Ecosystems

  1. Ecosystems

    Trapped under ice, light-loving algae grow in the dark Arctic winter

    Blocked off from nearly all light beneath a thick layer of ice and snow in the winter, marine phytoplankton in the Arctic still find a way to thrive.

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  2. Environment

    What we know and don’t know about wildfire smoke’s health risks

    As wildfires become more frequent and severe in California, Oregon and throughout the West Coast, concerns rise about harmful air pollution.

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  3. Ecosystems

    Protecting half the planet could help solve climate change and save species

    An analysis lays out where new land protections could complement existing protected areas to achieve various conservation and climate goals.

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  4. Animals

    Female hyenas kill off cubs in their own clans

    Along with starvation and mauling by lions, infanticide leads as a cause of hyena cub death. Such killings may serve to enforce the social order.

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  5. Ecosystems

    To save Appalachia’s endangered mussels, scientists hatched a bold plan

    Biologists have just begun to learn whether their bold plan worked to save the golden riffleshell, a freshwater mussel teetering on the brink of extinction.

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  6. Plants

    This parasitic plant consists of just flashy flowers and creepy suckers

    With only four known species, Langsdorffia are thieves stripped down to their essentials.

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  7. Oceans

    These ancient seafloor microbes woke up after over 100 million years

    Scientists discover that microbes that had lain dormant in the seafloor for millions of years can revive and multiply.

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  8. 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.

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  9. 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.

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  10. 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.

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  11. 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.

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  12. 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.

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