Ecosystems
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EcosystemsFish Epidemic Traces to Novel Germ
A new mycobacterium, related to the one causing tuberculosis, is responsible for a mysterious epidemic sickening some of the Chesapeake Bay's most prized fish.
By Janet Raloff -
EcosystemsFly may be depleting U.S. giant silk moths
A parasitic fly introduced to fight gypsy moths starting in 1906 may be an overlooked factor in the declines of giant silk moths.
By Susan Milius -
EcosystemsMore on California’s rogue seaweed
Scientists have obtained genetic confirmation of the assumption that a newfound rogue alga in California waters is the same strain that has been smothering seafloor communities in the Mediterranean.
By Janet Raloff -
EcosystemsVirtual skylarks suffer weed shortfall
A new mathematical model raises the concern that switching to transgenic herbicide-tolerant crops could deprive birds of weed seeds.
By Susan Milius -
EcosystemsUltimate Sea Weed Loose in America
The unusually invasive strain of seaweed that has been smothering coastal areas of the Mediterranean has shown up in a California lagoon, the first sighting of this ecologically devastating alga in the Americas.
By Janet Raloff -
EcosystemsLab ecosystems show signs of evolving
An ambitious test of group selection considers whether natural selection can act on whole ecosystems as evolutionary units.
By Susan Milius -
EcosystemsNew protection for much-dogged shark
To rebuild northeastern U.S. populations of the spiny dogfish, the first fishing quotas on this species limit the harvest to roughly 10 percent of the 1998 haul.
By Janet Raloff -
EcosystemsMales live longer with all-year mating
Male butterflies live longer in Madeira, where females are available year-round, than in Sweden, where females mature in one burst.
By Susan Milius -
EcosystemsFamine reveals incredible shrinking iguanas
Marine iguanas in the Galápagos Islands are the first vertebrates known to reduce their size during a food shortage and then regrow to their original body lengths.
By Susan Milius