Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- Animals
Watch an orca smash into a sunfish hard enough to make it explode
This tactic expands killer whales’ already broad range of behaviors for taking down prey.
- Animals
Spying on the secret lives of boobies
New high-tech tools let scientists “tag” along with these red-footed seabirds to solve the mystery of how boobies spend their days at sea.
- Animals
Frozen poop reveals Ice Age squirrels’ ecosystem
Ancient ground squirrels were anything but picky eaters. Genetic material from grasses to woolly mammoths popped up in frozen squirrel poop.
- Animals
How to lessen your pet’s impacts on the planet
Climate-friendly food choices, new poop solutions and avoiding animals collected from the wild can all help make pet ownership more sustainable.
- Microbes
This microbe turns into a ‘Hulk’ that eats its own kind
The shape-shifting transformation of Euplotes gigatrox may reveal how early life learned to act in complex ways.
- Animals
King cobras may be riding trains across India [COMIC]
The snakes may be tempted onboard by tasty rodents — but train rides can carry cobras far from their forest habitats.
- Animals
Here’s how ‘singing’ mice belt out their tiny tunes
Balloon-like air sacs in the mice's throats create whistling songs. No other animal is known to make calls in this way.
- Agriculture
Scientists Say: Corn Sweat
Cornfields release moisture into the air — or “sweat” — a couple of ways. One is evaporation. The other is transpiration.
- Animals
Mosquitoes may learn to like DEET, a common insect repellent
In lab tests, mosquitoes exposed to DEET while feeding learned to associate the chemical with food.
- Animals
This tree is the number one choice for forest mammals going number two
The strangler fig provides food and shelter for animals in the tropics. For at least 17 mammal species, it also serves as a toilet.
- Animals
Meet Bruce, the disabled kea parrot who is the boss of his flock
With half a beak, Bruce has developed a unique fighting style that has won him top status in his flock, videos and documented interactions reveal.
- Science & Society
This evolutionary biologist fuses art into her science
Victoria Glynn is studying how high temperatures are affecting ocean plankton. She also makes art to help communicate science to the public.
