Scientists Finally Know What Killed Billions of Sea Stars
A guest post by Mariella B. L. Careaga
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Author: Julia Bebout
Arthropod Allies in the Atacama Desert: How One Parasitic Plant Promotes its Own Success
Parasitic plants are a bit like vampires; they suck the sap out of other plants. Because of their unusual lifestyle, these plants’ impacts on their community of neighboring plants and animals can be complicated and surprising. A team of researchers in Chile asked an interesting question: Do parasitic plants benefit from the cascading effects they have on their communities of neighboring plants and animals?
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How Can We Protect Salmon from Climate Warming? It Depends on the River
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are sensitive to changes in temperature. To survive, salmon must be adaptable, particularly in a warming and increasingly unpredictable climate. However, little is known about how this culturally valuable fish responds to dramatic changes in temperature.
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The Soil Seed Bank: Plant Communities’ Secret Weapon
Plant communities have a secret survival tool buried underground: the soil seed bank. When the environment changes, the seed bank helps buffer the plant community against those changes. But what if the seed bank can’t survive the environmental changes either? Scientists explore a wetland to learn more about the secretive soil seed bank.
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The Fight for Fish Food: Invasive Armored Catfish vs. Native Fishes
Aquariums are beloved by many. Enthusiasts enjoy nurturing and viewing aquariums full of beautiful and unique fish from around the world. However, the aquarium trade contributes to lots of introductions of fish to ecosystems in which they are non-native. What does this mean for these ecosystems?
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Do Mangoes Like It Hot? Climate Change And Your Favorite Fruit
Can your favorite fruits and vegetables survive the effects of climate change? Scientists are finding creative solutions to this problem.
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Not All Forestry Is Equal: How High Retention Logging Might Protect the Understory
Retention logging is the practice of harvesting trees while leaving some fraction of the forest in place. Studies have shown that this type of logging speeds forest recovery and maintains forest habitat for animals. But studies mostly watched forests recover for only a few years, while forests can take decades to recover from deforestation. Does retention logging really help forest ecosystems in the long run?
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“Remembering” Past Climates May Help Trees Survive in a Changing World
Tree growth rate can depend on both past and present environmental conditions. With increasingly frequent and intense droughts, the importance of this environmental “memory” for growth may be changing in two-needle piñon trees.
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Parasitic Plants Can (Sometimes) Help Competing Plants Coexist
Did you know that plants can be parasites of other plants? It’s true, and these parasitic plants might help maintain biodiversity!
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Resetting the Internal Clock: Adaptable Butterflies’ Response to Climate Warming
As the climate warms, habitats near the poles are becoming increasingly hospitable for many plants, animals, and insects. But it remains uncertain whether species’ range expansions might eventually be hindered by differences in daylength at higher latitudes. Wall brown butterflies are making the journey northwards from Europe in response to climate warming. How do differences in daylength at higher latitudes affect them, and what can they do to survive in these new conditions?
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