Huge fires roared through Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 1988, scorching one-third of the park. Since then the park has been a valuable lab for studying how forests recover from fires.
The $444 million awarded to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation has been criticised as a politically calculated move. But governments have been asking what the reef can do for them ever since colonial times.
Was Darwin inspired by the tropical wildlife of his travels to discover natural selection? Actually, pigeons, worms and barnacles were far more prominent in his thinking.
What drives the emergence and disappearance of species? By modeling the fundamental processes of evolution and ecology on geographical scales, new research spotlights topography and climatic shifts.
Chytrid fungus has caused a global “amphibian apocalypse,” killing frogs worldwide. Now some appear to be evolving resistance – but a closely related fungus threatens newts and salamanders.
People used to think that boy lions had big shaggy manes to protect their necks from being bitten or scratched during fights. But scientists soon realised this idea didn’t make much sense.
Ecology is in the midst of a technological revolution. From tiny sensors that can be fitted to animals, to swarms of remotely-piloted drones, researchers have a host of new ways to study the natural world.
Scientists often use animals and plants as indicators to assess whether ecosystems are polluted. Tracking bats, which cover wide areas and need clean water, could become a way to find potable water.
Recent research shows that US rivers are becoming saltier and more alkaline. Salt pollution threatens drinking water supplies and freshwater ecosystems, but there is no broad system for regulating it.
Questionable research practices are not fraud, and they’re not cause for panic. But they do give us some hints about how we can make science more robust.
Deron Burkepile, University of California, Santa Barbara et Mark C. Ladd, University of California, Santa Barbara
With coral reefs in crisis around the world, many organizations are working to restore them by growing and transplanting healthy corals. A new study spotlights techniques that help restored reefs thrive.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University