Ecosystems

Health & Medicine

Perchlorate: A Saga Continues

Perchlorate is not yet a household word in many parts of the country. But it may becomes one if Sen. Barbara Boxer has her way. Perchlorate – an ingredient in solid rocket fuel, fireworks, flares and explosives – taints drinking-water supplies around the nation, not to mention plenty of foods. In animal tests, the pollutant […]

Ecosystems

Bring in the replacements

Missing links in ecosystems disrupted by extinctions could be restored by introducing species that perform the same function, new field experiments suggest.

Ecosystems

Building Homes Where the Buffalo Roamed

A new study finds that being environmentally conscious is no guarantee you’ll put your home where you mouth is.

Ecosystems

Eight-legged bags of poison

Birds eating arachnids get high dose of toxic metal as mercury climbs up the food chain.

Ecosystems

Beetle attack overturns forest carbon regime

Ravaged Canadian region switches from carbon sink to net carbon source.

Ecosystems

Refugee Policy Needs a Shot in the Arm

Sometimes spending a little money on vaccinations up front can save a bundle down the line.

Ecosystems

Predators return

Warming waters could push new predators into Antarctica's delicate ecosystems.

Ecosystems

Spread of nonnative fish mirrors human commerce

Invasions of foreign freshwater fish are more common in areas with relatively high economic activity, suggesting that humans are a part of the problem.

Ecosystems

Big Foot: Eco-footprints of rich dwarf poor nations’ debt

The first global accounting finds rich and middle-income nations stomping heavy footprints on poorer ones.

Ecosystems

Prairie Revival

Prairie restoration is attracting interest, but because so little long-term monitoring and comparative studies have been done, researchers are still wondering whether it's really possible to re-create a prairie.

Ecosystems

Tortoise Genes and Island Beings

Geneticists and conservation biologists are joining forces to untangle the evolutionary history of giant Galápagos tortoises and to safeguard the animals' future.

Ecosystems

Biota Behaving Badly

Members of an established ecosystem develop a sense of balance, usually permitting at least limited biodiversity and a stable structure. When interlopers arrive that aren’t responsive to the same environmental checks and balances, they can overrun the ecosystem, eliminating some members and quickly dominating others. Such bullying immigrants are known as invasive species—and they can […]