Ecology

Pavement Cracks And Chain-Link Fences Are the New Ecosystems of the Anthropocene

The "natural" world is gone, and it's not coming back

The Mississippi River Carries More Than Enough Sand to Rebuild Its Sinking Delta

The mighty Mississippi carries enough sand and silt to rebuild Louisiana's disappearing marshes for the next 600 years

Inle Lake

Myanmar Is Becoming A Tourist Destination, But at a Cost

As more tourists enter the country, environmentalists worry about local ecosystems

A coqui frog perches on a branch in Puerto Rico.

Chirps of Coqui Frogs May Be Getting Shorter and Higher Pitched As Climate Warms

The shift in duration and pitch could impede females’ ability to pick up on mating signals, researchers say

This Moss Sprung Back to Life After Being Frozen for 1,500 Years

Older organisms have been brought back from a state of suspended animation, but this is by far the oldest moss to come back to life

Fallen trees in Chernobyl's infamous red forest.

Forests Around Chernobyl Aren’t Decaying Properly

It wasn't just people, animals and trees that were affected by radiation exposure at Chernobyl, but also the decomposers: insects, microbes, and fungi

An Anopheles mosquito, the blood-sucking culprit that delivers malaria.

As Temperatures Rise, Malaria Will Invade Higher Elevations

Malaria is already infiltrating highland areas in Colombia and Ethiopia that were previously protected from the disease by cool mountain temperatures

As the Planet Warms, What Happens to the Reindeer?

Ecologists are racing across the ice to find out how climate change will affect the Arctic natives

A mother right whale and her calf.

Satellites Spot Whales From Space

This new method could help researchers remotely count and keep track of whale populations

A Swarm of Tumbleweed-Like Robots Might Be the Ideal Desert Data Gatherers

The hardy robots can traverse places that would be difficult or very expensive to send human data-gatherers

Barro Colorado Island, on the Panama Canal, is home to at least 74 bat species. A group of German researchers is studying them all to understand the spread of diseases.

A Night in the Forest Capturing Bats

Our intrepid reporter joins tropical bat researchers in the field one night and gains some appreciation for their fangs

A curious, rare snow leopard checks out the researchers' camera trap.

The Elusive Snow Leopard, Caught in a Camera Trap

Researchers managed to capture images of notoriously elusive snow leopards in Pakistan

A fringe-lipped bat bits into a túngara frog.

Crazy Stupid Love: The Frog With a Mating Call That Also Attracts Predators

The sound and water ripples produced by the túngara frog's mating call are picked up by predatory bats

A three-toed sloth.

What Drives a Sloth's Ritualistic Trek to Poop?

Scientists trace the odd bathroom behavior to relationships with bacteria and moths that inhabit their fur

Please look but don't take.

Beach Tourists Who Collect Shells May Be Harming the Environment

At one beach in Spain, increasing numbers of tourists have caused a 60 percent decline in shell abundance, potentially disrupting the aquatic ecosystem

California redwoods can live for more than a thousand years.

Save the Big Trees!

A large tree grows more quickly and sucks up a lot more carbon than a smaller one, scientists find

A dingo walks along a road in southern Australia.

Maybe Dingoes Don’t Deserve Their Bad Rap

Studies show that Australia's "favorite scapegoat" most likely didn't kill the Tasmanian tiger

A grey wolf in Yellowstone National Park.

Top Carnivores Help Shape Nearly Every Aspect of Their Environment

From controlling other animals' numbers to affecting carbon storage, the predators' vital roles in ecosystems justify their conservation, scientists say

What Happens to All the Salt We Dump On the Roads?

In the U.S., road crews scatter about 137 pounds of salt per person annually to melt ice. Where does it go after that?

A tobacco hornworm caterpillar chowing down on a wild tobacco plant in the Great Basin Desert, Utah

Caterpillars Repel Predators With Second-Hand Nicotine Puffs

As far as spiders are concerned, caterpillars have a case of very bad breath

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