HS-LS2-2
Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
- 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.
- Animals
Some Greenland polar bears are surviving with very little sea ice
The ‘glacial mélange’ on which they’ve come to rely — a mix of ice, snow and slush — could be a temporary refuge for some polar bears.
- Animals
Palm-size marsupials may face extinction from wild ‘house’ cats
After surviving Australian bushfires, the Kangaroo Island dunnart is losing ground as it's targeted by hungry predators.
- Space
The first plants ever grown in moon dirt have sprouted
This tiny garden shows farming on the moon may be difficult, although not impossible.
- Animals
Let’s learn about amphibians
Amphibians are named after the Greek word for “double life” because many transform from water dwellers to landlubbers as they grow up.
- Oceans
Night lights make even the seas bright
Light from coastal cities and offshore development may shine deep enough to disrupt tiny critters living dozens of meters (yards) below the surface.
- Animals
Infected caterpillars become zombies that climb to their deaths
By tampering with genes involved in vision, a virus can send caterpillars on a doomed quest for sunlight.
- Environment
Ponds made to control floods can spew climate-warming gases, study finds
Younger stormwater ponds can release more carbon in gases than they absorb, a study finds. That could aggravate global warming.
- Microbes
Kitchen sponges are bacteria’s dream home
Sponges are favorite spots for bacteria, partly because of the mixed-housing environment that the cleaner-uppers offer microbes.
- Animals
Analyze This: Birds may decorate nests to scare off rivals
Birds that nest in holes face stiff competition for nest sites. Some use feathers, also found where predators have made a kill, to keep rivals away.
- Life
Explainer: What is an endangered species?
Threats such as climate change and habitat loss can put species at risk of going extinct. Different words describe that risk.
- Environment
Bees and butterflies struggle to find flowers in polluted air
Emissions from cars and trucks make it harder for insects to find flowers. That in turn reduces flower visits and pollination, a new study finds.
