How to make conservation initiatives more contagious
New research shows conservation initiatives often spread like diseases, helping scientists and policymakers design programmes more likely to be taken up.
Read moreEcology
Ant-plant partnerships may play unexpected role in ant evolution
Partnerships between ant and plant species appear to arise from — but not drive — rapid diversification of ants into new species.
Read morePlants alert neighbors to threats using common 'language'
New research shows that plants can communicate with each other when they come under attack from pests.
Read moreNorthern forests have lost crucial cold, snowy conditions
Winter conditions are changing more rapidly than any other season and researchers have found clear signs of a decline in frost days, snow covered days and other indicators of winter that could have lasting impacts on ecosystems, water supplies, the economy, tourism and human health.
Read moreHow the Texas puma saved the Florida panther
Scientists have pieced together the first complete picture of the Florida panther genome — work that could serve to protect that endangered population and other endangered species going forward.
Read moreA tool to understand how ecosystems are responding to a changing climate
As climate change accelerates, recording shifts in plant flowering times is critical to understanding how changes in climate will impact ecosystem interactions. To help measure these shifts, researchers have introduced a new quantitative measure of phenological status, called the 'phenological index,' that improves scoring of developmental stage in herbarium specimens, and predicts a higher degree of phenological advancement in response to climate change.
Read moreBesides hot water, coral bleaching also about location, location, location
A new study revealed a more complex view than current standard predictions of coral bleaching events caused primarily by heat stress; rather, the scientists found that bleaching is driven by a variety of stressors, and each region responds differently.
Read moreSeagrass meadows harbor wildlife for centuries, highlighting need for conservation
Seagrass meadows put down deep roots, persisting in the same spot for hundreds and possibly thousands of years, a new study shows. Researchers used modern and fossil shells from seagrass-dwelling animals to estimate the age of these meadows, showing that, far from being transient patches of underwater weeds, they are remarkably stable over time.
Read moreNew imaging platform examines mechanisms behind coral bleaching
A non-invasive approach could help marine biologists monitor coral health in the face of climate change.
Read more