Science

A male red-winged blackbird displays his showy red patches and calls to a rival male (Gina Vose photo)

On the Trails: Birds and beetles at Kingfisher Pond

Something is almost always happening at Kingfisher Pond.

A male red-winged blackbird displays his showy red patches and calls to a rival male (Gina Vose photo)
Heather Best (in water), a USGS hydrologist, prepares to toss a road-grader blade with a river-measuring device attached into the Yukon River near Eagle, Alaska. USGS hydrologic technician Liz Richards watches for icebergs. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Wading into the icy Yukon River for science

EAGLE, ALASKA — Snow geese flew in a ragged V overhead, rasping as they looked down upon Alaska’s bumpy face for the first time in… Continue reading

Heather Best (in water), a USGS hydrologist, prepares to toss a road-grader blade with a river-measuring device attached into the Yukon River near Eagle, Alaska. USGS hydrologic technician Liz Richards watches for icebergs. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
A golden-crowned sparrow nibbled on elderberry flower buds. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Enjoying birds, blooms and more near the Mendenhall Glacier

The trail to Nugget Falls was a lively place in early May.

A golden-crowned sparrow nibbled on elderberry flower buds. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)
A white-winged scoter handles a prickly sea urchin. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: An April scrapbook of little observations

Spring wings and other things.

A white-winged scoter handles a prickly sea urchin. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)
The frozen Yukon River at Eagle, Alaska, in February 2020. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Awaiting river breakup on the Yukon

By Ned Rozell Andy Bassich lives on the south bank of the Yukon River, about 12 miles downstream from Eagle, Alaska, the first community in… Continue reading

The frozen Yukon River at Eagle, Alaska, in February 2020. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
This photo shows black garden ants tending citrus mealybug. When injured, colonial animals such as ants and bees, may emit a type of alarm signal that also calls in reinforcements, to help repel possible danger.(Courtesy Photo / Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C)

On the Trails: The smell of fear

It’s not fiction.

This photo shows black garden ants tending citrus mealybug. When injured, colonial animals such as ants and bees, may emit a type of alarm signal that also calls in reinforcements, to help repel possible danger.(Courtesy Photo / Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C)
The author’s dog Cora rides a canoe on the Yukon River. Two-thirds of all the flowing water in Alaska makes its way into the Yukon. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Alaska’s water crop is a natural resource

Alaska’s freshwater supply is so abundant the numbers are hard to comprehend.

The author’s dog Cora rides a canoe on the Yukon River. Two-thirds of all the flowing water in Alaska makes its way into the Yukon. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
Dachshund dogs wait in a box before competition at a dog show in Dortmund, Germany, on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017. Research released on Thursday, April 28, 2022, confirms what dog lovers know _ every pup is truly an individual. A new study has found that many of the popular stereotypes about the behavior of specific breeds aren’t supported by science. (AP Photo / Martin Meissner)

Your dog’s personality may have little to do with its breed

By Christina Larson AP Science Writer WASHINGTON — Research confirms what dog lovers know — every pup is truly an individual. Many of the popular… Continue reading

Dachshund dogs wait in a box before competition at a dog show in Dortmund, Germany, on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017. Research released on Thursday, April 28, 2022, confirms what dog lovers know _ every pup is truly an individual. A new study has found that many of the popular stereotypes about the behavior of specific breeds aren’t supported by science. (AP Photo / Martin Meissner)
George Divoky and his friend Matt Thomas pose in front of Divoky’s cabin on Cooper Island after repairing polar-bear damage in April, 2022. (Courtesy Photo / Craig George)

Alaska Science Forum: His 48th summer on top of the world

In the ’80s, 225 pairs of black guillemots nested on Cooper Island. Last year: 25 pairs counted.

George Divoky and his friend Matt Thomas pose in front of Divoky’s cabin on Cooper Island after repairing polar-bear damage in April, 2022. (Courtesy Photo / Craig George)
Nikki is an old favorite that we see near the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center; here she is with a couple of new cubs. Black bears mate in early summer, but the fertilized egg is not implanted until fall; then gestation takes about seven months, resulting in a tiny cub that won’t emerge from the den until early summer. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)

On the Trails: Reproductive delays in mammals

By Mary F. Willson For the Juneau Empire Human animals have a simple, direct system: copulation and sperm delivery may lead to fertilization of an… Continue reading

Nikki is an old favorite that we see near the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center; here she is with a couple of new cubs. Black bears mate in early summer, but the fertilized egg is not implanted until fall; then gestation takes about seven months, resulting in a tiny cub that won’t emerge from the den until early summer. (Courtesy Photo / Kerry Howard)
Two dogs greet each other Jan. 7, 2022, when the temperature was minus 22F and the sun set before 5 p.m. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Endless northern winter about to end

The end is in sight.

Two dogs greet each other Jan. 7, 2022, when the temperature was minus 22F and the sun set before 5 p.m. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
This photo, available under a Creative Commons license, shows a European robin. While its name is similar to that of the American robin, they are not closely related. (Courtesy Photo / Charles J. Sharp)

On the Trails: Same name, very different birds

A tale of two (or more) robins.

This photo, available under a Creative Commons license, shows a European robin. While its name is similar to that of the American robin, they are not closely related. (Courtesy Photo / Charles J. Sharp)
The paw of an anesthetized female lynx trapped north of the Arctic Circle that weighed 22 pounds. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Live-trapping lynx in the far north

By Ned Rozell NORTH OF COLDFOOT — The lynx looks out from inside a chicken-wire cage. Despite its loss of freedom and the nearby squeaking… Continue reading

The paw of an anesthetized female lynx trapped north of the Arctic Circle that weighed 22 pounds. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
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Sustainable Alaska: Cosmic consciousness, Earth Day, and the magic of time and space

Earlier this spring I had the great privilege of skiing from Knik Lake to McGrath…

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On the Trails: Whelks learning and hemlocks fluting

Whelk-learned individuals.

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UAF ecologist Knut Kielland listens for a lynx he collared last year not far from Wiseman, Alaska. Mount Dillon, part of the Brooks Range, stands in the background. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Happenings north of the Arctic Circle

Though the calendar calls it springtime, the thermometer on the truck reads minus 28 F…

UAF ecologist Knut Kielland listens for a lynx he collared last year not far from Wiseman, Alaska. Mount Dillon, part of the Brooks Range, stands in the background. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)
An injured coyote with only three usable legs has survived over a year, hunting small mammals. (Courtesy Photo / Cheryl Cook)

On the Trails: Wild animals surviving serious injuries

To be adaptive, the benefits have to outweigh such costs.

An injured coyote with only three usable legs has survived over a year, hunting small mammals. (Courtesy Photo / Cheryl Cook)
Henry Allen a few decades after he — as a 26-year-old — crossed Alaska on foot and by boats in a U.S. government-sponsored expedition. (Public domain photo)

Alaska Science Forum: Across Alaska in one summer

Rotten moose meat unlikely to supplant birthday cake.

Henry Allen a few decades after he — as a 26-year-old — crossed Alaska on foot and by boats in a U.S. government-sponsored expedition. (Public domain photo)
Blueberry flowers bloom in some sites in early March (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Waiting for spring

Critters and plants are getting ready for spring

Blueberry flowers bloom in some sites in early March (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)
Chignik Lake is the first of two lakes in the Chignik River system; it is longer and deeper than the second lake, Black Lake, which is wide and shallow. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

The Salmon State: A tale of two salmon

Chignik has two genetically distinct runs of sockey

Chignik Lake is the first of two lakes in the Chignik River system; it is longer and deeper than the second lake, Black Lake, which is wide and shallow. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)