Plants
Some tropical trees act as lightning rods to fend off rivals
Though being struck by lightning is usually bad, the tropical tree Dipteryx oleifera benefits. A strike kills other nearby trees and parasitic vines.
Ecosystems
More Stories in Ecosystems
- Animals
Stinky penguin poop strikes fear into the hearts of Antarctic krill
A chemical in Adélie penguin guano may have cued krill to take evasive maneuvers in lab tests.
- Animals
Dolphins and humans team up to catch fish in Brazil
In Brazil, where humans and dolphins fish in tandem, cooperation both within and between species is essential for the longstanding tradition.
- Climate
Warming is chasing cloud forests steadily uphill
Cloud forests are biodiversity hot spots and crucial water sources. But climate change and deforestation are shrinking their range, new data show.
- Animals
A fungus named after Sir David Attenborough zombifies cave spiders
The new fungus species Gibellula attenboroughii forces reclusive cave spiders to exposed areas, likely to benefit spore dispersal.
- Ecosystems
Extinct moa ate purple trufflelike fungi, fossil bird droppings reveal
DNA analysis reveals the big, flightless moa birds ate — and pooped out — 13 kinds of fungi, including ones crucial for New Zealand’s forest ecosystem.
- Ecosystems
Like flyways for birds, we need to map swimways for fish
Mapping fish migration routes and identifying threats is crucial to protecting freshwater species and their habitats, ecologists argue.
- Animals
American burying beetles are making a comeback in Nebraska
Thanks to decades of conservation to restore private grasslands, numbers of the threatened insect are on the rise in the Loess Canyons.
- Life
Trees are failing to adapt to climate change. Losing fungi partners may be why
Certain fungi give trees nutrients and water, but heat and drought are putting both at risk.
- Ecosystems
New videos reveal the hidden lives of Andean bears
The footage give clues to the range of plants the bears eat and how they mate, information important for conservation.
