Research alert! A new study shows how climate change affected the diversity of Congo River fish during glacial periods—crucial knowledge for understanding modern threats to fish in this species-rich region.

Over the last about 2.6 million years, polar ice caps have continuously expanded and retracted during glacial and interglacial cycles. This is thought to be a significant driver of biodiversity on land, but less is known about its effect on freshwater systems, especially in the Congo River. 

Using molecular tools, scientists focused on four species of fish endemic to the lower Congo River, known as lamprologine cichlids. Their findings, published in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology, suggest speciation of Congo fish likely occurred when the river’s water level decreased, isolating populations of fish into smaller pockets of water, leading to the rise of new species over time. 

Learn more about how climate change impacts river fish.

Image: © Melanie Stiassny, Lamprologus lethops pictured

What do rocks, coral, and trees have in common? Find out with Museum Education Experience Program (MEEP) interns Claire and Fred.

The Museum is looking for fall interns! Applications are open through August 23. Apply now!

Teachers: Earn graduate credit and advance your career in six weeks with our flexible online courses! Connect with the Museum’s scientists, labs, exhibitions, and specimens. You can choose from a variety of courses ranging from Marine Biology and the Solar System to Climate Change and Virology. The courses are asynchronous, providing participants with the flexibility to complete weekly activities at their own pace—and can be taken anywhere at any time! Subject to school/district approval, courses may be used toward professional development, salary advancement, and recertification. Sign up for our summer session today—classes start July 8!

Photo: A. Keding / © AMNH

By studying calcifying organisms, Leanne aims to better understand the impacts of human activity on marine ecosystems. Through her research, she hopes to influence policy that helps protect marine calcifiers in the future.

“Why is this important? The idea is that the more porous the shell, the weaker it is. Mussels need strong, robust shells to protect their inner soft organs—and that strong 3D structure is important for ecosystem function as habitat formers and storm defenses.

Currently, the changes seen in shell porosity are not large enough to influence the material properties, so we aren’t seeing weaker shells just yet. But with further warming in our oceans being predicted, this could potentially lead to even more porous shells, potentially impacting mussels’ function as habitat formers and storm defenses, as well as their ability to protect themselves from predation,” Melbourne explains.

Learn more about her research here.

On Wednesday, November 1: Join us for an inside look at New Jersey's offshore wind program, and the opportunities and challenges associated with transitioning to clean energy. Kira Lawrence, Senior Scientist in New Jersey's Division of Clean Energy, will present a case study on the state's roadmap for achieving 100% clean energy by 2035. This program is presented in collaboration with the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).

Tickets are free with RSVP! Details: https://bit.ly/3FvrQON

To study past climate, scientists have extracted several ice cores from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Scientists drilled through the ice sheet to the bedrock for five years to retrieve the full 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) core. Records from polar ice cores can span 100,000 years or more. The study of ancient climate is key to understanding how the climate system works—and how it might change in the future. Geologic records going back millions of years show that natural patterns, like shifts in Earth’s orbit, can steer dramatic changes. These records reveal that carbon dioxide (CO2) and warming are closely linked, and that natural forces cannot account for the changes taking place today. Atmospheric CO2 is now higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years, and probably in the past three million years. And it continues to rise rapidly. See a model of a segment of a core known as GISP2 in the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth’s updated climate change and paleoclimate exhibits, which reopen on Saturday, July 7. Photo: D. Finnin/©AMNH

Talking about #climatechange today? 

Here are some fast facts so you know what’s at stake.

Climate change may seem far away in some parts of the world, but for Pacific Islanders, its effects are very real. In August 2016, anthropologist Jennifer Newell led a Constantine S. Niarchos Expedition to the Marshall Islands to study how communities there are reacting to flooding, drought, and other effects of climate change, and how they are navigating an uncertain future.

The first Earth Day was in 1970. What’s changed since? Our population has doubled. We’re emitting 2.4 times more CO2. Sea levels have risen 4 inches. But the world has also changed for the better. See how our actions since 1970 have added up.

Polar Bear Diet Changes as Sea Ice Melts

“There is little doubt that polar bears are very susceptible as global climate change continues to drastically alter the landscape of the northern polar regions,” said Robert Rockwell, a research associate in the Museum’s Department of Ornithology. “But we’re finding that they might be more resilient than is commonly thought.”

Polar bears are listed as a threatened species under the United States Endangered Species Act and are classified as “vulnerable” with declining populations on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List. Climate warming is reducing the availability of their ice habitat, especially in the spring when polar bears gain most of their annual fat reserves by consuming seal pups before coming ashore for the summer. The new work, led by Rockwell and Linda Gormezano, a postdoctoral researcher in the Museum’s Division of Vertebrate Zoology, examines how polar bears might compensate for energy deficits from decreasing seal-hunting opportunities.

Read more about this research on the blog.

In today’s New York Times, a story documents the plight of the Uru-Murato people, an indigenous group that had lived off the bounty of Lake Poopó in Bolivia, until it’s waters dried up in 2015. 

Similarly, many island residents around the world are in danger of becoming climate change refugees. In 2014, Jennifer Newell, curator of Pacific Ethnography, and Tina Stege of the Marshallese Educational Initiative, discussed how island life is being affected by the rising seas:

NEW PODCAST: 2016 Environmental Lecture and Luncheon: Public Health in a Dynamic Environment

here are a tremendous number of factors driving change in our environment. From climate change to international trade and travel to industrial pollution, humans are altering the local and global ecosystems, with unexpected and unprecedented effects on our health. What are the effects we are already seeing, and how can we prepare for what’s to come?

Download this lecture as a podcast.

Hey kids! Learn how to be an energy saver.

When it comes to global warming, our personal actions can make a big difference—if millions of people do it! Together, we can lower carbon dioxide emissions and lessen the impacts of climate change.

Check out a list of some things that you and your family can do to save energy.

Six Extinctions in Six Minutes

In this new episode of Shelf Life, we present six tales of extinctions, and what collections can tell us about life on our planet. Six researchers share 60-second stories about organisms that may be gone, but not forgotten.

Learn more about this NEW EPISODE of Shelf Life.

The Marshall Islands Are Disappearing

In today’s New York Times, a story describes how the destructive power of climate change is already an inescapable part of daily life in the Marshall Islands:

During a 2014 SciCafe, Jennifer Newell, curator of Pacific Ethnography, and Tina Stege of the Marshallese Educational Initiative, discussed how island life is being affected by the rising seas:

Download this lecture as a podcast.

Photo: NYTimes/Josh Haner

The Museum’s acclaimed climate change course is now available on Coursera!

The offering, Our Earth’s Future, is about the science of climate change and how to talk about it. Those who register for this free, online class will learn from scientists in the fields of climatology, oceanography, Earth science, and anthropology who study how climate change is affecting people, populations, and ways of life. Explore the multiple lines of evidence for the human-induced climate change that is happening today, and consider what that means for the future of our planet. At the end of this course you will be able to understand key scientific principles, identify and address misconceptions, and contribute confidently to conversations about climate change.

Coursera is an education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take. Our Earth’s Future is one of four Coursera offerings brought to the public by the American Museum of Natural History. Learn more. 

Tonight at 7 pm EST! Watch part 4 of Saving My Tomorrow from HBO Documentary Films, featuring scientists from the American Museum of Natural History.

Learn more.