Life
There’s life beneath the snow, but it’s at risk of melting away
An array of animals and plants survive winter in the subnivium, nature’s igloo. But climate change is threatening this hidden seasonal ecosystem.
Ecosystems
More Stories in Ecosystems
- Earth
Recycled glass could help fend off coastal erosion
Sand made from recycled glass can be mixed with sediment to make a medium for plants to grow in. That can help with coastal restoration projects.
- Life
A sixth mass extinction? Not so fast, some scientists say
A new analysis suggests that recent extinctions have been rare, limited mostly to islands and slowing. But others argue this is all just semantics.
- Microbes
Antarctic lake microbes have flexible survival strategies
Life teems under the Antarctic ice sheet. In subglacial Lake Mercer, it is surprisingly versatile and isolated from the rest of the world.
- Climate
Trees can’t get up and walk away, but forests can
In fantasy worlds, trees like the Lord of the Rings’ Ents are agile and mobile. In the real world, they’re slow.
- Oceans
Deep-sea mining could start soon — before we understand its risks
The U.S. push to mine international waters for metals defies global efforts to control and protect these fragile ecosystems.
- Animals
50 years after ‘Jaws,’ sharks face their own terror
Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction. The health of the entire ocean is at stake.
- Animals
U.S. seal populations have rebounded — and so have their conflicts with humans
Alix Morris’s new book, A Year with the Seals, explores humans’ complicated relationship with these controversial marine mammals.
- Animals
Fewer scavengers could mean more zoonotic disease
Scavenger populations are decreasing, a new study shows. That could put human health at risk.
- Plants
Cryopreservation is not sci-fi. It may save plants from extinction
Not all plants can be stored in a seed bank. Cryopreservation offers an alternative, but critics question whether this form of conservation will work.
