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.
Ecosystems
More Stories in Ecosystems
- Ecosystems
Let’s learn about wetlands
Just how wet these lands are varies a lot — from seasonally soaked to permanently flooded.
- Animals
Analyze This: How many insects are in the air?
Weather data have helped estimate the density of flying insects in U.S. skies. That could help track climate change’s impact on insects.
- Ecosystems
Hurricane Katrina shaped this coastal ecologist’s life and work
Surviving Hurricane Katrina inspired Elliott White Jr.’s scientific journey to studying how humans and climate change impact wetlands.
- Environment
Human-built ‘beaver’ dams help save struggling streams
To help restore streams, ecologists and other scientists are taking tips from the rodents — and hoping some beavers also join in.
- Fossils
Fossil vomit shows what one 290-million-year-old predator dined on
Bones in the barfed-up material, which dates to a time before the dinosaurs, offer a rare peek into the diet of a prehistoric hunter.
- Oceans
The sea surface covered by seaweed is now as big as South America
The first global mapping of macroalgae blooms in the ocean, last year, reveals rapid growth and a new record for the area seaweed blankets.
- Ecosystems
The Okefenokee’s dark waters hold secrets about climate and more
This Georgia peat swamp’s vast stores of carbon and water are under threat from mining and pollution. Scientists and locals are fighting to protect it.
- Animals
Animals’ personalities can affect a species’ survival
From bold foxes to shy parrots, animals’ personalities are increasingly being seen as key to saving species.
- Environment
Antarctica faces a green and weedy future
Warming is allowing alien species to invade a land that had been isolated for 30 million years. They now threaten local ecosystems unique to Antarctica.
