Latest University of Alaska Fairbanks Stories

Black bears show surprisingly significant and previously unobserved slowing of their metabolism during and after hibernation, according to a new study by scientists at the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.The amount of metabolic suppression surprised the researchers, since the bears exhibited only a moderate decrease in body temperature during hibernation."In general, an animal's metabolism slows to about half for each 10 degree (Celsius) drop in body...

By Carin StephensA University of Alaska Fairbanks fisheries scientist has teamed up with Alaska Power and Telephone to study how a new power-generating turbine affects fish in the Yukon River.So far, the news looks good for the fish."In the brief testing that we have been able to accomplish, we have no indication that the turbine has killed or even injured any fish," said Andrew Seitz, project leader and assistant professor of fisheries.Alaska Power and Telephone installed the in-stream...

Permafrost warming continues throughout a wide swath of the Northern Hemisphere, according to a team of scientists assembled during the recent International Polar Year.Their extensive findings, published in the April-June 2010 edition of Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, describe the thermal state of high-latitude permafrost during the International Polar Year, 2007-2009. Vladimir Romanovsky, a professor with the snow, ice and permafrost group at the University of Alaska Fairbanks...

Tracking fish across Alaska's vast continental shelves can present a challenge to any scientist studying Alaska's seas. Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have successfully tested a possible solution in the form of underwater gliders.Last month, Peter Winsor, associate professor of physical oceanography, and Andrew Seitz, assistant professor of fisheries, tested the use of autonomous underwater vehicles, called gliders, for tracking tagged fish. Winsor and Seitz suspended...

Boys face high rates of a variety of mental health issues, in addition to lagging behind girls in academic performance and college attendance, according to two new papers by University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Judith Kleinfeld.The studies, recently published in the journal Gender Issues, note that boys have higher rates of suicide, conduct disorders, emotional disturbance, premature death and juvenile delinquency than their female peers, as well as lower grades, test scores and college...

Much of circumpolar Arctic research focuses on the physical, direct changes resulting from climate warming such as sea ice retreat and temperature increases. "What's understudied is the living component of the Arctic and that includes humans," said Syndonia "Donie" Bret-Harte, associate professor of biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and co-author of a paper to be published September 11, 2009 in the journal Science.The paper reviews current knowledge on the ecological consequences...

A marine scientist said Alaska's $4.6 billion fishing industry might be in danger because marine waters in the area are turning acidic from absorbing greenhouse gases faster than tropical waters, The Associated Press reported.Jeremy Mathis, a chemical oceanographer at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said the same things that make Alaska's marine waters among the most productive in the world - cold, shallow depths and abundant marine life "“ also make them the most vulnerable to...

Two University of the Alaska Fairbanks researchers are among key contributors to a new national report that details visible effects of climate change in the United States and how today's choices stand to affect the future.The report, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," is the first to focus on observed and projected climate change and its effects specifically in the United States. UAF scientists A. David McGuire and John Walsh were part of a consortium of experts...

A newly released study by researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks offers evidence that in one breed of northern seabird, the size of males' feather crests may be more than simple ornamentation.Their study, published this month in of the Journal of Comparative Physiology B, shows that crest size may be a physical indicator of a male crested auklet's quality as a mate.Scientists have long noted that female auklets prefer males with larger crests. But until recently, they did not know...

Climate change seems to have no effect on Argentina's huge Perito Moreno glacier, which is flourishing despite the global warming that is melting others around it.Though the majority of the world's glaciers are thawing away from the warmer temperatures, scientists announced that the Perito Moreno ice field, called "The White Giant," is growing 10 feet daily from deep snowfalls in the Patagonia area."Glaciers don't respond solely to temperature changes," Martin Stuefer, a...