Ecosystems
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Ecosystems
Zika virus ‘spillback’ into primates raises risk of future human outbreaks
Spillback of Zika virus into monkeys may complicate eradication efforts.
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Animals
Pectoral sandpipers go the distance, and then some
Even after a long migration, male pectoral sandpipers keep flying, adding 3,000 extra kilometers on quest for mates.
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Animals
Desert ants look to the sky, rely on memory to navigate backward
Desert ants appear to use a combination of visual memory and celestial cues to make it back to the nest walking butt-first, researchers find.
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Animals
How desert ants navigate walking backward
Desert ants appear to use a combination of visual memory and celestial cues to make it back to the nest walking butt-first, researchers find.
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Ecosystems
In debate over origin of fairy circles, both sides might be right
Odd bare spots called fairy circles in African grasslands might be caused by both termites and plants.
By Susan Milius -
Plants
Meat-eating pitcher plants raise deathtraps to an art
The carnivorous California pitcher plant ensnares its dinner using a medley of techniques.
By Susan Milius -
Ecosystems
Long-ignored, high-flying arthropods could make up largest land migrations
Forget birds. 3.5 trillion insects, spiders and mites a year fly over the southern United Kingdom.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
For some salamanders, finding a mate is a marathon
Small-mouthed salamanders will travel close to nine kilometers on average to mate, a new study finds.
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Climate
Arctic kelp forests may create summer refuges from ocean acidification
Long summer daylight revs up carbon capture in Arctic kelp forests, offering a little relief from acidifying ocean water.
By Susan Milius -
Ecosystems
Oyster deaths linked to ‘atmospheric rivers’
Atmospheric rivers bring strong storms that could have been behind a 2011 California oyster die-off.
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Ecosystems
Losing tropical forest might raise risks of human skin ulcers, deformed bones
Bacteria that cause Buruli ulcer in people flourish with tropical deforestation.
By Susan Milius -
Plants
Bacteria help carnivorous plants drown their prey
Pitcher plant drowning traps are more difficult for an insect to escape when bacteria colonize them.
By Susan Milius