Science Moab

Moab Utah is home to an incredible amount of dinosaur tracks. Here we learn why there are some many tracks around Moab, how tracks are studied, and what we can learn about prehistoric ecology through these fossilized footprints.

Pinyon-juniper forests and woodlands are found across the Colorado Plateau. These ecosystems are expanding into new areas where they have not been in human memory, at the same time increased temperatures and reduced precipitation due to climate change are resulting in huge mortality events of pinyon and some juniper trees. Here, Dr. Nichole Barger helps break down this dichotomy

Out in desert ecosystems, plants are interacting with one another in unseen ways. Here, Dr. Alex Filazzola explains the many and surprising ways that plants living side by side can affect one another. These effects can play a big role in how ecosystems are ultimately structured, with lessons for how we manage and restore our landscapes

Biological soil crusts are an enigmatic sight on the Colorado Plateau. In this show, we explore what biocrusts are doing out in the desert. We speak with Colin Tucker and Natalie Day to learn about the research and efforts going on to understand and restore these fragile soil communities.

The tamarisk beetle has reshaped riparian areas along the Colorado River. Here, we talk with Tim Graham about his work monitoring these biocontrols. We learn about the history of testing and releasing the tamarisk beetle, how the beetle has done with controlling tamarisk along the rivers, and why the dead tamarisk we now see serve important roles in riparian areas.

A show about seeds waiting in the desert soil with Dr. Akasha Faist. We find out kind of seeds are there, what they need to germinate, and how scientists study the surprisingly mysterious world of soil seed banks.

As both the fire season and the amount of fire continue to increase in the Southwest, researchers and managers are working to figure out the best ways to reduce the sometimes incredible amounts of erosion that happen after wildfire. We speak with Henry Grover who studies the native mosses that can colonize hill slopes after severe fires. His work explores both the ecology and application of these mosses as a way to restore burned areas.

The desert both breathes out and pulls in carbon to and from the atmosphere. Here we talk with Dr. Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi about that process by exploring a field called biogeochemistry. We hear about the different kinds of carbon that exists in ecosystems, and how it is transformed and moved through the fascinating and dynamic carbon cycle.

Understanding physical features of rivers and streams can give information about what is happening upstream and down. Here we talk about geomorphology with Christopher Ely. We explore Amazonian headwater streams in the Andes Mountains of southern Ecuador, and how the tools used to studying these high elevation streams can be applied to studying rivers and streams around the world and here on the Colorado Plateau.

What were mammals like when dinosaurs roamed the earth? We explore the fascinating world of mammals living at the time of dinosaurs with Dr. Brian Davis. We learn about what they ate, who ate them, and how these small creatures evolved to become the mammals we see today.

The Colorado Plateau holds an incredible amount of native plant diversity, however past and current land use practices and future climate change threaten the diversity and abundance of our native plant species. Here, with Dr. Daniel Winkler, we explore how land management programs and non-profit partners are using programs like Seeds of Success and the Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program to collect native seeds and make them available for research and restoration.

Southeast Utah and the Colorado Plateau is home to a diverse number of pollinators. Here we get a fascinating look at the relationships between pollinators and plants. We explore how they evolved together, pollinator types on the Colorado Plateau, and what the future holds for pollinators with Molly McCormick.

There are many efforts going on within national park to restore degraded ecosystems. From using biological controls, to weeding and seeding, to anticipating the effects of climate change, the national parks of southeastern Utah are actively being managed to return or maintain ecological function. Here, we speak with NPS ecologist Liz Ballenger about what ecological restoration means for national parks within the Colorado Plateau.

Climate change will result in lasting changes for the ecosystems of the Colorado Plateau. Here, we talk with Dr. Scott Ferrenberg about what the ecosystems of this region may look like in the future. We learn how scientists study climate change and how our ecological communities are expected to change as the planet warms.

Bark beetles evolved to live in western forests. But in recent decades the number of beetles has grown so large that they are killing millions of acres of forests. Here, we talk to Dr. Richard Hofstetter about these now infamous beetles. We learn about what these beetles do for forests, what happens when their numbers swell out of control, and the acoustic research that might help keep them in check.

Water can be a formidable force in the desert. From carving canyons to cutting arroyos, water has the power to form the landscapes around us. Today on Science Moab, we learn how water shapes the earth with Dr. Taylor Joyal, a fluvial-geo-morphologist studying earth shaping processes.

When you’re walking over the desert soil, you’re walking over huge amounts of fungi. These fungi are connected to the roots of grasses and shrubs, gathering the nutrients these plants need to survive. Here, we speak with world renowned soil ecologist Dr. Nancy Johnson and hear about the evolutionary past and current roles of these understudied and truly fascinating organisms.

The geology of the Colorado Plateau is amazingly exposed and incredibly dramatic. Here, we get to hear about the forces and slow passage of time that shaped the Plateau as we see it today. We hear from Drs. Scott Ritter and Tom Morris as they walk us through iconic and lesser known places, describing why our landscape looks like the way it does.

In the deserts, the soil surface is alive. The soil is covered with lichens, mosses, cyanobacteria, algae, fungi and other microorganisms that together are called biological soil crusts. Here, we talk with Dr. Matthew Bowker who studies these cryptic communities and works to put them back into the landscape.

Humans have been using and modifying the ecosystems around on the Colorado Plateau for thousands of years. To understand human relationships with the land, we talk with Kate Magargal, who combines archaeology and ecology to ask how people who lived in the Southwest interacted with the landscape around them, specifically through gathering food, wood, and using fire as a tool. We explore what her findings can tell us about how to manage our landscapes into the future.