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environment

Swarm of honey bees around green foliage
Some Honey Bee Swarms Generate Electrical Charges Stronger Than Storms
Jef Akst | Oct 24, 2022 | 2 min read
Small charges carried by individual insects can add up, a study finds, with larger swarms generating substantial electrical fields.
A mesquite tree in an arid environment
Climate Change May Favor Nitrogen-Fixing Plants
Andy Carstens | Oct 17, 2022 | 2 min read
Aridity appears to configure landscapes with a greater diversity of plant species that rely on symbiotic bacteria for nitrogen.
News feature
Photo of a shallow, drying pond blocked off by a low fence in a hilly grassland with trees in the background.
Severe Drought, Heat Upended Research This Summer
Dan Robitzski | Oct 13, 2022 | 8 min read
Researchers scramble to adapt as bouts of severe heat and aridity increasingly become the norm.
News feature
Photo of a long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) sitting on a rock overlooking a large body of water.
What Happens to Science When Model Organisms Become Endangered?
Dan Robitzski | Oct 13, 2022 | 9 min read
The long-tailed macaque and pig-tailed macaque are now endangered in the wild according to the IUCN Red List, which says exports for monkey research are partially to blame.
Kentish plover standing by nest with eggs
Avian Deception More Widespread Than Previously Thought
Andy Carstens | Oct 3, 2022 | 5 min read
The broken-wing display, in which birds fake being wounded to protect their nests from predators, is found across the avian phylogenetic tree, a study finds.
Organic food - flat design style colorful illustration. A composition with male, female characters, family, a big plate of vegetables, vegetarian salad, carrot, pepper, greens. Healthy lifestyle
Opinion: Eating Right to Avoid Catastrophe
Giulia Wegner and Kris A. Murray | Oct 3, 2022 | 5 min read
The key to averting cataclysmic events, such as pandemics, climate change, and mass extinction of species, lies partly in what’s on our plates.
a fuzzy black and tan beetle chews on the bark of a pine tree sapling, whose needles can be seen in the background
Pine Trees’ Fragrances Help Neighbors Battle Bark Beetles
Katherine Irving | Sep 30, 2022 | 5 min read
Polluted air impedes the trees’ ability to read one another’s signals, a study finds.
Green fish with boat behind
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill’s Hidden Impacts on Mahi-Mahi      
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Sep 28, 2022 | 5 min read
Mahi-mahi were more likely to be eaten and less likely to spawn after being exposed to sublethal concentrations of oil, raising concerns about the risks oceanic drilling pose to life in the ocean.
A white deer mouse on sand surrounded by plants
Are We In the Midst of a Silent Mass Extinction?
Andy Carstens | Sep 22, 2022 | 7 min read
A new modeling technique aims to help scientists and policymakers detect declines in genetic diversity based on habitat loss.
An orange toad perched on a leaf
Past Malaria Surges Linked to Amphibian Die-off
Andy Carstens | Sep 21, 2022 | 2 min read
A study suggests that pathogens affecting other species can indirectly harm human health.
group of people standing on rock outcropping with ocean in distance
Repeated El Niño Events Could Spark Big Ecological Shifts
Margaret Osborne | Sep 19, 2022 | 5 min read
Five major El Niño events per century could lead to fewer fishes that thrive in cold water and more terrestrial birds in eastern coastal ecosystems.
Four study participants in t shirts and shorts sit around a table in a stainless steel chamber. All four are looking at personal electronics and wearing a breathing mask connected to a nearby machine via blue tubing.
A New Culprit in Air Pollution: Reactions Triggered by Human Skin
Shafaq Zia | Sep 2, 2022 | 4 min read
Oil on human skin reacts with ozone to produce highly reactive radicals that can generate toxic airborne chemicals in indoor spaces.
A postcard from the early 1900s depicting an Indigenous midden in Damariscotta, Maine.
Sticks and Bones, Circa 8000 BCE
Dan Robitzski | Sep 1, 2022 | 3 min read
Ancient stashes of animal bones, tools, and other artifacts are often dismissed as archaic garbage heaps, but the deposits provide glimpses of the cultural practices and environmental conditions of past Indigenous settlements.
dead bee surrounded by yellow flower petals
Science Snapshot: One Insect’s Corpse Is Another’s Breakfast
Lisa Winter | Aug 31, 2022 | 2 min read
Though it’s poetic to say that ants were grieving the bee at a funeral, the reality is a bit more prosaic.
Green frog in trees with green leaves
For Frogs, Bigger Brains Mean Worse Camouflage
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Aug 23, 2022 | 3 min read
Frogs invest in cognitive capacity to avoid predators—up until there are too many hungry snakes around for the evolutionary strategy to pay off.
An aerial view of the Tetiaroa Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
Science Snapshot: Reversing an Invasion of Paradise
Lisa Winter | Aug 17, 2022 | 2 min read
After years of work, conservationists have successfully eliminated two invasive rat species from the Tetiaroa Atoll in French Polynesia.
Chinook salmon swimming in the water
Probable Chlorine Exposure Kills 21,000 Fish at UC Davis
Catherine Offord | Aug 16, 2022 | 2 min read
Threatened and endangered species were among the dead, likely poisoned overnight by a chlorination system used to decontaminate the animals’ tank water.
Oysters’ shells were made into concrete and other materials used in construction during the Industrial Revolution.
Scientists Use Sound to Attract Baby Oysters Back to the Reef
Ian Rose | Aug 15, 2022 | 5 min read
Meet the team trying to restore mollusk populations with the help of underwater speakers.
Ferns bounced back much faster than other plants after the meteor impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Why Did Ferns Persist When All Other Plants Perished?
Amanda Heidt | Aug 15, 2022 | 6 min read
A strange layer in the fossil record contains evidence that fern populations exploded following the mass extinction that ended the Cretaceous period. Scientists want to know why.
A male and female lizard sit together on a fence post with grass in the foreground
Climate Change Prematurely Ages Lizards Before They’re Born
Amanda Heidt | Aug 9, 2022 | 2 min read
Lizards born to parents that experienced persistent heat had shortened telomeres, a genetic weathering that typically happens with age but can also be exacerbated by stress.
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