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Evolutionary ecology
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August 11, 2023
Fulbright Scholar Dr. Shweta Basnett to speak on Rhododendron pollinators
By Juliana S. Medeiros, PhD, Plant Biologist
Visiting Fulbright Scholar Dr. Shweta Basnett will hold lecture to highlight global diversity of Rhododendron pollinators and sensitivity to climate change. Dr. Shweta Basnett, Fulbright Scholar, University of Maryland, will... more
July 28, 2023
Analyzing Wildflower Phenology Across Botanical Gardens
By Chelsea Miller, PhD, Ecologist
In addition to being beautiful public greenspaces, botanical gardens and arboreta house valuable biological information. These living museums present a unique opportunity for scientists in the form of ready-made experimental... more
July 26, 2023
Holden Researcher Will Study How Microbes Alter How Plants Respond to Climate Change with Prestigious Award from the NSF
By Anna Funk, Science Communications Specialist
There’s an entire universe of microscopic life, living in us, on us, and all around us, too small for the naked eye to see. The more researchers learn about these... more
April 27, 2023
Forest Wildflowers and their Overstory Trees Are Changing with Climate, But Not Always Keeping Pace
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE In North America, wildflowers called spring ephemerals are losing the window in which they can grow. But forest communities on other continents are seeing different trends. For... more
November 4, 2022
Which plants live where? Follow the ants to find out!
Dr. Chelsea Miller No man is an island — and the same goes for organisms living in the natural world. It might seem like a plant growing on the forest... more
October 19, 2022
Why do Flowers Smell?
By Nicholas Chilson, Gardener
When you visit the Holden Arboretum or the Cleveland Botanical Garden, you can’t just spend all your time looking at our flowers. You need to smell them too! Of our... more
August 24, 2022
Spotted Lanternfly
By Bernadette Gallagher, Gardener
The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, is an invasive leafhopper making its way into our region. Originally from China, India, and Vietnam, it is thought to have made its way stateside... more
August 24, 2022
Milkweed: Beneficial and Beautiful
By Lori Gogolin, Horticulturist
Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) are beneficial host plants for the Monarch butterflies. The plant provides the adult female Monarch with a place to lay her eggs. Once those eggs hatch the... more
August 24, 2022
Lip Sumac-ing Good: Wonderful, and Edible Sumac
By Heather Wade, Gardener
Peeking up above the Echinacea, Phlox, and turtlehead in the Holden Arboretum’s, Arlene and Arthur S. Holden Jr. Butterfly Garden are the bright red, cone-shape infructescence of the staghorn sumac.... more
March 17, 2022
A short tale about hemlock trees, bacteria and a nasty insect
By David J. Burke, PhD, Vice President for Science and Conservation
By David Burke, PhD Many of us love our native hemlock trees (Tsuga canadensis). They are beautiful, but more than that, they serve an important ecological role in many of... more
February 23, 2022
Decoding the scent of flowers
Holden Forests & Gardens Scientist Na Wei, Ph.D., and her collaborators from Oakland University andthe University of Pittsburgh decoded the scent of flowers and its influence on flower microbes. Flowers... more
September 8, 2021
Breaking News: Pollinators contribute to flowering plant diversity
Holden Forests & Gardens (HF&G) Scientist Na Wei, Ph.D., and her collaborators from the University of Pittsburgh and East Tennessee State University discovered how pollinators may contribute to the maintenance... more
September 3, 2021
Pest Alert: Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula)
The invasive spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) has been found on Cleveland’s east side. This discovery matters greatly to Northeast Ohioans. Here are the details we have thus far: At a Glance The invasive Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) has... more
February 5, 2021
Biotic Homogenization – Changes in biodiversity with urbanization in vacant lots
By Megan Herrmann, Graduate Student, Cleveland State University
By Megan Herrmann, master’s student at Cleveland State University in the Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences Department The current biodiversity crisis seen in headlines has many overarching implications for ecosystems... more
July 31, 2020
Frugivory and its impact on forest health
By Alexa Wagner, PhD Candidate
Ohio’s forests have changed over the last 200 years. Few old-growth forests remain as much of the land was timbered and cleared for agriculture in the early 19th century. Most... more
July 24, 2020
How does “the early bird gets the worm” play out in plant communities?
By Katie Stuble, PhD, Research Chair
You’ve heard the phrase “the early bird gets the worm”. We use it to indicate that getting somewhere first can come with big benefits. It’s snagging the choicest donuts in... more
July 3, 2020
The surprising way Jack-in-the-Pulpit initiates pollination…
By Sarah Kyker, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Some of the most fun stories we have in science are about surprising discoveries. Most people think of these as “eureka” moments. We can picture a scientist in a lab... more
April 17, 2020
Long-term Research in Forest Ecology in Stebbins Gulch
By David J. Burke, PhD, Vice President for Science and Conservation
We began our long-term climate research in Stebbins Gulch in 2006. Our goal was to monitor how plants and soil fungi that associate with plant roots (called mycorrhizal fungi) respond to... more
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