Fitness in a Changing World

The stickleback fish, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is one of the most thoroughly studied organisms in the wild, and has been a particularly useful model for understanding variation in physiology, behavior, life history and morphology caused by different ecological situations in the wild.On biological levels from molecular and genetic to developmental and morphological, and finally ending with the population level, it has proven far more complex than even imagined.Studies of ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112436&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Health Standards Exceeded by Ozone Pollution in Wildfires

Wildfires can boost ozone pollution to levels that violate U.S. health standards, a new study concludes.The research, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., focused on California wildfires in 2007, finding that they repeatedly caused ground-level ozone to spike to unhealthy levels across a broad area, including much of rural California as well as neighboring Nevada.Results of the study are published today in the journal ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112403&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.