Whale sharks on collision course as warming seas may force them into shipping lanes – new study

How climate change will affect the world’s biggest fish.

David Sims, Professor of Marine Ecology, University of Southampton • conversation
Oct. 7, 2024 ~6 min

Invasive caterpillars can make aspen forests more toxic for native insects – a team of ecologists explains how

Research finds that extensive feeding by invasive insects can cause trees to produce defense compounds, to the detriment of valued native insects.

Patricia C. Fernandez, Professor of Agronomy and CONICET Scientist, Universidad de Buenos Aires • conversation
Sept. 19, 2024 ~8 min


We gathered centuries-old written records to show the seas around Wales once teemed with life

Research shows a long decline, but reveals what the seas could look like again in future.

Alec Moore, Lecturer in Marine Top Predator Conservation, Bangor University • conversation
Sept. 11, 2024 ~6 min

I’ve visited the same Rocky Mountain subalpine meadow weekly for a decade of summers looking at plant-pollinator interactions – here’s what I learned

Decades-long environmental studies can reveal trends caused by climate change better than projects that last only a year or two.

Julian Resasco, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Sept. 10, 2024 ~8 min

India’s new mega-dam will roil lives downstream with wild swings in water flow every day

The hydropower dam is part of a huge effort to boost India’s homegrown energy. But it will radically disrupt the lives and livelihoods of indigenous communities in the flood plains downstream.

Parag Jyoti Saikia, Ph.D. Candidate in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • conversation
Sept. 4, 2024 ~10 min

Sharks are taking a bite out of anglers’ catch in the Gulf of Mexico, but culling isn’t likely to help

Whether they’re going to cook a fish, have it mounted or just take a photo and then release it, anglers want more than a severed head. But with shark numbers rebounding, they’ve got competition.

James Marcus Drymon, Associate Extension Professor in Marine Fisheries Ecology, Mississippi State University • conversation
Aug. 20, 2024 ~9 min

Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars

For trees, growing to maturity involves much more than just reaching upward.

Wayne K. Clatterbuck, Professor Emeritus of Silviculture and Forest Management, University of Tennessee • conversation
Aug. 15, 2024 ~8 min

First map of vegetation across Antarctica reveals a battle for the continent’s changing landscape

In the barren cold deserts of ice-free Antarctica only lichen, mosses and algae survive – for now.

Claudia Colesie, Senior Lecturer in Physiological Plant Ecology, The University of Edinburgh • conversation
Aug. 8, 2024 ~5 min


Oceans without sharks would be far less healthy – new research

A broad review of shark research shows that sharks play critical roles in keeping ocean ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass beds healthy.

Michael Heithaus, Executive Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education and Professor of Biological Sciences, Florida International University • conversation
Aug. 1, 2024 ~8 min

Trees don’t like to breathe wildfire smoke, either – and they’ll hold their breath to avoid it

An unplanned experiment when wildfire smoke rolled through Colorado shows how trees keep some of the smoke out.

Mj Riches, Postdoctoral Researcher in Environmental and Atmospheric Science, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
July 30, 2024 ~8 min

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