Resources
Education is a life-long journey for knowledge, and science information or data can be found as near as your computer screen. This webpage provides Internet links to the world of curiosity and inquiry.
Ecosystem Services
RAY ENTZ, Director of Wildlife and Terrestrial Resources for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, has 30+ years of local experience in maintaining ecosystem services for the benefit of generations of Tribal members. His understanding and viewpoints incorporate the knowledge of aboriginal people who lived on the land for millennia.
Ray lays out two pathways to explain ecosystem services. The first is an introductory essay in print titled ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH!. The term "ecosystem services" refers to the benefits that humans derive from functioning ecosystems. Modern scientists have summarized those into at least four categories of natural benefit. "Provisioning" services include water, food, or materials. "Controlling" benefits might retain sediment or allow pollination. "Supporting" services provide nutrient cycling or refugia. And "cultural" benefits could be recreation, knowledge, or spiritual satisfaction. To read Ray's essay, follow this link.
The second pathway is a follow-up February 10, 2022 virtual presentation titled ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: THE FREE LUNCH THEORY. Ray's narrative and imagery begins with how ecosystem services fed, clothed, sheltered, and enriched the indigenous people of our area. They found many of life's necessities within 2.3 million acres along the Pend Oreille River and neighboring periphery. Their environment of today has changed in positive, negative, and unnatural ways that require the Tribe to use modern and ancient strategies to prosper. Here is a link to Ray's entertaining YouTube .
RAY ENTZ, Director of Wildlife and Terrestrial Resources for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, has 30+ years of local experience in maintaining ecosystem services for the benefit of generations of Tribal members. His understanding and viewpoints incorporate the knowledge of aboriginal people who lived on the land for millennia.
Ray lays out two pathways to explain ecosystem services. The first is an introductory essay in print titled ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH!. The term "ecosystem services" refers to the benefits that humans derive from functioning ecosystems. Modern scientists have summarized those into at least four categories of natural benefit. "Provisioning" services include water, food, or materials. "Controlling" benefits might retain sediment or allow pollination. "Supporting" services provide nutrient cycling or refugia. And "cultural" benefits could be recreation, knowledge, or spiritual satisfaction. To read Ray's essay, follow this link.
The second pathway is a follow-up February 10, 2022 virtual presentation titled ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: THE FREE LUNCH THEORY. Ray's narrative and imagery begins with how ecosystem services fed, clothed, sheltered, and enriched the indigenous people of our area. They found many of life's necessities within 2.3 million acres along the Pend Oreille River and neighboring periphery. Their environment of today has changed in positive, negative, and unnatural ways that require the Tribe to use modern and ancient strategies to prosper. Here is a link to Ray's entertaining YouTube .
How to Read and Understand a Scientific Paper: A Step-by-Step Guide for Non-Scientists.
To form a truly educated opinion on a scientific subject, you need to become familiar with current research in that field. And to be able to distinguish between good and bad interpretations of research, you have to be willing and able to read the primary research literature for yourself. Reading and understanding research papers is a skill that every single doctor and scientist had to learn during graduate school. You can learn it too, but like any skill it takes patience and practice. Details here...
To form a truly educated opinion on a scientific subject, you need to become familiar with current research in that field. And to be able to distinguish between good and bad interpretations of research, you have to be willing and able to read the primary research literature for yourself. Reading and understanding research papers is a skill that every single doctor and scientist had to learn during graduate school. You can learn it too, but like any skill it takes patience and practice. Details here...
Feather Atlas.
This website promotes feather identification, research, and appreciation by providing high-resolution scans of the flight feathers of North American birds. This is an ongoing project, and new species are added regularly. Details here....
This website promotes feather identification, research, and appreciation by providing high-resolution scans of the flight feathers of North American birds. This is an ongoing project, and new species are added regularly. Details here....
Ask Dr. Universe.
This is an online science education project developed by Washington State University. If you have a science question, they have the answer on subjects ranging from aging to zombies. Examples: How do ladybugs survive the winter? In space, which way is up? Why do humans have earwax?
Details here…
This is an online science education project developed by Washington State University. If you have a science question, they have the answer on subjects ranging from aging to zombies. Examples: How do ladybugs survive the winter? In space, which way is up? Why do humans have earwax?
Details here…
What's An Ologist?
