Understanding drivers of mercury in lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), a top-predator fish in southwest Alaska's parklands.

Mercury (Hg) is a widespread element and persistent pollutant, harmful to fish, wildlife, and humans in its organic, methylated form. The risk of Hg contamination is driven by factors that regulate Hg loading, methylation, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification. In remote locations, with infrequent access and limited data, understanding the relative importance of these factors can pose a challenge.

Intervention initiatives to raise young people's interest and participation in STEM.

For nearly a decade, two science interventions anchored in project-based learning (PBL) principles have been shown to increase student science learning in 3 grade and high school physical science classes. Both interventions employed a randomized control trial of several thousand students (N = 3,271 in 3 grade and N = 4,238 in 10, 11, and 12 grades). Incorporating a rich background of research studies and reports, the two interventions are based on the ideas of PBL as well as the National Academies of Science's publications, including how children learn; how science learning and instruction can be transformed; and the performance expectations for science learning articulated in the Next Generation of Science Standards.

Using carbon, nitrogen, and mercury isotope values to distinguish mercury sources to Alaskan lake trout.

Lake trout (), collected from 13 remote lakes located in southwestern Alaska, were analyzed for carbon, nitrogen, and mercury (Hg) stable isotope values to assess the importance of migrating oceanic salmon, volcanic activity, and atmospheric deposition to fish Hg burden. Methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation in phytoplankton (5.0 - 6.

U.S. and Finnish high school science engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, research teams in the United States and Finland were collaborating on a study to improve adolescent academic engagement in chemistry and physics and the impact remote teaching on academic, social, and emotional learning. The ongoing "Crafting Engaging Science Environments" (CESE) intervention afforded a rare data collection opportunity. In the United States, students were surveyed at the beginning of the school year and again in May, providing information for the same 751 students from before and during the pandemic.

Nest use dynamics of an undisturbed population of bald eagles.

Management or conservation targets based on demographic rates should be evaluated within the context of expected population dynamics of the species of interest. Wild populations can experience stable, cyclical, or complex dynamics, therefore undisturbed populations can provide background needed to evaluate programmatic success. Many raptor species have recovered from large declines caused by environmental contaminants, making them strong candidates for ongoing efforts to understand population dynamics and ecosystem processes in response to human-caused stressors.