Ecosystems
- Animals
A wasp was caught on camera attacking and killing a baby bird
Some wasps scavenge carrion or pluck parasites off birds, but reports of attacks on live birds are rare.
- Health & Medicine
To prevent the next pandemic, we might need to cut down fewer trees
Investing in halting deforestation and limiting the wildlife trade could be a cost-effective way to reduce the risk of pandemics, a new analysis finds.
- Animals
How Yellowstone wolves got their own Ancestry.com page
Since the wolves’ reintroduction to the park, 25 years of devoted watching has chronicled bold moves, big fights and lots of puppies.
- Animals
The ‘ratpocalypse’ isn’t nigh, according to service call data
A new study shows that rat-related reports in New York City went down during COVID-19 lockdowns compared with previous years during March and April.
- Life
Fish eggs can hatch after being eaten and pooped out by ducks
In the lab, a few carp eggs survived and even hatched after being pooped out by ducks. The finding may help explain how fish reach isolated waterways.
- Ecosystems
Bringing sea otters back to the Pacific coast pays off, but not for everyone
Benefits of reintroducing sea otters in the Pacific Northwest, such as boosting tourism, vastly outweigh the costs, a new analysis shows.
- Animals
A nose-horned dragon lizard lost to science for over 100 years has been found
It’s now known that a Modigliani’s lizard, first found in 1891 in Indonesia, is bright green but can shift shades like a chameleon.
- Life
Fish poop exposes what eats the destructive crown-of-thorns starfish
During population booms, crown-of-thorns can devastate coral reefs. Identifying predators of the coral polyp slurpers could help protect the reefs.
- Life
Neon colors may help some corals stage a comeback from bleaching
When some corals bleach, they turn bright colors. Stunning hues may be part of a response that helps the corals recover and reunite with their algae.
- Ecosystems
Tapirs may be key to reviving the Amazon. All they need to do is poop
Brazilian ecologist Lucas Paolucci is collecting tapir dung to understand how the piglike mammals may help restore degraded rain forests.
- Ecosystems
Warming water can create a tropical ecosystem, but a fragile one
Tropical fish in a power plant’s warm discharge disappeared with the plant’s shutdown, giving insight into ecosystems’ reaction to temperature shifts.
- Animals
Earthy funk lures tiny creatures to eat and spread bacterial spores
Genes that cue spore growth also kick up a scent that draws in springtails.
