All Stories by Susan Milius
- Earth
Bad Acid: Ocean’s pH drop threatens snail defense
As ocean waters trend toward acidity, a result of atmospheric greenhouse gas buildup, a shoreline snail's defense against predatory crabs may weaken.
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Not Just Hitchhikers
Salmonella and other human pathogens on vegetables aren't just riding along like casual smears of dirt; they're moving in and setting up housekeeping.
- Animals
Eat a Killer: Snake dines safely with strategic delays
An Australian snake kills dangerous frogs then waits for their defensive chemicals to degrade before eating them.
- Animals
Crowcam: Camera on bird’s tail captures bird ingenuity
Video cameras attached to tropical crows record the birds' use of plant stems as tools to dig out food.
- Animals
Tough-guy bluebirds need a frontier
As western bluebirds recolonize Montana, the most aggressive males move in first, paving the way for milder-mannered dads to take over.
- Plants
Stalking the Green Meat Eaters
Pitcher plants in a New England bog hold little ecosystems in their leaves, and also act as indicators of the bog's ecological health.
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Jungle Down There: What’s a kelp forest doing in the tropics?
Kelp, algae that grow in cold water, turn out to be surprisingly widespread in tropical seas.
- Animals
Honeybee mobs smother big hornets
Honeybees gang up on an attacking hornet, killing it by blocking its breathing.
- Animals
Hybrid Power: Salamander invader ups survival of rare cousin
Mixed offspring of the endangered California tiger salamander and an invasive cousin survive better than either pure-bred species, raising tricky questions for conservationists.
- Animals
Fish Switch: Salmon make baby trout after species, sex swap
Salmon implanted with trout reproductive tissue bred to produce a generation of normal rainbow trout.
- Animals
Hive Scourge? Virus linked to recent honeybee die-off
A poorly understood virus seems to have a connection to the recent widespread demise of honeybees.
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Rethinking Bad Taste
Many animals use mimicry to gain a competitive advantage, but are there degrees of cheating?
