Counting the Uncountable: The Global Biomass and Population of Land Arthropods
The world’s landmasses are teeming with insects, spiders. and their relatives. How many are there, and how much do they weigh?
Read more
Ecosystems
Mowing through challenges: cutting-edge ways to improve grassland restoration efforts
A new study explores how grassland restoration can be limited by seed dispersal, plant competition, and environmental factors. Drawing from ecological theory to test the best restoration strategies, researchers recommend mowing to manage weeds and promote native plant success. In years with plenty of rain, adding seeds of small native plants to areas where grass has been removed is an effective strategy to increase native herbaceous plant cover.
Read more
Falling Forests, Rising Temperatures: Deforestation and Regional Warming in the Amazon
Deforestation in the Amazon causes temperatures to rise up to 100 km away. Taking this regional warming into account can help us better predict future warming in the forest.
Read more
Navigating the Seas of Change: The Divergent Impact of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Marine Trophic Levels
Ocean acidification and warming are profoundly altering marine ecosystems, impacting organisms from the bottom to the top of the food chain. Trophic levels—ranging from primary producers to apex predators—illustrate the complex web of energy transfer within these systems. In response, a team of scientists conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to better understand how ocean acidification and warming would affect different marine trophic levels. Amidst these changing environments, understanding these energy dynamics becomes essential for devising effective conservation strategies.
Read more
Avian Urbanites: Which Birds Can Make it in the Big City?
Specific traits – including longevity, small size, and having a broad diet – predict whether birds will thrive in urban environments
Read more
How Can Pesticides Affect the Development of Aquatic Life?
Agriculture uses pesticides to maintain continuous food production. But what is the effect of these chemicals on aquatic animals? With this in mind, researchers from Brazil collaborated to study the effect of one of the most used pesticides in the country on zebrafish.
Read more
The Trouble with Trawling: the Massive Carbon Footprint of Bottom Trawling
In addition to being terrible for biodiversity, bottom trawling releases a huge amount carbon from the sea floor. Researchers have quantified this previously obscure source of emissions, with the total roughly equal to those released annually by Argentina.
Read more
Climbing to Survive: Ants in the Rainforest Canopy May Be Resistant to Effects of Climate Change
Climate doesn’t just change across different biomes – even a single tree can have multiple climates. How do the canopy and forest floor differ in their climate, and how does this impact species at these locations?
Read more
Reef Remodeling: How Reef Carpets Could Change How We View Reef Restoration
Coral reefs are one of the most important marine ecosystems in the world, but climate change and other stressors are pushing on their wellbeing and leading to degradation. That’s where reef restoration comes in, where scientists and volunteers work to reproduce tiny corals and transplant them onto degraded reefs—but this restoration mostly focused on survivability, and not variety. In a new approach, a group of scientists have constituted what they call “Reef Carpets”, which are patches of restoration efforts filled with biodiversity. They found that these “Carpets” jumpstart a whole reef ecosystem, leading to better outcomes in the long run.
Read more
Why is There Slime in This Corn? The Salty Experiment
Roughly half of cropland is salt stressed worldwide. Finding ways to enhance crop yield is of great importance. Using bacteria that produce biofilms to protect plants under harsh conditions may be a sustainable solution.
Read more