Ecosystems
-
Climate
Meat-eaters’ greenhouse gas emissions are twice as high as vegans’
Meat-eaters dietary GHG emissions are twice as high as those of vegans, a study finds.
-
Ecosystems
Invasive insect tied to shrinking river
A river in North Carolina shrank after a hemlock woolly adelgid eradicated eastern hemlock trees in the region.
-
Life
Near reefs, microbial mix dictated by coral and algae
A reef’s dominant organism, coral or algae, may determine what kind of bacteria live there.
-
Animals
Winter road salting reshapes next summer’s butterflies
Winter road salt treatments boost sodium in roadside plants and alter development for monarch butterflies.
By Susan Milius -
Animals
Why tree-hugger koalas are cool
Drooping against bark during a heat wave could save koalas from overheating.
By Susan Milius -
Oceans
Dusk heralds a feeding frenzy in the waters off Oahu
Even dolphins benefit when layers of organisms in the water column overlap for a short period.
-
Animals
Otters provide a lesson about the effects of dams
A dam created a new habitat, but that habitat’s lower quality kept otter density low.
-
Animals
Reef fish get riled when intruders glow red
A male fairy wrasse gets feisty when he can see a rival’s colorful fluorescent patches.
By Susan Milius -
Ecosystems
Deep-sea trawling threatens oceans’ health
Dragging large nets along the seafloor to catch fish cuts organic matter and biodiversity in half and may threaten all of the world's underwater ecosystems.
-
Animals
A tale of wolves, moose and missing ice
Wolves have persisted on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale for decades, keeping moose in check, but climate change may doom the balance between the two species.
-
Microbes
Viruses buoy life at hydrothermal vents
Using hijacked genes, deep-sea viruses help sulfur-eating bacteria generate power in the plumes of hydrothermal vents.
By Beth Mole -
Ecosystems
War’s ecological effects laid bare in ‘A Window on Eternity’
In "A Window on Eternity," entomologist E.O. Wilson chronicles both the shifting ecology of Gorongosa National Park after the war and how researchers are trying to repair the damage.