Ecosystems

Ecosystems

Gut first

A crawling caterpillar’s gut moves forward before the rest of its body does.

Earth

Mangroves do a coast good

Left intact, dense swaths of trees can reduce tsunami damage, a new study suggests.

Climate

Methane releases in arctic seas could wreak devastation

Warming climate could lead to dead zones, acidification and shifts at the base of the ocean’s food chain.

Ecosystems

Bats, wolves feel the heat

News from the annual meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists in Laramie, Wyo., June 11-15

Science & Society

Citation inflation

Many journals – and the authors who publish their novel data and analyses in them – rely on “impact factors” as a gauge of the importance and prestige of their work. However, a new analysis turns up subtle ways that journals can game the system to artificially inflate their impact factor.

Ecosystems

Parasite brood gets help from nearby microbes

A critical interaction between whipworm and E. coli suggests a new way to battle the common gut infection.

Ecosystems

Sharks use math to hunt

Marine predators cruise the seas using fractal principles.

Ecosystems

Honeybee death mystery deepens

Government scientists link colony collapse disorder to mix of fungal and viral infections.

Animals

Cads of the savanna

Male topi antelopes lie about predators to keep the ladies nearby.

Ecosystems

Spill update: From booms to dispersants

Choppy seas prevailed in the northern Gulf of Mexico on May 13, with even protected waters hostingrough 4 to 5 foot waves, according to the Coast Guard. But three-plus weeks into the Deepwater Horizon explosion and ensuing spill from a BP exploratory well, measures to respond to the catastrophe continued ramping up.

Ecosystems

Forests on the wane

Early last decade, the world’s tree coverage dropped by more than 3 percent.

Ecosystems

Pigeons usually let best navigator take the lead

One bird usually leads the flock, but sometimes another gets a turn at the helm.