystems organized hierarchically? A model and test in rocky inter-tidal habitats.
Stephen R. Palumbi is Jane and Marshall Steel Jr. Professor in Marine Sciences at Stanford University and the Harold A. Miller Director of the Hopkins Marine Station. He is the co-author of numerous publications including Using naturally occurring climate resilient corals to construct bleaching-resistant nurseries, Cobble community DNA as a tool to monitor patterns of biodiversity within kelp forest ecosystems, and Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services.
Scott Doney is Joe D. and Helen J. Kington Professor in Environmental Change in the Department of Environmental Sciences at University of Virginia. He is the co-author of numerous publications including A comprehensive global oceanic dataset of helium isotope and tritium measurements , Strengthened scientific support for the Endangerment Finding for atmospheric greenhouse gases , and Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms.

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – President Trump’s Rhetoric Analyzed -/- Rapid Rate of Species Extinction in Progress – November 17 , 2019

November 16, 2019 host

Does Trump use Nazi-Style rhetoric? Our guest says yes. [ dur: 17 mins. ]

David Livingstone Smith is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others, The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War, How Biology Shapes Philosophy and Why We Lie: Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind.

Then, what are the causes of the rapid rate of species extinction and what can be done. [ dur: 41 mins. ]

Anthony Barnosky is Executive Director of Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and an Emeritus Professor of Integrative Biology at University of California Berkeley. He is the author of Dodging Extinction—Power, Food, Money and the Future of Life on Earth and co-author of Tipping Point for Planet Earth—How Close Are We To The Edge (with Elizabeth Hadly).
Stuart Pimm is Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University. He is the author of A Scientist Audits the Earth, The Balance of Nature? Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities, and Patterns in Nature: The Analysis of Species Co-Occurences.
David Wilkie is Director of Conservation Measures for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is the author of Hunting for consensus: reconciling bushmeat harvest, conservation, and development policy in West and Central Africa, Valuation of consumption and sale of forest goods from a Central American rain forest, and Impacts of protected areas on local livelihoods in Cambodia.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Evidence of Crop Failure and Bird Colony Collapse -/- Earth’s magnetic field and it’s effect on birds, bees, whales and turtles – September 8 , 2019

September 7, 2019 host

First, Bird Colony collapse and crop failures.

Josh Tewksbury is Research Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder and Director of the Colorado Global Hub, Future Earth. He is also Executive Editor of Anthropocene magazine. He is the co-author of the studies Increase in crop losses to insect pests in a warming climate and De-faunation leads to interaction deficits, not interaction compensation, in an island seed dispersal network.
Curtis Deutsch is Associate Professor of Chemical Oceanography in the School of Oceanography at Washington University. He is the co-author of the studies Acceleration of oxygen decline in the tropical Pacific over the past decades by aerosol pollutants, Microbial functional diversity alters the structure and sensitivity of oxygen deficient zones, and Increase in crop losses to insect pests in a warming climate.
Steven R. Beissinger is Professor of Conservation Biology in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the co-author of the studies Mojave Desert Bird Populations Plummet as Region Warms and Dries and The push and pull of climate change causes heterogeneous shifts in avian elevation-al ranges.

Then, how do birds, bees, whales and turtles all use the earth’s magnetic field to guide their behavior? [ dur: 15mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ.

Andres Vidal Gadea is Professor of Molecular Neuroethology at Illinois State University. He is the co-author of Magnetosensitive neurons mediate geomagnetic orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans and Factors that influence magnetic orientation in C. elegans. JCPA.

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Stressed Oceans – May 20, 2018

May 19, 2018 host

Ocean life is under threat by multiple stressors: climate change, acidification, plastics, pollution, overfishing, overexploitation. We spend the hour with four experts of the seas. We discuss the realities facing our oceans and strides we’re making to protect, recover, and restore our oceans.[ dur: 58 mins. ]

Simon Thrush is Head of the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His publications include the research papers Real world biodiversity-ecosystem functioning: A seafloor perspective, The up-scaling of ecosystem functions in a heterogeneous world, Altered sea ice thickness and permanence affects benthic ecosystem functioning in Coastal Antarctica.
Rochelle Constantine is senior lecturer and marine biologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Her publications include the research papers Genotype-based estimates of local abundance and effective population size for Hector’s dolphins, Population structure of humpback whales in the western and central South Pacific Ocean as determined by vocal exchange among populations, and Environmental correlates of nearshore habitat distribution by the Critically Endangered Maūi dolphin.
Mohd Nordin Hassan is the founding director and Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI) of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. His publications include the book chapter International Experience in Ecosystem Services and Management in China, and the research paper Towards sustainable development? The evolution of environmental policy is Malaysia.
Daniel C. Hikuroa is senior lecturer at the Faculty of Arts in the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His publications include the research papers Maniapoto Upper Waipa River Fisheries Plan and Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari.

