Fighting Fire with Fire — Literally

Carla Staver
May 18, 2022

Yale Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Associate Director of the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS), Carla Staver, has started hundreds of fires – experimental ones – in African savannas to learn more about how they start and stop burning, and their impact on the environment. Savanna fires are the most common fires on earth and make a large contribution to the global carbon cycle, so a quantitative understanding of their behavior is more critical than ever. To learn more, please click here for an informative video interview with Carla Staver. 

News & Updates

Thomas Near and others have discovered two darter species — the Gurley Darter and the Birmingham Darter — in the Mobile River system in central Alabama.

YIBS Faculty Affiliate Thomas Near and others find two new fish species in Alabama streams — and they’re already imperiled

April 29, 2025
Yale researchers have discovered two new species of darter — small, colorful freshwater fishes — inhabiting short stretches of creeks and streams in central Alabama.  And...

Edward P. Bass Distinguished Lecture: The World Without Evolution? with Andrew Hendry

April 23, 2025
Dear YIBS community, Please join us in attending the Edward P. Bass Distinguished Lecture: The World Without Evolution? with Andrew Hendry Date: Wednesday, April 23rd from...
Noah Planavsky

Nonprofit built on research from YIBS Faculty Affiliate Noah Planavsky wins global carbon removal prize

April 23, 2025
Normally, throwing rocks at a problem isn’t the best idea. But in the multi-faceted fight to combat climate change, scientists are finding that crushed rocks judiciously...