Each branch of science knowledge has a specific name that usually ends in the suffix “ology”. The name for a practitioner of that branch usually ends with the suffix “ologist”. Some names are familiar (e.g. biology is the study of life and is practiced by a biologist), while others seem straight from outer space (e.g. xylology and xylologist, respectively). For fun, find the scientific name for the study of horses, or for the study of underground water. Details here… or here...
Each branch of science knowledge has a specific name that usually ends in the suffix “ology”. The name for a practitioner of that branch usually ends with the suffix “ologist”. Some names are familiar (e.g. biology is the study of life and is practiced by a biologist), while others seem straight from outer space (e.g. xylology and xylologist, respectively). For fun, find the scientific name for the study of horses, or for the study of underground water. Details here… or here...
Longevity Records: Life Spans of Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, Reptiles, & Fish.
Who of us haven't wondered how long vertebrate animals live? This website has that data for animals in captivity (or in the wild), and sometimes by sex. Imagine the credibility you would enjoy if, during a conversation at dinner or the office, you could announce that the oldest known western aquatic garter snake lived 7.7 years? Details here... |
Short film focuses on Washington’s Sagebrush Sea
shared by the Wildlife Society. https://youtu.be/NfhM9vLQD-0
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Conservation Northwest, produced the 12-minute film “This Land is Part of Us” to bring attention to the region
shared by the Wildlife Society. https://youtu.be/NfhM9vLQD-0
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Conservation Northwest, produced the 12-minute film “This Land is Part of Us” to bring attention to the region
BE BEAR AWARE tales from a Geography of Hope series presentation sponsored by the Alaska Wilderness League — with Drew Hamilton and Bjorn Dilhe highlighting Bjorn’s upcoming book “A Shape in the Dark” — offered a unique chance to experience Alaska’s brown and black bears and learn from Bjorn’s lifelong experiences with and passion for these animals. Bjorn shared stories of his time exploring under the old-growth canopies in the Tongass National Forest, home to one of the densest brown bear populations on the planet. Bjorn and League staff also shared how this critical habitat has been exempted from Roadless Rule protections that would otherwise prevent unnecessary roadbuilding and preserve millions of acres that are vital for bears, Alexander Archipelago wolves, pacific salmon, bald eagles and many more species of wildlife. Upcoming presentations:
Photographic Inspiration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with Chad Brown (Tuesday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET)
Alaska’s land, its people, and global evolution: An artist’s perspective (Tuesday, April 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET)
Photographic Inspiration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with Chad Brown (Tuesday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET)
Alaska’s land, its people, and global evolution: An artist’s perspective (Tuesday, April 6 at 7:00 p.m. ET)
TED Talk Science Seminar Videos.
> Indigenous Knowledge Meets Science to Solve Climate Change. (13:00) Mar. 2020.
> This is Your Brain on Air Pollution. (12:52) Feb. 2020.
> How We Can Protect Truth in the Age of Misinformation. (15:03) Dec. 2019.
(Shown at the January 2020 SAS Annual Meeting of Members)
> How I’m Using Biological Data to Tell Better Stories -- and Spark Social Change. (7:49) Dec. 2019.
> How We Experience Awe -- and Why it Matters. (14:48) Oct. 2019.
> We Need to Track the World’s Water Like We Track Weather. (13:29) Sept. 2019.
> The Secret Language of Trees. (4:18) July 2019.
> 3 Kinds of Bias That Shape Your Worldview. (12:21) Dec. 2018.
> What to Trust in a “Post Truth” World. (17:47) Nov. 2018.
> How to See Past Your Own Perspective and Find Truth. (12:18) Apr. 2017.
> Indigenous Knowledge Meets Science to Solve Climate Change. (13:00) Mar. 2020.
> This is Your Brain on Air Pollution. (12:52) Feb. 2020.
> How We Can Protect Truth in the Age of Misinformation. (15:03) Dec. 2019.
(Shown at the January 2020 SAS Annual Meeting of Members)
> How I’m Using Biological Data to Tell Better Stories -- and Spark Social Change. (7:49) Dec. 2019.
> How We Experience Awe -- and Why it Matters. (14:48) Oct. 2019.
> We Need to Track the World’s Water Like We Track Weather. (13:29) Sept. 2019.
> The Secret Language of Trees. (4:18) July 2019.
> 3 Kinds of Bias That Shape Your Worldview. (12:21) Dec. 2018.
> What to Trust in a “Post Truth” World. (17:47) Nov. 2018.
> How to See Past Your Own Perspective and Find Truth. (12:18) Apr. 2017.