Ecosystems

Earth

Fowl surprise! Methylmercury improves hatching rate

A pinch of methylmercury is just ducky for mallard reproduction, according to a new federal study. The findings are counterintuitive, since methylmercury is ordinarily a potent neurotoxic pollutant.

Paleontology

Ancient DNA suggests polar bears evolved recently

A study of a rare Norwegian fossil narrows down when polar bears evolved and finds they are closely related to modern-day brown bears in Alaska.

Life

Hydrothermal vents sometimes colonized from afar

Deep-sea currents can waft larvae hundreds of kilometers.

Ecosystems

Sea of plastics

Oceanographers are finding more patches of floating polymers, some up to 20 meters deep.

Ecosystems

Sperm whales may team up to herd prey

Data recorders yield first hints of coordinated feeding behavior.

Earth

For coots, hatching order is crucial ID

When birds sneak eggs into others' nest, mom and dad can learn to find their own.

Ecosystems

Greening Christmas

I love the smell of balsam and firs and decorating holiday cookies – preferably with the sound of popular holiday standards in the background. I even enjoy shopping for and wrapping carefully chosen presents in seasonal papers festooned with huge bows. So when my hosts, this week, asked what I wanted to see during my visit, the answer was simple. Take me to one of Germany’s famed Christmas markets. And literally within a couple hours of my plane’s landing, they were already ushering me into the first of what would be a handful of such seasonal fairs. But as I also quickly learned, this first was an unusual one: a "green" bazaar.

Ecosystems

Dining: Bugged on Thanksgiving

Earlier this week, I met with Zack Lemann at the Insectarium, a roughly 18-month-old Audubon museum. He gave me a behind-the-scenes tour of its dozens of living exhibits hosting insects and more -- including tarantulas and, arriving that day for their Tuesday debut, white (non-albino) alligators. But the purpose of my noon-hour visit was to sample the local cuisine and learn details of preparations for a holiday menu that would be offered through tomorrow at the facility’s experiential cafe: Bug Appetit. There’s Thanksgiving turkey with a cornbread and wax worm stuffing, cranberry sauce with meal worms, and Cricket Pumpkin Pie. It’s cuisine most Americans would never pay for. But at the Insectarium, they don’t have to. It’s offered free as part of an educational adventure.

Agriculture

Nation by nation, evidence thin that boosting crop yields conserves land

Intensifying agriculture may not necessarily return farmland to nature without policy help.

Animals

Classic view of leaf-cutter ants overlooked nitrogen-fixing partner

A fresh look at a fungus-insect partnership that biologists have studied for more than a century uncovers a role for bacteria.

Ecosystems

Impatiens plants are more patient with siblings

Streamside wildflower holds back on leaf competition when roots meet close kin

Ecosystems

Windy with a chance of weevils

Scientists have traced the reappearance of cotton pests in west-central Texas to a tropical storm.