Jake Buehler

Jake Buehler is a freelance science writer, covering natural history, wildlife conservation and Earth's splendid biodiversity, from salamanders to sequoias. He has a master's degree in zoology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

All Stories by Jake Buehler

  1. Animals

    Some of Sydney’s koalas are chlamydia-free, but still at risk

    Southwestern Sydney's koalas have avoided the chlamydia outbreak threatening the entire species. But their isolation has left them extremely inbred.

  2. Animals

    The mystery of how iguanas crossed the Pacific Ocean may be solved

    The iguanas' 8,000-kilometer trip — one-fifth of the Earth’s circumference — is the longest made by a flightless land vertebrate.

  3. Life

    Dark coats may have helped the earliest mammals hide from hungry dinosaurs

    During the age of dinosaurs, early mammals probably lacked the stripes and spots of their modern relatives, having uniformly dark, drab coats.

  4. Animals

    Crickets and flies face off in a quiet evolutionary battle

    Male crickets in Hawaii softened their chirps once parasitic flies started hunting them. Now, it seems, the flies are homing in on the new tunes.

  5. Animals

    How mantis shrimp deliver punishing blows without hurting themselves

    A mantis shrimp's punch creates high-energy waves. Its exoskeleton is designed to absorb that energy, preventing cracking and tissue damage.

  6. Animals

    Feeding sharks ‘junk food’ takes a toll on their health

    Many blacktip reef sharks in French Polynesia are commonly fed by tourists. But the low-quality diet is changing the sharks’ behavior and physiology.

  7. Paleontology

    A mysteriously large pterosaur finally has an identity

    A Jurassic pterosaur fossil, known to paleontologists for over 160 years, isn’t a new species. It is an odd specimen of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri.

  8. Life

    Early human ancestors didn’t regularly eat meat

    Chemicals in the tooth enamel of Australopithecus suggest the early human ancestors ate very little meat, dining on vegetation instead.

  9. 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.

  10. Life

    Sheep earwax can record a dangerous diet

    Sheep that eat death camas plants record the toxic meal in their earwax, a goopy health data repository that researchers are increasingly exploring.

  11. Life

    The ‘Blob,’ an unprecedented marine heat wave, killed 4 million seabirds

    Millions of other animals may have perished too, suggesting the die-off event might be one of the worst in modern times.

  12. Animals

    The screams of thirsty plants may prompt some moths to lay eggs elsewhere

    Female moths may pick up on the ultrasonic wailing of distressed plants and opt to lay their eggs on different, healthier plants.