Underwood Climate Change Resiliency Research Project

Students from the Yale School of the Environment have identified the Underwood property as being perfect for a study that will assess adaptation and trophic resiliency to climate change using old field plants, grasshoppers, and spiders.  They will be studying eight populations of red-legged grasshopper from locations experiencing different temperature variances.  The team will be looking at whether these populations respond differently to predators, including their physiology and impacts on plants and ecosystem function.  Underwood is one site out of a handful of other sites, including the Yale Myers Forest, Flanders Nature Center, and Harvard Forest.  They are installing 232 cages throughout 6 different plots.  These cages will be in the field for a period of 4 years, and the City is helping out by ensuring these plots are not mowed.  There will be signage up for anyone using the park and is curious about the project.  Anyone interested in learning more about the project can check out the site here.