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Environment

Dead and dying sea creatures have been washing ashore on beaches in South Australia over the past 15 months because of a toxic algal bloom.

The Culprit Behind South Australia’s Deadly Algal Bloom Might Be the Most Toxic Species Ever Tested, Scientists Say

Karenia cristata, a rare type of microscopic algae that produces toxins that harm nerve cells, can be lethal at very low concentrations

The 1611 oil painting Air

Scientists Just Learned That This Bat Eats Birds Midflight. A Renaissance Painter May Have Known About It Hundreds of Years Ago

Last fall, scientists reported the first known recordings of greater noctule bats hunting and feasting on songbirds during night flights. But a 17th-century artwork by Jan Brueghel the Elder seems to depict the species flying with feathered prey in its mouth

Scientists analyzed about 25 years' worth of data from the Fram Strait, a passageway where the Arctic and Atlantic oceans meet.

The Arctic Ocean May Have Passed a Crucial Tipping Point That Could Harm Food Webs and Worsen Climate Change

Sea ice loss seems to have triggered a decline in the nutrient nitrate, affecting the tiny organisms that form the foundations of marine food chains and absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new study

To turn shrimp shells into a feedstock for hydrogen gas production, the process begins with mashing the shells into a rust-colored shrimp slurry.

How Shrimp Shells Are Being Turned Into ‘Carbon Negative’ Fuel, Food and Construction Materials

Engineers in Singapore have developed a new, multistep chemical process that transforms organic waste into useful, sustainable products

Researchers came up with the new count by studying insect biodiversity in a conservation area in Costa Rica.

Earth Might Be Home to 20 Million Insect Species—More Than Three Times as Many as Previously Thought, a Study Suggests

Recent estimates have come to the consensus that our planet hosts roughly six million species. But new research reveals that those counts may be drastically underestimated

The "cold blob," shown in blue near the top, is also called the Atlantic "warming hole."

As the Ocean Warms, a ‘Cold Blob’ in the Atlantic Has Puzzled Scientists. It Might Be a Warning Sign About a Key Current System

A patch of water south of Greenland and Iceland has cooled by nearly 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900. A new study suggests that it shows a crucial system of ocean currents is weakening, which could alter Earth’s climate

The new species is covered in spots and dashes.

Scientists Discover a New Species of ‘Walking’ Shark in Papua New Guinea. They Suspect It’s at Risk of Going Extinct

The creature belongs to a unique group of sharks whose members can use their strong pectoral fins like legs to get around

A city-dwelling male bowerbird near the structure that it built to woo mates, called a bower.

Male Bowerbirds in Australian Cities Are Turning Human Trash Into Treasure to Impress Potential Mates

Even rural birds prefer human-made objects, such as colored glass and wire, when given the choice between them and natural decorations, like leaves and shells, according to a new study

Human development—such as roads—affects wildlife. But so does the presence of people.

The Mere Presence of Humans—Not Just Our Changes to the Land—Can Alter Wild Animals’ Behaviors, a New Study Suggests

Researchers examined GPS tracking data from thousands of animals representing 37 species and anonymized cellphone location data from 2020, a year of Covid-19 lockdowns, and the previous year

Each by-the-wind sailor is made of a community of genetically identical organisms called "zooids" that perform different tasks.

Millions of Bright Blue Blobs Called ‘By-the-Wind Sailors’ Are Littering Beaches Along the West Coast

The strange creatures are washing up on shores across California, Oregon and Washington this spring—and making the coast smell especially fishy

Microplastics are particles smaller than five millimeters in length, or narrower than a pencil-tip eraser. 

Microplastics Are Swirling Around in the Atmosphere, Where They Might Be Contributing to Climate Change

Airborne plastic particles, particularly colorful ones, absorb more sunlight than they reflect, which can heat the surrounding air, according to a new study

Hammarby Sjöstad was originally engineered to have a carbon footprint 50 percent lower than the rest of Stockholm.

This Stockholm Neighborhood Was Built on Ambitious Sustainability Goals. When It Came Up Short, It Doubled Down and Became a Blueprint for Others

The original plan for Hammarby Sjöstad was for an eco-village aimed at attracting the Olympics. They never came, but the locals moved in and, with upgrades, hope to be carbon neutral by 2030

An intrepid male orangutan crosses an artificial bridge connecting trees on either side of a public road.

Watch the First Known Video of a Sumatran Orangutan Crossing a Human-Made Wildlife Bridge in the Treetops

A public road in Indonesia separates forests housing about 350 wild orangutans, among other animals. So, conservationists built several canopy bridges to prevent habitat fragmentation

Sea ice forms off the edge of the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea.

Warm Waters Are Usually Trapped Deep Within the Southern Ocean. Now, They’re Encroaching on Antarctica, Threatening Its Ice

Two new studies that relied on data from a fleet of diving robots show how climate change is altering ocean movements in ways that jeopardize the stability of the polar ice cap

The researchers studied a wetland shaped by Eurasian beavers in Switzerland.

Beavers Are Ecosystem Engineers—and They Might Be Helpful Allies in the Fight Against Human-Caused Climate Change

New research suggests that wetlands created by the industrious rodents are carbon sinks, meaning they store a lot of heat-trapping carbon dioxide—the human-produced gas largely responsible for today’s global warming

The monkeys sometimes steal food from tourists.

Gibraltar’s Famous Monkeys Are Eating Dirt, Likely to Alleviate Stomach Aches From Munching on Tourists’ Junk Food

The British territory’s Barbary macaques are the only wild monkeys in Europe. But many are consuming human snacks high in calories, sugar, salt and dairy, and low in fiber

A camera set up by the conservation organization Panthera captured a healthy male jaguar in the Sierra del Merendón mountain range.

A Rare ‘Cloud Jaguar’ Was Spotted in Honduran Mountains for the First Time in a Decade, Representing a Win for Conservationists

The big cats are rarely seen at high elevations, so the sighting suggests that efforts to protect a wildlife corridor in the region are working

Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are working hard to eradicate nutria from the state.

Large Invasive Rodents Are Wreaking Havoc in California. New Research Suggests Someone Deliberately Introduced Them

Genetic testing revealed that nutria living in California since 2017 are most closely related to a population in central Oregon—too far for the creatures to have traveled on their own

A Symphony of Disappearing Sounds for the Great Salt Lake, Olafur Eliasson, 2026

A Glowing Sphere Towering Over Utah Sent an Urgent Artistic Message: The Great Salt Lake Is Drying Up

Olafur Eliasson’s latest installation married visuals with a soundscape to draw the public’s attention to the plight of the important ecosystem

When male greater sage grouse attempt to attract a mate, they puff up their chest, droop their wings and fan their tail feathers into a starburst shape.

One of the American West’s Most Iconic Birds Is Attempting to Mate Near a Dangerous Airport. Could Robo-Birds Help Save Them?

Conservationists are deploying dancing animatronic birds to lure male greater sage grouse away from the Jackson Hole Airport, where dozens of the creatures have been struck and killed by planes

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