Ecosystems
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Animals
Year in review: Woes of artificial lighting add up for wildlife
Studies published this year add dodging death, flirting and mothering to the tasks that artificial light can discombobulate in wild animals.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Forgetful male voles more likely to wander from mate
Poor memory linked to a hormone receptor in the brain could make male prairie voles more promiscuous.
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Animals
Some warblers make their long winter migration even longer
Blackpoll warblers in western North America head east to fatten up before their transoceanic migration.
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Animals
Pygmy slow loris hibernates in winter
The pygmy slow loris truly hibernates, making it the first primate found outside Madagascar to do so, a new study says.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Pygmy slow loris in Asia takes unusual downtime in winter
The pygmy slow loris is the first primate outside Madagascar found to hibernate.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Ponds and their toads cured of dreaded disease
Treating both tadpoles and their ponds for infection by deadly Bd chytrid fungus lets midwife toads go wild again.
By Susan Milius -
Plants
Marsh grass masquerades as a native species
The abundant cordgrass found in South American marshes may actually have invaded the region more than two centuries ago, a new study concludes.
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Animals
Invasive species may be great snacks for predators
The arrival of a new food source can benefit predators, a new study finds. But if there are no native species around to eat, it’s a different story.
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Animals
Marine biologist chronicles a lifelong love of fishing
In A Naturalist Goes Fishing, a marine biologist takes readers on a round-the-world fishing expedition
By Sid Perkins -
Paleontology
Dimetrodon’s diet redetermined
The reptilelike Dimetrodon dined mainly on amphibians and sharks, not big herbivores as scientists once believed.
By Meghan Rosen -
Oceans
Widespread coral bleaching threatens world’s reefs
The world’s corals are experiencing their third major bleaching event in 17 years.
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Oceans
Giant barrel sponges are hijacking Florida’s coral reefs
Giant barrel sponges are gradually taking over and threatening Florida’s coral reefs, a new census suggests.