Enlarge / “Leading us like breadcrumbs…” A trail of squat lobsters helped researchers locate previously unknown hydrothermal vents. The hydrothermal vents create chemosynthetic ecosystems, so in areas that are mostly barren of life, the appearance of larger animals can be an indicator of vents nearby. reader comments 15 Spectacular scenery, from lush rainforests to towering ..
Tag : Ecology
Enlarge / An ant infected by the lancet liver fluke climbs up and clamps its powerful jaws onto the top of a blade of grass, making it more likely to be eaten by grazers such as cattle and deer. University of Copenhagen reader comments 26 with Parasites that control and alter the behavior of their ..
Enlarge / Orange amphipods caught the eye (and interest) of Brown University graduate students conducting field research. David Johnson reader comments 23 with Scour the salt marshes of Plum Island Estuary in Massachusetts and you’re likely to spot bright orange shrimp lurking among the vegetation and detritus. That unusual hue is a sign that a ..
Enlarge / Bare, reddish-hued circular patches in the Namib Desert known as “fairy circles” are also found in northwestern Australia. UHH/MIN/Juergens reader comments 40 with Himba bushmen in the Namibian grasslands have long passed down legends about the region’s mysterious fairy circles: bare, reddish-hued circular patches that are also found in northwestern Australia. In the ..
Enlarge / A cocoa pod, this one grown in Asia. reader comments 49 with Cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire make less than a dollar a day. And there are almost 2 million of them; the two countries are the world’s largest cocoa producers, supplying two-thirds of the global supply. Cocoa is the primary ..
reader comments 35 with Share this story A survey of plastic waste picked up in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre—aka the Giant Pacific Garbage Patch—has revealed that the garbage is providing a home to species that would otherwise not be found in the deep ocean. Over two-thirds of the trash examined plays host to coastal ..
Enlarge / The Iguassu Waterfall and nearby forests straddle Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. reader comments 16 with 0 posters participating Share this story Deforestation not only causes the loss of important natural resources, it also contributes to global warming. Deforestation is the cause of about 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions globally, which is higher ..
Enlarge / This bee seems to be having a grand old time rolling this colored wooden ball. Samadi Galpayage reader comments 74 with 0 posters participating Share this story There’s rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we’re once again running a special Twelve Days of ..
Enlarge / An attempt to reconstruct what northern Greenland looked like about 2 million years ago. reader comments 8 with 0 posters participating Share this story When once-living tissue is preserved in a cold, dry environment, fragments of its DNA can survive for hundreds of thousands of years. In fact, DNA doesn’t even have to ..
Enlarge / Drone image of car driving through the NamibRand Nature Reserve, one of the fairy-circle regions in Namibia. Stephan Getzin reader comments 41 with 31 posters participating Share this story So-called “fairy circles” are bare, reddish-hued circular patches notably found in the Namibian grasslands and northwestern Australia. Scientists have long debated whether these unusual patterns are ..