Mike Kaspari
@mikekaspari.bsky.social
I’m a college professor immersed in #teaching and #ecology. I visit lots of ecosystems, combine observations and simple experiments, and look for generalities. I #garden, #cook, play #music and #read to round things out.
No worries, mate. He’s got yer back.
November 26, 2025 at 12:11 AM
No worries, mate. He’s got yer back.
IMPORTANT: Konza LTER invested professional careers building and curating these datasets. The NSF LTER program, like all big science projects linked to global change, is in political peril. Let your reps know that turning out the lights on these investments will leave us all in darkness.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
IMPORTANT: Konza LTER invested professional careers building and curating these datasets. The NSF LTER program, like all big science projects linked to global change, is in political peril. Let your reps know that turning out the lights on these investments will leave us all in darkness.
As grassland plant communities are re-organized due to climate change, grass feeders will find more, but less nutritious food. Already we see grasshoppers declining and taking longer to reach reproductive age on Konza. Meanwhile, forb feeders will have to hunt harder to find less of their food.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
As grassland plant communities are re-organized due to climate change, grass feeders will find more, but less nutritious food. Already we see grasshoppers declining and taking longer to reach reproductive age on Konza. Meanwhile, forb feeders will have to hunt harder to find less of their food.
Woody plants, like this Cornus, were less well sampled over time, and show less change in nutrient density.
Even as impenetrable thickets spring up on Konza when and where fires are less common.
Even as impenetrable thickets spring up on Konza when and where fires are less common.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Woody plants, like this Cornus, were less well sampled over time, and show less change in nutrient density.
Even as impenetrable thickets spring up on Konza when and where fires are less common.
Even as impenetrable thickets spring up on Konza when and where fires are less common.
The middle column reveals how nutrient-rich forbs show less Nutrient Dilution with competition but a surprising increase in half the elements as CO2 rises.
We suggest forbs use +CO2 to fuel nutrient harvest as the doubling of grass biomass increases shading and demand for effective photosynthesis.
We suggest forbs use +CO2 to fuel nutrient harvest as the doubling of grass biomass increases shading and demand for effective photosynthesis.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
The middle column reveals how nutrient-rich forbs show less Nutrient Dilution with competition but a surprising increase in half the elements as CO2 rises.
We suggest forbs use +CO2 to fuel nutrient harvest as the doubling of grass biomass increases shading and demand for effective photosynthesis.
We suggest forbs use +CO2 to fuel nutrient harvest as the doubling of grass biomass increases shading and demand for effective photosynthesis.
We used a heat map to capture the shifts:
blue=declines of an element in plant tissue
green=increases in element density.
First column shows grass nutrients declining in plots with more grass and forb biomass.
The dominant food on Konza is getting more abundant and poorer to eat.
Nutrient Dilution.
blue=declines of an element in plant tissue
green=increases in element density.
First column shows grass nutrients declining in plots with more grass and forb biomass.
The dominant food on Konza is getting more abundant and poorer to eat.
Nutrient Dilution.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
We used a heat map to capture the shifts:
blue=declines of an element in plant tissue
green=increases in element density.
First column shows grass nutrients declining in plots with more grass and forb biomass.
The dominant food on Konza is getting more abundant and poorer to eat.
Nutrient Dilution.
blue=declines of an element in plant tissue
green=increases in element density.
First column shows grass nutrients declining in plots with more grass and forb biomass.
The dominant food on Konza is getting more abundant and poorer to eat.
Nutrient Dilution.
Over 3 decades, grass biomass has been steadily increasing with Year/CO2, particularly when fire is frequent. Over the same period, flowering plants (forbs, most of Konza’s plant biodiversity) are declining, even as woody plants like dogwood accelerate encroachment where burns are infrequent.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Over 3 decades, grass biomass has been steadily increasing with Year/CO2, particularly when fire is frequent. Over the same period, flowering plants (forbs, most of Konza’s plant biodiversity) are declining, even as woody plants like dogwood accelerate encroachment where burns are infrequent.
We start with hypotheses for drivers of Konza’s grass, forb, and woody plant biomass, and its effect on the nutritional density of 17 of life’s essential chemical building blocks. But we discovered much more.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
We start with hypotheses for drivers of Konza’s grass, forb, and woody plant biomass, and its effect on the nutritional density of 17 of life’s essential chemical building blocks. But we discovered much more.
