1,375 results
- Ecosystems
Tortoise Genes and Island Beings
Geneticists and conservation biologists are joining forces to untangle the evolutionary history of giant Galápagos tortoises and to safeguard the animals' future.
- Humans
From the August 14, 1937, issue
Trees inspire a new kind of architectural support, a university sophomore finds the first mosasaur fossil west of the Rockies, and an oilman scoffs at fears over increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide due to industrial activity.
- Paleontology
Twice upon a Time
New fossil finds suggest that the complex features of mammals originated earlier than previously thought and might even have evolved independently in different mammalian lineages.
- Earth
Oil Booms: Whales don’t avoid noise of seismic exploration
Field tests in the Gulf of Mexico suggest that sperm whales there don't swim away from boats conducting seismic surveys of the seafloor, but the noise generated by such activity may be subtly affecting the whales' feeding behavior. With video.
- Animals
Too Few Jaws: Shark declines let rays overgraze scallops
A shortage of big sharks on the U.S. East Coast is letting their prey flourish, and that prey is going hog wild, demolishing bay scallop populations.
- Animals
That’s One Weird Tooth
The narwhal's distinctive spiral tusk has structures that could make it phenomenally sensitive, raising new questions about its functions.
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Whale Songs
Listen to the songs of whales and the sounds of the ocean near Maui, Hawaii. The Whalesong Project is the effort of a group of volunteers to bring attention to the beauty of oceans and the wonder of whales and dolphins. Go to: http://www.whalesong.net/
- Ecosystems
Worthless waters
The biological riches of the oceans will be spent within decades if current trends continue.
- Earth
When a Shot Is Not: PCBs may impair vaccine-induced immunity
Exposure to certain pollutants early in life may do lasting harm to the immune system by blocking its response to vaccinations.
- Animals
Can You Hear Me Now? Frogs in roaring streams use ultrasonic calls
A small frog living beside Chinese hot springs may be the first amphibian known to use ultrasound in its calls.
- Animals
Getting the Gull: Baiting trick spreads among killer whales
A young male orca that spits up fish and then ambushes gulls attracted to the mess seems to have started a wave of cultural transmission.
- Earth
Species-aid budget looks fishy
State and federal governments spent $1.4 billion in 2004 on conserving endangered and threatened species, with one-third of that sum going to protect fish.
