Animals
Polar bears leave thousands of tons of food scraps for other species
The new finding quantifies how much of polar bears' food goes uneaten. As these bears decline, Arctic scavengers risk losing a critical food source.
HS-LS2-1
Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales.
More Stories in HS-LS2-1
- Environment
Microplastic pollution aids viruses and prolongs their infectivity
The tiny plastic bits give these germs safe havens. That protection seems to increase as the plastic ages and breaks into ever smaller pieces.
- Animals
Study finds big drop in animal populations since 1970
But the same thing is not happening throughout the kingdom. For instance, more than half of vertebrate populations are stable or increasing.
- Animals
Cougars pushed out by wildfires took more risks around roads
After an intense burn in 2018 in California, big cats in the region crossed roads more often. That put them at higher risk of becoming roadkill.
- Environment
Bacterial ‘living wires’ could help protect the seas and climate
Long, thin bacteria that conduct electricity may be able to help clean up oil spills and reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
- Humans
Eight billion people now live on Earth — a new record
The global population hit this milestone on November 15, according to an estimate from the United Nations.
- Health & Medicine
How wriggling, blood-eating parasitic worms alter the body
Parasitic worms eat blood and make people sick, but they may also help prevent or treat some diseases.
- Animals
Some ecologists value parasites — and now want a plan to save them
Parasites get a bad rap as disease-causing, unwelcome guests on other organisms. But parasites are also imperiled, and scientists don’t want to lose them.
- Animals
Dogs and other animals could aid the spread of monkeypox
Now that monkeypox has spread to a dog, researchers fear other species could help the virus become widespread outside of Africa for the first time.
- Animals
Sleepy mosquitoes prefer dozing over dining
Mosquitoes repeatedly shaken to prevent slumber lagged behind well-rested ones when offered a leg to feed on.
