Why shorelines are stopover sites:   Each spring and fall, tens of millions of birds migrate through the Great Lakes region. Jeffrey Buler of the University of Delaware says many species prefer to travel at night. In a recent study, he found that if birds were still out over the Great Lakes at sunrise, they …

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Non-native crayfish upset the natural balance in streams: Crayfish are an important part of the food web in streams. But in Pennsylvania, an invasive species called rusty crayfish is taking over. And in some areas, they’re so dense they stack on top of each other. Dave Lieb with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy says rusty crayfish …

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A pond of dreams: Unity Island sits in the Niagara River in Buffalo, New York. At its northern tip is a manmade deep water pond. Ecologist Andrew Hannes is with the Army Corps of Engineers. He says the area does not support wildlife. But that’s about to change, thanks to a restoration project that will …

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Protecting grasslands helps protect our feathered friends and water quality in one fell swoop—listen up: What’s the bird’s-eye take on grasslands? From bobolinks and northern harriers to some sparrows, many birds rely on grasslands for food and habitat. But a grassland also delivers another ecosystem benefit—it absorbs water when it rains. To learn more, CurrentCast …

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Volunteers remove more than 18 tons of trash from Great Lakes beaches each year. But… “It’s not just stuff that’s left on the beach that is the problem,” says Anna McCartney of Pennsylvania Sea Grant. She says that during a two-year program, Erie Public School students learned that some marine debris starts out in their communities. …

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