Search Results for: desert ecosystem
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153 results
153 results for: desert ecosystem
- Life
Gila monsters may struggle to survive climate change
The Mojave Desert may lose and gain suitable habitat for Gila monsters. But the unathletic reptiles might be mostly stuck in the waning oases.
- Life
Toxin-gobbling bacteria may live on poison dart frog skin
Toxins on poison dart frog skin mold the skin's microbial community, boosting species variety and potentially even feeding some daredevil bacteria.
- Planetary Science
The desert planet in ‘Dune’ is plausible, according to science
Humans could live on the fictional planet Arrakis from Dune but (thankfully) no giant sandworms would menace them.
- Physics
Calls to restart nuclear weapons tests stir dismay and debate among scientists
Many scientists say “subcritical” experiments and computer simulations make nuclear weapons testing unnecessary.
- Oceans
A transatlantic flight may turn Saharan dust into a key ocean nutrient
Over time, atmospheric chemical reactions can make iron in dust from the Sahara easier for organisms to take in, helping to create biodiversity hot spots.
- Science & Society
The U.S. empire was built on bird dung
A mid-1850s act let the United States seize islands rich in bird guano. Those strategic outposts fueled the U.S. rise to power, a researcher says.
- Science & Society
This ‘hidden figure’ of entomology fought for civil rights
Margaret S. Collins, the first Black American female entomologist to earn a Ph.D., overcame sexism and racism to become a termite expert.
- Environment
Landscape Explorer shows how much the American West has changed
The online tool stitches together historical images into a map that’s helping land managers make decisions about preservation and restoration.
- Science & Society
Do science dioramas still have a place in today’s museums?
Science dioramas of yesteryear can highlight the biases of the time. Exhibit experts are reimagining, annotating — and sometimes mothballing — the scenes.
- Environment
Dust from a shrinking Great Salt Lake may be accelerating Utah’s snowmelt
About a quarter of the record-breaking, snow-melting dust on the Wasatch Mountains in 2022 may have come from exposed lakebed at Great Salt Lake.
- Environment
A new approach to fighting wildfires combines local knowledge and AI
Land managers in the western United States are using potential operational delineations, or PODS, to prepare for — and take advantage of — wildfires.
- Life
How a mound-building bird shapes its Australian ecosystem
In Australia’s mallee woodlands, malleefowl dutifully construct mounds to incubate their eggs, redistributing nutrients across the landscape.