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Analysis of Ideology, Propaganda and Race -/- Rapid Rate of Extinction, why and what can be done – December 10, 2017

December 9, 2017 host

First, an analysis of ideology, propaganda and race. [ dur: 17 mins. ]

David Livingstone Smith is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others, The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War, How Biology Shapes Philosophy and Why We Lie: Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind.

Then, what are the causes of the rapid rate of species extinction and what can be done. [ dur: 41 mins. ]

Anthony Barnosky is Executive Director of Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and an Emeritus Professor of Integrative Biology at University of California Berkeley. He is the author of Dodging Extinction—Power, Food, Money and the Future of Life on Earth and co-author of Tipping Point for Planet Earth—How Close Are We To The Edge (with Elizabeth Hadly).
Stuart Pimm is Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University. He is the author of A Scientist Audits the Earth, The Balance of Nature? Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities, and Patterns in Nature: The Analysis of Species Co-Occurences.
David Wilkie is Director of Conservation Measures for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is the author of Hunting for consensus: reconciling bushmeat harvest, conservation, and development policy in West and Central Africa, Valuation of consumption and sale of forest goods from a Central American rain forest, and Impacts of protected areas on local livelihoods in Cambodia.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Tipping points of Eco-Systems and Climate – October 1, 2017

September 30, 2017 host

We spent the hour looking at the science of tippings and what they mean for our climate and our ecosystems on land and in water today. What causes these types of sudden changes? And how can society be better prepared for such events? We spoke with three scientists whose studies involve tipping points, how they happen and their effects.[ dur: 58mins. ]

Peter Ward is a Professor of Paleontology and Biology at the Earth and Space Sciences Department of the University of Washington, Seattle.He is the co-author of the best-selling Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe, the author of many books including, Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere, Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future, and The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive? which was listed by the New York Times as one of the “100 most important ideas of 2009.”
Simon Thrush is Professor of Marine Science and Head of the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckalnd in New Zealand, He is the co-author of many publications including, Real world biodiversity-ecosystem functioning: A seafloor perspective, The up-scaling of ecosystem functions in a heterogeneous world, and Altered Sea Ice Thickness and Permanence Affects Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Coastal Antarctica.
George Perry is a Professor at the School of Environment at the University of Auckland. He studies the effects of humans on forest ecosystems. He is the co-author of many publications including, Positive Feedbacks to Fire-Driven Deforestation Following Human Colonization of the South Island of New Zealand, Feedbacks and landscape-level vegetation dynamics, and Pyrodiversity is the coupling of biodiversity and fire regimes in food webs.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Oceans, life on the line – June 25, 2017

June 24, 2017 host 2 Comments

Simon Thrush is Head of the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His publications include the research papers Real world biodiversity-ecosystem functioning: A seafloor perspective, The up-scaling of ecosystem functions in a heterogeneous world, Altered sea ice thickness and permanence affects benthic ecosystem functioning in Coastal Antarctica.
Rochelle Constantine is senior lecturer and marine biologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Her publications include the research papers Genotype-based estimates of local abundance and effective population size for Hector’s dolphins, Population structure of humpback whales in the western and central South Pacific Ocean as determined by vocal exchange among populations, and Environmental correlates of nearshore habitat distribution by the Critically Endangered Maūi dolphin.
Mohd Nordin Hassan is the founding director and Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI) of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. His publications include the book chapter International Experience in Ecosystem Services and Management in China, and the research paper Towards sustainable development? The evolution of environmental policy is Malaysia.
Daniel C. Hikuroa is senior lecturer at the Faculty of Arts in the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His publications include the research papers Maniapoto Upper Waipa River Fisheries Plan and Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari.

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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The Scholars' Circle Interviews

Tag Archives: Ecosystems

Scholars’ Circle – Wetlands Protection, the Clean Water Act and the US Supreme Court – July 2, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – Consequence of Oil Spill on the Southern California Coast – October 31, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Election Laws in America ; Underestimated Impact of Seabed Mining – August 15, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – How are Environmental policies formed? and How is climate change reshaping oceans and marine life? – July 18, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Evidence of Crop Failure and Bird Colony Collapse -/- Earth’s magnetic field and it’s effect on birds, bees, whales and turtles – September 8 , 2019

Scholars’ Circle – Stressed Oceans – May 20, 2018

Scholars’ Circle – Tipping points of Eco-Systems and Climate – October 1, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Oceans, life on the line – June 25, 2017

By Maria Armoudian