fish swim among the wreckage of a sunken ship in the Atlantic ocean

Oct 27, 2025

The Graveyard of the Atlantic: From Shipwrecks to Sanctuaries for Sea Life

Bethany Wager, a doctoral student in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology, is investigating the haunting afterlife of sunken ships off the coast of North Carolina.

Jun 17, 2025

How Your Perennial Garden Can Shelter Bees

The hollow stems of perennials can provide native bees with winter housing or a nursery. Here's how to get your garden move-in ready.

Jun 16, 2025

Fortifying the Future for Bees

With multiple projects focused on the behavior, health and environment of bees, researchers in the Department of Applied Ecology are dedicated to supporting the well-being of these important pollinators.

a group of men standing on a dock work to load a large fish into a pickup truck

Jun 12, 2025

Big Rock Partnership Yields Big Data

For more than 20 years, the Big Rock has partnered with NC State University to ensure the prizewinning fish are processed and sent to labs around the United States for scientists to research the health of the fish and the waters in which they live.

a woman with gray hair wearing a shortsleeved moss green shirt stands in front of a brick building

Apr 22, 2025

Youngsteadt to Study Urban Bee Movement With Support From Kriz Endowment

With funding from the George J. and Rhoda W. Kriz Study Leave Award, applied ecology researcher Elsa Youngsteadt will travel to the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, to develop new ways of tracking bees in urban environments.

Apr 14, 2025

Deciphering All the Buzz About Honey Bee Loss

Extension apiculturist David Tarpy explains the factors that could be causing an unusually high loss of honey bee colonies so far this year, what that means for crop production and how we can support pollinators this summer.

three men look at holding tanks next to a pond

Mar 24, 2025

Research Advances the Next Wave of Aquaculture

Researchers in the Department of Applied Ecology are using an innovative method for rearing striped bass, aiming to make aquaculture of the species more efficient.

Feb 7, 2025

Cold Stun: Mathematical Models Aim to Advance Fisheries Management

To fortify the future of North Carolina’s fishing industry, doctoral student Johnna Brooks is using biomathematics to quantify the effect of winter cold stun events on spotted seatrout.

Michelle Kirchner (left) assists a friend while tree climbing in Madagascar.

Jan 14, 2025

Ants Have Lasting Impact for Entomologist Alumna

Arboreal ants helped march CALS alumna Michelle Kirchner to a career in entomology, conducting research with the Agricultural Research Service.

a woman paddleboarding in a patch of lily pads

Nov 12, 2024

Paddleboarding for Pollen

Can certain diets keep bees healthy? That’s what applied ecology graduate student April Sharp aims to find out by studying Crithidia bombi, a fecal-orally transmitted parasite that may contribute to worldwide bee declines.