Contagion: Staying Safe While Species Share Spaces
As climate change pushes species around the world together, cross-species viral infections become a growing concern.
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Environmental Science
Bend it Like Betula: the discovery of springy Arctic shrubs
When I was growing up, I loved snow days. As soon as school was canceled, all the neighborhood kids would
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Microfiber, major problem
Microfibers are getting into our lakes and oceans. With the help of new technology and a little community effort, we may be able to stop them.
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Leaf Senescence: More Than a Color Show
Leaves change colors during the fall as part of a process called leaf senescence. Why is this process important, and what causes it?
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A weed by any other name would smell as sweet: Unsung pollination heroes
Weeds often get a bad rap, but new research suggests we should think twice before pulling them out of our gardens and farm fields. In fact, they may be even more beneficial than wildflower patches. Read on to learn more about how farmers’ and gardeners’ number one enemy – weeds – could actually be pollinators’ number one ally!
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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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Fungal Community Changes Amid Salinity and Succession
While we easily observe changes to vegetation in a recovering grassland, the changes below ground are less apparent, but equally important, if not more-so.
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Bridging the gap: Earthworms bring scientists and farmers together to improve soil health
Scientists and farmers have more in common than many people realize, including a desire to improve the health of our soils. By partnering together to study earthworms in farm fields, scientists and farmers are discovering how different agricultural practices impact soil health. Read on to learn more about how earthworms help bridge the gap between scientific research, farm management, and soil health!
Read moreUrban Gardens Provide Stable Nectar Supply for Pollinators
Insect pollinators are in trouble, and many plants on farms or in the wild need them to be able to grow fruits and reproduce. With so much at stake for plants around the world, and the humans who depend on them, how can we stop the decline of insect pollinator populations? Urban gardens may have a role to play in supporting pollinators, especially if we plant flowers that provide a stable supply of nectar, their most important food.
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Matriarch Madness: Mechanism of Social Parasitism and Colony Takeover in Ants
Carpenter ants play an important role in an ecosystem; they break down wood into smaller pieces that will ultimately become part of the soil. But a parasitic ant can rapidly take over and destroy a colony by simply disguising herself through chemical means.
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