Animals
Ancient poems document the decline of the Yangtze finless porpoise
The porpoise is critically endangered. Ancient Chinese poems reveal the animal’s range has dropped about 65 percent over the past 1,400 years.
Ecosystems
More Stories in Ecosystems
- Oceans
How will the LA fires affect the ocean? These researchers are racing to find out
Scientists aboard a research vessel near Los Angeles collected ash, air and water samples as fire blazed on the hills before them in January.
- Animals
This caterpillar wears the body parts of insect prey
Dubbed the “bone collector,” this caterpillar found on a Hawaiian island disguises itself while stalking spider webs for trapped insects to eat.
- Plants
Some tropical trees act as lightning rods to fend off rivals
Though being struck by lightning is usually bad, the tropical tree Dipteryx oleifera benefits. A strike kills other nearby trees and parasitic vines.
- Animals
Plastic ‘fossils’ help scientists reconstruct the history of bird nests
Plastic waste has let common coots reuse nests year after year. Scientists have now used the trash layers to date how old nests are.
- Animals
Hammerhead sharks’ diets may affect if they roam or stay home
Understanding hammerhead sharks’ food preferences could aid efforts to protect the critically endangered fish.
- Animals
Stinky penguin poop strikes fear into the hearts of Antarctic krill
A chemical in Adélie penguin guano may have cued krill to take evasive maneuvers in lab tests.
- Animals
Dolphins and humans team up to catch fish in Brazil
In Brazil, where humans and dolphins fish in tandem, cooperation both within and between species is essential for the longstanding tradition.
- Climate
Warming is chasing cloud forests steadily uphill
Cloud forests are biodiversity hot spots and crucial water sources. But climate change and deforestation are shrinking their range, new data show.
- Animals
A fungus named after Sir David Attenborough zombifies cave spiders
The new fungus species Gibellula attenboroughii forces reclusive cave spiders to exposed areas, likely to benefit spore dispersal.