NEW: We cannot continue to pump CO2 into the Atmosphere without re-arranging the Biosphere. Ellen Welti and I analyze datasets from the US Long Term Ecological Research site at Konza Prairie and reveal wholesale reorganization of plant biomass and biogeochemistry, with implications for its food web.
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
NEW: We cannot continue to pump CO2 into the Atmosphere without re-arranging the Biosphere. Ellen Welti and I analyze datasets from the US Long Term Ecological Research site at Konza Prairie and reveal wholesale reorganization of plant biomass and biogeochemistry, with implications for its food web.
A family tradition: before Thanksgiving, Spam Musabi!
November 22, 2025 at 6:03 PM
A family tradition: before Thanksgiving, Spam Musabi!
C’ville represents.
November 8, 2025 at 6:12 PM
C’ville represents.
Funny, given the institutions I’ve built my life around
nature
science
academia
the arts
humanism
that I’ll likely be spending the rest of my life in one big rear-guard action defending all of them.
nature
science
academia
the arts
humanism
that I’ll likely be spending the rest of my life in one big rear-guard action defending all of them.
November 6, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Funny, given the institutions I’ve built my life around
nature
science
academia
the arts
humanism
that I’ll likely be spending the rest of my life in one big rear-guard action defending all of them.
nature
science
academia
the arts
humanism
that I’ll likely be spending the rest of my life in one big rear-guard action defending all of them.
Dear PNAS
Big fan. Why do you insist on the fastest reviewer turnaround times for especially important results?
Wouldn’t you want to be, you know, *super careful* with those manuscripts in particular?
Your friend and colleague,
Mike
Big fan. Why do you insist on the fastest reviewer turnaround times for especially important results?
Wouldn’t you want to be, you know, *super careful* with those manuscripts in particular?
Your friend and colleague,
Mike
November 2, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Dear PNAS
Big fan. Why do you insist on the fastest reviewer turnaround times for especially important results?
Wouldn’t you want to be, you know, *super careful* with those manuscripts in particular?
Your friend and colleague,
Mike
Big fan. Why do you insist on the fastest reviewer turnaround times for especially important results?
Wouldn’t you want to be, you know, *super careful* with those manuscripts in particular?
Your friend and colleague,
Mike
Entomologists have got it all over Halloween.
October 31, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Entomologists have got it all over Halloween.
Could part of the glory of artists like Picasso be that they connect to us at a fundamental neurological level?
Does Picasso create images in chunks that challenge our brains to make novel emotional and logical connections, not unlike psychedilics?
From The Phillips Collection, Washington DC
Does Picasso create images in chunks that challenge our brains to make novel emotional and logical connections, not unlike psychedilics?
From The Phillips Collection, Washington DC
October 29, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Could part of the glory of artists like Picasso be that they connect to us at a fundamental neurological level?
Does Picasso create images in chunks that challenge our brains to make novel emotional and logical connections, not unlike psychedilics?
From The Phillips Collection, Washington DC
Does Picasso create images in chunks that challenge our brains to make novel emotional and logical connections, not unlike psychedilics?
From The Phillips Collection, Washington DC
There are a lot of near-dead Republicans looking for something to do right now.
Mitch has found his niche.
Mitch has found his niche.
October 22, 2025 at 11:05 PM
There are a lot of near-dead Republicans looking for something to do right now.
Mitch has found his niche.
Mitch has found his niche.
Quiz time!
Why is this fish perhaps the most loathed fish in all of entomology?
Why is this fish perhaps the most loathed fish in all of entomology?
October 20, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Quiz time!
Why is this fish perhaps the most loathed fish in all of entomology?
Why is this fish perhaps the most loathed fish in all of entomology?
Celebrate your sunsets.
October 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Celebrate your sunsets.
Beats the heck out of doomscrolling.
October 18, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Beats the heck out of doomscrolling.
Myrtle Beach checking in
October 18, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Myrtle Beach checking in
October 18, 2025 at 5:03 PM
If you want to reboot your brain, and who doesn’t?, I highly recommend this film.
October 15, 2025 at 10:42 PM
If you want to reboot your brain, and who doesn’t?, I highly recommend this film.
How can an artist and an entomologist having just moved east to C’ville VA prepare for Halloween?
To be continued.
To be continued.
October 12, 2025 at 11:50 PM
How can an artist and an entomologist having just moved east to C’ville VA prepare for Halloween?
To be continued.
To be continued.
