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When an Economist is a Mentor: For Yang Fan, Colby’s teaching philosophy was the right fit
Get PDFThey say follow your passion to wherever it takes you. Yang Fan, the new Todger Anderson Assistant Professor of Investing and Behavioral Economics, did just that. He followed his passion for teaching and changed coasts, from West to the East. Now, he’s helping his students find and pursue their passions as well
The Colby Echo (November 4, 2021)
Get PDFPublished by the students of Colby College since 1877, The Colby Echo is the weekly, editorially independent student-run newspaper of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Published monthly, 1877-1886; semi-monthly; 1886-1897; and weekly during the academic year, 1898-present
The Colby Echo (December 9, 2021)
Get PDFPublished by the students of Colby College since 1877, The Colby Echo is the weekly, editorially independent student-run newspaper of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Published monthly, 1877-1886; semi-monthly; 1886-1897; and weekly during the academic year, 1898-present
Reduced performance of ash-specialist caterpillars on non-native, cultivated Oleaceous plants
No full textAsh (Fraxinus spp.), an important tree genus across the northeastern USA, is imperiled as a result of an invasive forest pest, emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis). With the absence of ash an imminent threat, we sought to quantify the effects on several species of insect reliant on ash as a host-plant. In so doing, we identified three other plant species phylogenetically related to ash which may serve as potential alternative host-plants. Each of these is a non- native, cultivated shrub species common in managed landscapes in New England. Next, we measured larval performance (growth rate and biomass) on each of the potential alternative host-plants in addition to white ash (Fraxinus americana). Our results show that the non-native host-plants do support larvae to pupation, albeit with smaller growth rates and less biomass attained at certain developmental benchmarks. Caterpillars reared on one alternative host- plant—European privet (Ligustrum vulgare)—exhibited gross malformations of the wing buds. This result suggests that privet may constitute an ecological trap, whereby female moths preferentially lay on a sub-optimal host-plant resulting in reduced fitness of the offspring. Therefore, our findings show that performance testing is important to teasing out the species- specific effects of alternative host-plants on insect fauna. We found that not all cultivated host- plants are uniformly able to support specialist insect populations, suggesting that landscaping decisions can play an important role in perpetuating threatened species
Sailors’ Perceptions of Offshore Wind Energy in the Northeastern United States
Get PDFOffshore wind is an expanding form of renewable energy in the United States that will continue to grow through state and federal mandates. Offshore wind has often been met with criticism from a variety of ocean user groups and the academic literature has attempted to include the opinions of all user groups in order to improve policy making decisions. One of the biggest ocean user groups has been left out of the research, sailors. We investigated sailors’ perceptions of offshore wind in the Northeastern United States through a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews to provide context, hoping to answer the following questions: 1. What are sailors’ general attitudes towards wind farm development in Southern new England? 2. What factors are likely to influence the levels of support from sailors, and how can those negative factors be mitigated? 3. Will the negative impacts from wind farms restrict individuals from sailing in ways they could before the introduction of wind farms? During the winter of 2020-2021 we met with three subject matter experts for interviews and solicited survey responses from a random sample of sailing vessel owners in CT, RI, MA and NY. We found mixed support, but leaning in favor, for offshore wind farms from sailors. However, those that held the strongest attitudes for support or opposition tended to support wind farm development. In answering our second question, we did not find that previous experience of sailing near wind farms was a factor that increased the comfort level sailors had for sailing within one mile of a wind farm. Sailors are not likely to alter their sailing behaviors if a wind farm is developed near their home port, but those who sail with the most frequency are more likely to be negatively impacted than those who are not as dedicated to the activity. Most sailors believe that wind farms are a hazard or nuisance yet are still likely to be in favor of wind farm development. We find that sailors respond in different ways than many other ocean user groups. In Europe, fishers and boaters are more likely to feel comfortable near a wind farm if they have previous experience near a wind farm, but that was not the case in the United States. Previous experience is not a factor that determines someone’s comfort level. Additional research will be required to determine exactly what factors influence comfort and support, but overall sailors are supportive of wind farm development