Ecosystems

Chemistry

Air pollution can make it harder for pollinators to find flowers

Pollutants that build up in night air can break down the scents that attract pollinating hawkmoths to primrose blooms, disrupting their pollination.

Plants

Rampaging vines are slowly strangling tropical forests

Called lianas,these vines are growing out of control. They may cause tropical forests to absorb less carbon dioxide — worsening climate change.

Ecosystems

A weird upside-down world lurks beneath Antarctica’s ice

A vast swath of ocean surrounds Antarctica, hidden under the ice. Here, strange creatures burrow into the dark underbelly of a floating glacier.

Animals

Swimming in schools lets fish save lots of energy

Each tail flap uses less than half as much energy than swimming solo, making it easier for fish to catch their breath after an underwater sprint.

Animals

Paw-print DNA lets scientists track out-of-sight polar bears

This environmental DNA can aid in conserving species that are hard or dangerous to observe.

Ecosystems

Restoring giant underwater forests, one blade at a time

Giant kelp are at risk due to climate change and human activities. In New Zealand, a community effort is rebuilding these underwater algal forests.

Earth

Analyze This: Tropical forests have gotten patchier

Although many of the world's forests have gotten less fragmented since 2000, tropical forests have gotten more chopped up, putting animals at risk.

Ecosystems

The Amazon is in trouble. Here’s why — and why it matters

Challenges from human-caused climate change, deforestation and degradation leave the fate of this vast forest uncertain.

Ecosystems

Scientists Say: Predator and Prey

Ecological relationships between predators and their prey drive the evolution of plants, animals and microbes.

Ecosystems

Scientists Say: Food web

All the species in an ecosystem and the feeding relationships between them get summed up with this handy picture.

Fossils

Ocean life may have bounced back after the ‘Great Dying’

Marine ecosystems may have been back in action just a million years after the most severe extinction event known.

Ecosystems

Let’s learn about how wildfires keep ecosystems healthy

Wildfires are so important for many ecosystems that sometimes professionals set them on purpose.