Ecology

An Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) licks nectar from the Ethiopian red hot poker flower (Kniphofia foliosa).

These Endangered Wolves Have a Sweet Tooth—and It Might Make Them Rare Carnivorous Pollinators

Ethiopian wolves like to lick up the flower nectar of red hot poker plants, and researchers have caught the behavior on camera

The researchers of the paper, Matthew Adeleye, University of Cambridge, and David Bowman, University of Tasmania, study a sediment core.

Researchers Uncover the Oldest Record of Humans Using Fire in Tasmania, Almost 2,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Known

A new paper reveals how Aboriginal people changed the landscape by burning, demonstrating how similar practices could help manage modern bushfires

Straw-colored fruit bats typically start drifting into the park around October and leave in January.

The World's Largest Mammal Migration Is Taking Place in Zambia Right Now

Each year, millions of straw-colored fruit bats descend on Kasanka National Park for a few months, and scientists are working to understand their mysterious journey

Pocket gophers are a type of burrowing rodent known for their extensive tunnels.

How a Team of Gophers Restored Mount St. Helens After Its Catastrophic Eruption With Less Than a Day of Digging

After the volcanic eruption of 1980, scientists released the burrowing rodents for only a brief time, but their activities left a remarkably enduring impact, according to a new study

A sperm whale swims away, leaving a cloud of feces.

Scientists Are Crafting Fake Whale Poop and Dumping It in the Ocean

The artificial waste could fertilize the ocean and sequester carbon

The crowning glory of the Gardenia brighamii is its pearly flower.

Can Fungi Save This Endangered Hawaiian Tree?

By inoculating greenhouse na’u seedlings with mycorrhizal fungi, researchers hope to boost survival odds when the plants are returned to the wild

Grizzly 399, along with one of her cubs, in Grand Teton National Park in 2021.

The 'World's Most Famous Grizzly' Was Killed by a Car. Was Her Death Preventable?

Grizzly 399 became a celebrity of Grand Teton National Park in her lifetime. Now, her death has drawn attention to wildlife-vehicle collisions and how they might be reduced

Leaf senescence creates a golden canopy over a trail in the Harvard Forest.

What 30 Years of Studying the New England Woods Reveals About the Colors of Changing Leaves

An ecologist’s long walks and detailed observations allowed him to chronicle the shifts in an iconic habitat and grow a once-overlooked branch of science

Thirty-six homes—the world’s last topped with a traditional eelgrass roof—all sit here on Laeso.

Could Eelgrass Be the Next Big Bio-Based Building Material?

On the island of Laeso in Denmark, one man is reviving the lost art of eelgrass thatching and, in doing so, bringing attention to a plant that has great potential

A team of scientists in the Red Sea captured footage of a big blue octopus hunting with other fish species.

Watch Octopuses Team Up With Fish to Hunt—and Punch Those That Don't Contribute

The collaboration across species reveals a surprising social behavior of octopuses, researchers say

American redstarts and magnolia warblers were thought to fly together merely by coincidence, but new research suggests they might be forming a social relationship.

Birds Form Surprising Relationships With Other Avian Species During Migration, Study Suggests

New research indicates that birds are not alone while migrating—and sharing space with other species may even help them on the journey

Germany’s North and Baltic Seas are littered with munitions from the First and Second World Wars, such as shells—as shown here—once fired from German battleships.

A Massive Effort Is Underway to Rid the Baltic Sea of Sunken Bombs

The ocean became a dumping ground for weapons after Allied forces defeated the Nazis. Now a team of robots and divers is making the waters safer

Healthy little brown bats in Mt. Aeolus cave in Vermont in 2012

The Surprising Link Between Bats Dying and Human Infant Mortality

A new study finds that when bats in U.S. counties were decimated by the deadly white-nose syndrome, human deaths followed closely behind

The doomed porbeagle shark, just after being tagged and released by researchers in 2020.

Scientists Solve a 'Murder Mystery' After a Pregnant, Tagged Shark Got Eaten

It's rare for apex predators to become prey, but researchers suggest they've documented the first known case of a porbeagle shark getting consumed by another animal

An artist's rendition of the prehistoric sea cow's death.

Fossils Capturing a Sea Cow's Violent End Shed Light on Prehistoric Food Chains

New research suggests the dugong-like sea creature was attacked by a crocodile, then its remains were scavenged by a tiger shark—a rare series of events to be immortalized in the fossil record

An orb-weaver spider wraps a male firefly in silk while it flashes from its lanterns. Male fireflies typically signal with multiple pulses using two lanterns, while females emit single pulses from one lantern.

These Spiders Use Captured Fireflies as Flashing Lures to Snare More Prey

A new study suggests orb-weaver spiders manipulate trapped male fireflies to emit female-like signals, which in turn draws more males into the web

The European ant species Lasius emarginatus arrived to Manhattan around 2011 and has since become one of the most dominant ant species in the city.

Invasive 'ManhattAnts' Are Taking Over New York City and Spreading Quickly

Since appearing on Manhattan in 2011, the species has become one of the island's most dominant ants, and scientists formally identified it this year

An aerial photograph of Lahaina's banyan tree taken on August 3, 2024. A wildfire devastated the town in August 2023.

One Year After a Devastating Fire, Lahaina's 151-Year-Old Banyan Tree Is Healing

Arborists didn't know if the historic tree would survive, but they've been working to give it the best possible odds

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As Hurricanes Bear Down and Get Stronger, Can a $34 Billion Plan Save Texas?

A massive project prompted by the wildly destructive Hurricane Ike offers a solutions-based preview of our climate future

Previous research has looked at the static electricity of bees, but the study authors write that the charges of butterflies hadn't been measured before.

Static Electricity May Help Butterflies and Moths Pick Up Pollen

A new study measured the insects' electrostatic charges and used computer simulations to show that the charges were strong enough to lift pollen

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