Research

Scientists understand that fear of predation affects animal behavior within landscapes. Now, YSE researchers are using a similar hypothesis — which they are calling “social-ecological landscapes of fear” — to explore the need for conservationists to address negative human histories in their research.

The world’s wildlife populations have declined by almost 70% in the last 50 years as their habitats have been cleared by humans and polluted. Yet, animals play a crucial role in reforestation, a new study published in The Royal Society journal Philosophical Transactions has found.

Yale doctoral students Kristy Ferraro and Diego Ellis Soto developed a "roadmap" to quantify how the movement of animals of all shapes and sizes contribute to and remove nutrients within and across ecosystems. This work earned them the 2022 Sidnie Manton Award from the British Ecological Society.

YSE faculty members Mark Bradford, Karen Seto, Peter Raymond and Anthony Leiserowitz were recognized by Clarivate Analytics for their published research papers being among the most cited in their field.

A team of YSE-led researchers have now solved a 100-year-old paleontology mystery: How did ancient plants emerge from swamps and riverbanks to new habitats with limited access to water?

A YSE-led study details the severe degradation and deforestation caused by gold mining in tropical forests, as well as the biophysical challenges associated with effectively restoring these landscapes.

A new YSE-led analysis identifying gaps in maps that help forecast range contractions for African species found that all species studied have a portion of their range at risk.

A multi-scale lifecycle assessment conducted by Prof. Yuan Yao and researchers from the Center for Industrial Ecology explains how eco-friendly uses for urban tree waste could substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. cities.

A team of researchers led by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at YSE surveyed couples about their ideas on climate change and found that while many partners exhibited similar beliefs and behaviors around climate change, there also were some discrepancies.

A new study, co-authored by researchers from The Forest School at YSE, examines how New Haven’s urban forest patches change over time and management strategies for mid-size urban forests.

The United States is among four nations projected to fall far short of the net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target established by the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact — with over 50% of global emissions expected to come from the U.S., China, India, and Russia by 2050.

Andis Arietta’s doctoral research found that frogs have evolved in response to climate change in recent years, but that continued warming would likely outpace the species’s ability to adapt to extreme environmental change.

Study finds that though air pollution is highly regulated in California, environmental policy as a whole is not protecting all communities in an equal way: Regulatory machinery has been preferentially protecting White, non-Hispanic people from exposure.

Providing some hope in the push for climate action, the IPCC report’s chapter on urban mitigation, led by Yale School of the Environment Professor Karen Seto, outlines how cities have an opportunity to increase resource efficiency and significantly reduce GHG emissions through smarter design and greener infrastructure.

A first of its kind study focusing on infrastructure inequality finds that infrastructure inequalities are ingrained in the urbanization process.