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Ecology

Elephant seals on South Georgia island

Bird Flu Wiped Out Nearly Half of the Females in the World’s Largest Elephant Seal Population, Drone Images Suggest

Scientists recorded a 47 percent drop in breeding females in South Georgia’s three largest elephant seal colonies after bird flu hit. Scaled to the whole island, that’s a potential loss of more than 50,000 of the animals

Remoras hitch a ride on a humpback whale.

Watch Suckerfish Hitch a Wild Ride on Humpback Whales in Rare Video Footage

Suckerfish—also known as remoras—are harmless, but the whales didn’t seem to be fans of their hitchhiking

The specimen was discovered in Western Australia. 

This Newly Discovered ‘Lucifer’ Bee From Australia Was Named After Its Devil-Like Horns

Researchers hope the discovery shines a light on bee conservation Down Under

Eastern hellbenders are known as "snot otters" because they're covered in a slimy, protective coating.

Scientists Are Releasing the Lovingly Nicknamed ‘Snot Otters’ Into Ohio Waterways in a Big Success for Conservation

Eastern hellbenders, the largest amphibians in North America, are in trouble, but conservationists are hard at work to help the wrinkled wonders survive

While seaching for Ernest Shackleton's lost ship Endurance in 2019, researchers stumbled across clusters of indentations on the seafloor.

Researchers Found Hundreds of Mysterious Dimples on the Seafloor Near Antarctica. Now They Know What Creature Made Them

The indentations are nests of fish called yellowfin notie, and they are not randomly scattered—rather, they appear to have been arranged in distinct patterns

For two days at the start of monsoon season on the Indian subcontinent, male Asian common toads (right) turn bright yellow, while females (left) stay brown.

For Two Days Each Year, These Drab Brown Toads Turn a Dazzling Neon Yellow—and Scientists Finally Know Why

When monsoon rains begin to fall on the Indian subcontinent, Asian common toads congregate at temporary puddles for a frenzied, two-day mating spree

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There's More to That

Birds, Bats and Bugs: The Teeming World Above Our Heads

Researchers are finally able to catch a glimpse of the life filling the skies, and they want to protect it

Cameras captured nematodes attaching themselves to electrically charged fruit flies. 

These Parasitic Worms Use Static Electricity to Hitch a Ride on Flies

The tiny experiment yielded big results, showing how nematodes hop onto fruit fly hosts

Researchers collected images of lizards with missing limbs from experts around the world. Pictured here: an American green anole.

These ‘Pirate Lizards’ Thrive With Three Legs

A new study finds that many lizards with missing limbs fare surprisingly well despite their impairment

Green sea turtles are rebounding, thanks to global conservation efforts.

After Decades of Decline, Some Good News Is Here for Green Sea Turtles

The International Union for Conservation of Nature no longer considers the marine creatures endangered and has instead reclassified them as a species of least concern

A dusky shark swims in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Hadera, Israel, where dusky sharks and sandbar sharks tend to gather.

Why Do Sharks Go Into Feeding Frenzies? A Case Study of a Recent, Unusual Attack on a Human Looks for Answers

After multiple dusky sharks killed a swimmer off Israel’s coast this year, scientists investigated what might have triggered the attack in hopes of preventing similar incidents

Ecological scent detection dog Circe searches for Canelo Hills ladies’ tresses in the tall vegetation

This Rare, Endangered Orchid Only Exists in Two Locations. Can Dogs, Cows and Fungi Help It Thrive?

A Smithsonian ecologist is trying to restore the plant, Spiranthes delitescens, which grows on Arizona’s sky islands

Bison graze near the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Montana.

Restoring Bison to Yellowstone Has ‘Reawakened’ the Ecosystem as the Large Animals Migrate, Study Suggests

An analysis of plant diversity and soil health across the bison migration corridor suggests free-roaming bison lead to more nutrient-rich plants

The sailback houndshark was first described as a new genus and species in 1973.

Elusive Sailback Houndshark Rediscovered in Papua New Guinea After 50 Years

The creatures are occasionally caught by local fishermen but hadn’t been scientifically recorded since the 1970s

Aside from his bright blue shell, Neptune is an otherwise normal lobster.

See the Rare ‘Electric Blue’ Lobster Found Off the Coast of Massachusetts

Meet Neptune, an American lobster with a vibrantly colored shell that results from a genetic mutation affecting pigmentation

The American robin was among the birds most affected by light pollution.

Light Pollution Is Making Days Longer for Birds, Extending the Hours When They’ll Sing

A new study looked at millions of recordings of birdsong and found that some species in areas with more light pollution are active for almost an hour longer than average

Researchers often observed a family of bats roosting together in tight "cuddle balls."

These Big, Meat-Eating Bats Also Have a Cuddly Side. Rare Videos Reveal ‘Hugging,’ Playing and Sharing Food

Scientists observed a family of four spectral bats in their roost in a tree in Costa Rica, capturing an inside look at their social behavior

Scientists find that streaked shearwaters poop every four to ten minutes in flight—a strict schedule that doesn't apply when they're sitting on the water's surface.

Video Footage Accidentally Reveals the Strange Pooping Behavior of These Large Seabirds

Researchers set out to investigate how streaked shearwaters take off and instead were surprised to discover that the birds poop very frequently and regularly, which could play a role in marine ecology

Scientists found evidence of "inbreeding depression" among eastern massasauga rattlesnakes in Michigan.

Habitat Loss Is Leading to Inbreeding Among Michigan’s Only Species of Venomous Snake

Roads, buildings and other manmade barriers are preventing the small pit vipers from slithering around to find mates from other populations

A bottlenose dolphin is seen "bow riding," or swimming just in front of a humpback whale, potentially getting a boost from the wave created by the larger mammal.

Whales and Dolphins Interact More Often Than Scientists Thought, Engaging in Mutual Play, Study Suggests

Researchers analyzed nearly 200 videos and photographs documenting interactions between the various kinds of cetaceans

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