Ecosystems

Agriculture

A secret climate superhero lies beneath our farms

Agriculture contributes to climate change. But changes to how farms manage soil might help remove carbon and other greenhouse gases from the air.

Plants

Could trees ever get up and walk away?

In fantasy, trees can walk, climb and even fight. Real trees move, too. It just happens in extreme slow mo.

Ecosystems

Analyze This: In movies, wetlands often get a bad rap

Swamps in films are often linked to danger, death and strange things. But movies also highlight wetlands’ biodiversity and resources.

Ecosystems

There’s life beneath the snow — but it’s at risk of melting away

The organisms that make winter homes in this subnivium help forests thrive year-round. But climate change is making this ecosystem disappear.

Plants

Catapulting pollen helps this flower beat out its rivals

With explosive blasts of pollen, male Hypenia macrantha flowers remove rival pollen from hummingbird beaks before the birds reach female flowers.

Animals

Werewolves could learn from other critters when to hunt

Werewolves aren’t the only creatures that undergo transformation under the full moon. But could weak werewolves be at risk of becoming prey?

Plants

Many flowers and ferns lure in ants as bodyguards

With an offer of a nectar meal, ferns and flowering plants have been bribing ants to fend off predatory insects — since before the rise of T. rex.

Animals

Balmy ‘saunas’ help frogs fend off a deadly fungus 

Hanging out in small sun-warmed hideaways could help some frogs resist deadly chytrid fungus, a new study finds.

Plants

This squid-like ‘fairy lantern’ plant is new to science

A newly named species of fairy lantern — a parasitic plant — sports tentacles and grows among leaf litter and rotten logs in Malaysian rainforests.

Animals

Phoenixes aren’t the only creatures to survive the flames 

Although a phoenix that burns and lives is a myth, many living things on Earth don’t mind hot temperatures. 

Oceans

The seas’ record-breaking hot streak may bring unwelcome changes

Off-the-charts warming could fire up more hurricanes, intensify coral bleaching and accelerate the melting of Antarctic sea ice.

Animals

Surprise! These animals can help fight climate change

Some animals help fight climate change by boosting the amount of carbon dioxide that plants, algae and bacteria absorb from the atmosphere.