USGS news: August science picks(s.gov . Climate Impacts Mosquito Ab...)

Seasonal climate conditions cause changes in spring and summer mosquito abundance in California, according to recent scientific research. This research will help public health systems at local and state levels to forecast the abundance of disease carriers and the risk of viruses associated with the presence of mosquitoes. Scientists have identified that both precipitation and temperature fluctuations, from as early as the previous fall through early summer, impact mosquito populations. The mosquito species examined Culex tarsalis, carry encephalitis and West Nile Virus. To conduct this research, the science team, which included two USGS researchers, analyzed more than 50 years of weekly mosquito abundance records from California's comprehensive mosquito surveillance program. To read the report published in the Journal of Vector Ecology, visit http://www.sove.org/Journal%20PDF/June%202008/11-Reisen%20et%20al%2007-81.pdf. For more information, contact Dan Cayan at 858-534-4507 or drcayan@usgs.gov.

Scientists studying climate change in the Southwestern United States are getting a helping hand or paw from ancient packrats. By hoarding parts of plants and animals, such as seeds, leaves and bones in garbage piles, or "middens," these bushy-tailed rodents preserved crucial environmental information from specific times and places in the past. From these middens, scientists are able to reconstruct plant communities and their environments from as long ago as 50,000 years. The contents of middens allow scientists to understand how ecosystems responded to past changes in climate, especially periods of rapidly increasing temperature. The insights gained from midden research could offer c
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