The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom presents: Signal Species

What can wildlife tell us about our ecosystem — and will we listen?

The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom and its partners are exploring what wildlife can tell us about our environment. — The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom and our partners are exploring what wildlife can tell us about our environment.

A “signal” or “indicator” species is an organism that can tell us about changes occurring in an ecosystem.

We’re talking bears encountering humans more frequently, armadillos moving farther north, invasive vines like kudzu growing at accelerated rates and bat populations dwindling.

These are all examples of species sending us signals about our changing world and climate — but are we paying attention? And if we are, is there a way to contribute to scientific findings? (Spoiler alert: Yes! iNaturalist will be entering the chat.)

The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom and our partner stations in Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia are bringing you answers through a series of features all about wildlife. We'll publish a new story each Monday in June, with full episodes of WPLN's This Is Nashville dedicated to the series airing on June 2 and June 23.

Stories in this series

Environment

How kudzu became the ‘vine that ate the South’

Jacqui Sieber

Kudzu is an invasive vine that’s become a persistent problem in the American South. But there are efforts to tackle it.
Environment

Black bears are threatened by climate change. How can we help?

Caroline Eggers

Black bear encounters are on the rise in Tennessee, and climate change is often a hidden culprit, tampering with ecosystems in unexpected ways.

This is Nashville episodes

June 2: Taking cues from black bears and other signal species
Coming June 23: How citizen scientists can document signal species

Videos

Other wildlife coverage

This series was produced by the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, a collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting; WPLN and WUOT in Tennessee; LPM, WEKU, WKMS and WKU Public Radio in Kentucky; and NPR. Sign up for the weekly Porch Light newsletter here for news from around the region.