Ecosystems
- Agriculture
Bee-Loved Plantings
Zipcode-organized guidelines tell gardeners, farmers and others how to design a landscape that will not only entice pollinators but also keep these horticultural helpers happy.
By Janet Raloff - Animals
Don’t blame the guys
Scientists take a new look at what drives female damselflies to look like males.
By Susan Milius - Ecosystems
Human ‘Signature’ in Fish Losses
Why the whales-ate-my-fish argument doesn't hold water.
By Janet Raloff - Ecosystems
On Whales’ Appetites: What a Waste
An advocacy group and renowned scientist floundered in an attempt to compel opinion shapers with the science showing that industrial fleets, not whales, pose a serious threat to fish stocks.
By Janet Raloff - Plants
Forest invades tundra
The Arctic tundra is under assault from trees, with serious implications for global climate change.
By Janet Raloff - Animals
Peril of play
A new study shows that playful 2-year-old chimpanzees may be particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases — some caught from humans.
- Agriculture
A vanilla Vanilla
The orchid that gives us vanilla beans has startlingly low genetic diversity, suggesting crops might be susceptible to pathogens, researchers report.
- Humans
Wash Your Veggies!
The lesson in all of these food-poisoning outbreaks is that we must not expect a risk-free food-supply chain.
By Janet Raloff - Climate
Goldilocks tree leaves
Leaves mostly keep their cool (or warmth) wherever they live, a finding that might affect reconstructions of past climates.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Invasion of the salmon
Chinook salmon, dwindling in the United States, go wild in South America.
By Susan Milius - Life
Zombie babysitters
Wasp attack creates undead caterpillars that protect wasp young
By Susan Milius - Ecosystems
That sinking feeling
The sea level rise expected in the coming century will swamp the Everglades unless current management is adjusted or climate change is curbed.
By Sid Perkins