Plastic Pollution Drives Crabs Crabby
Differing types of plastic may affect certain wetland species more than others.
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The Clock is TICKing – Tick attachment may increase under climate change
Ticks are risk-takers facing a daily dilemma: stay near the damp soil or climb the grass to find a host. Choosing one means losing access to the other. Ticks use weather conditions to inform whether to climb or stay put, but climate change may alter their behavior. Life or death for the tick has huge implications for human and animal health since ticks can transfer diseases with their bite. Click the tick to find out how hotter, more humid days will affect tick behavior.
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Soil Quality Under Pressure
Industrial agriculture could be putting the soil in a pinch.
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Giving Them a Fighting Chance: How To Save Insects from Climate Change
Insects, as small as they are, are even more important than you may think. Sadly, climate change and warming are slowly depleting insect populations as our urban spaces grow and the use of pesticides in rural areas increases. Actions like planting native plants and decreasing the concentration of concrete-sealed spaces could help create a world where insects are more resilient to the changing environment.
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Biologists go the distance for the safe release of migratory birds
Migrating birds have embarked on treacherous voyages for hundreds of thousands of years. Yet, habitat loss and climate change might be their biggest challenge. With many species on the brink of extinction, conservation programs aim to return and sustain wild populations of the world’s most vulnerable species. Captive breeding programs must select the fittest birds to survive such a perilous flight. Researchers find that sharper wing tips might improve survival during the first migration. There’s no time for winging it.
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Seaweeds Against Climate Change: How Algae Provide Us with Ecosystem Services
If you’ve ever been near the ocean, chances are you’ve had an involuntary encounter with seaweed. It’s slimy. It’s smelly. It’s just overall not pleasant—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful for both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Here we’ll review some of the ecosystem services they provide so we can start looking past the inconvenience they represent and start appreciating them as the valuable organisms they are.
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What can Hawaiian Lava Tubes Teach Us about Life on Mars?
What do Hawaii and Mars have in common? They both might have suitable habitats for microbes that can survive the extreme conditions in space. Read on to learn about how scientists are using lava tubes from Hawaiian volcanoes to learn about how life might survive on Mars.
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Commuting to… pollinate? How bees are choosing fragmented sites to forage
Like social bees, solitary bees are important pollinators. How do they choose where to forage when their habitat is broken up?
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¿Haz visto tiburones desde el cielo?
La grabación de fauna silvestre con drones fomenta la colaboración entre investigadores y aficionados de los vehiculos remotamente operados y la fotografía.
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When Pests Infest – A new tool for identifying at-risk forests
Forests globally are facing threats from insect and pathogen outbreaks. In this battle, drought and unsustainable logging have weakened forests, making them more vulnerable to attacks by insects and pathogens. Luckily, scientists joined the fight and have developed a tool to help identify forests that are at risk. Still, the world’s forests are not out of the woods yet.
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