Forests cover more than one-third of the land on Earth, yet few vertebrates make the canopy their home, and even fewer subsist…
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Ecology Why Sloths Live Life in the Slow Lane
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Conservation Bats and Wind Turbines
In laudable efforts to counter climate change, many countries around the world are turning to renewable energy sources, such as wind. Wind…
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Ecology Oldest Fossil Evidence of Agriculture – By Termites
An international team of researchers has discovered the oldest fossil evidence of agriculture, and it dates back millions of years before humans…
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Ecology The Oceans are Aglow With Light-Up Fishes
Bioluminescence – the production of light from a living organism – is found in a surprising variety of ocean fish. A new…
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Climate Change Hornbills’ Giant Beaks Help Them Cool Off in the Desert Heat
Top Image: Yellow-billed hornbill, Dean Portelli. While you and I rely on sweating to cool off, birds have two primary thermoregulatory strategies…
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Climate Change Playing with matches: Incorporating human activity into wildfire forecasting
The Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta. Canada, now at well over half-a-million acres in size and still out of control as of…
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Ecology Cooperative Fish Take Turns With Gender Roles
Chalk bass (Serranus tortugarum) are small sea bass in the grouper family. What makes these fish interesting is that they are simultaneous…
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Biodiversity Invasive Species Compete with Native Species for Room to Be Heard
Invasive species can wreak havoc on ecosystems. Most research has focused on how introduced species negatively impact biodiversity through predation, competition for…
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Ecology Sperm Whale Heads May Serve as Battering Rams
The sperm whale forehead is one of the largest and strangest structures in the animal kingdom. It contains two large oil-filled sacs…
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New Research Bright lights big city: do energy-efficient LED lights cause unexpected ecological damage?
Image above: new LED streetlights in the city of Houston, TX (meltedpastic, creative commons license). Planet earth runs on light energy. Light…
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Ecology The Enemy of My Enemy is…My Alligator? Mutualism and protection rackets in the Florida Everglades.
When you think of alligators the word friendly isn’t usually at the top of the list of descriptors, but for alligators in…