Sept. 4, 2012

The revelation that tigers and people are sharing exactly the same space – such as the same roads and trails – of Chitwan National Park flies in the face of long-held convictions in tiger conservation circles. It also underscores how successful conservation efforts need sciences that takes into account both nature and humans.

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Aug. 23, 2012

A recent study of residential landscape types and native bird communities in Phoenix, Ariz., led by a CHANS-Net member, suggests that yards mimicking native vegetation and wildlands offer birds "mini refuges," helping to offset the loss of biodiversity in cities and supporting birds better than traditional grass lawns and non-native plantings.

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Aug. 7, 2012

To protect a dangerous and endangered animal -- be it a tiger in Nepal or a wolf in Michigan -- you really do have to ask people “how do you FEEL about your predatory neighbor?”

Effective conservation calls for not only figuring out what protected species need – like habitat and food sources. It also requires an understanding of what it takes for their human neighbors to tolerate them. A Michigan State University doctoral student studying tigers in Nepal found that those feelings can provide critical information on how best to protect species.

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July 30, 2012

Nothing inspires environmentalism quite like a smog-filled sky or a contaminated river, according to a new study that also indicates that environmentalism isn’t just for the prosperous.

People living in China’s cities who say they’ve been exposed to environmental harm are more likely to be green: re-using their plastic grocery bags or recycling. Moreover, the study, published this week in the international journal AMBIO, indicates that the poor would sacrifice economic gain to protect their environment.

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July 18, 2012

As spatial planning is used increasingly to manage fisheries and other ocean resources, researchers are working to determine the best ways to use and refine the various spatial management tools. Among them are marine protected areas (MPAs), one of the most common methods, which limit or entirely curtail fishing in a given area.

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June 30, 2012

Vincent Ostrom,  founding director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis based at Indiana University and the Arthur F. Bentley Professor Emeritus of Political Science, died Friday. He was 92. His wife, Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Science, died June 12.

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June 28, 2012

The MacArthur Foundation recently approved a $500,000 grant to support improving the scientific understanding of water and fisheries resource use in the Tonle Sap region of Cambodia. CHANS-Net member Les Kaufman, lead PI and Boston University professor of biology, sees the grant enhancing the growing study of coupled human and natural systems (CHANS).

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June 20, 2012

The ancient reserves of methane gas seeping from the melting Arctic ice cap told CHANS-Net member Jeff Chanton and fellow researchers what they already knew: As the permafrost thaws, there is a release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that causes climate warming.

The trick was figuring out how much, said Chanton, the John W. Winchester Professor of Oceanography at Florida State University.

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June 18, 2012

Table of Contents

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June 15, 2012

Ten exceptional junior scholars studying coupled human and natural systems will have a unique opportunity to interact and network with scientific thought leaders at the 2012 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in December as part of the CHANS Fellows program.

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