In Canada, watersheds are vast and often inaccessible, making it difficult to monitor the health of these ecosystems. A new tool helps communities collect data to assess the state of Canada’s rivers.
A volunteer looks for waterbirds at Point Reyes National Seashore in California during the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count.
Kerry W/Flickr
COVID-19 kept many scientists from doing field research in 2020, which means that important records will have data gaps. But volunteers are helping to plug some of those holes.
Tennessee warblers (Leiothlypis peregrina) breed in northern Canada and spend winters in Central and South America.
Kyle Horton
Archaeologists used to dig primarily at sites that were easy to find thanks to obvious visual clues. But technology – and listening to local people – plays a much bigger role now.
Insects are an inexpensive and effective way to teach children about science.
Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images Plus
Insects are plentiful and inexpensive. Even when children aren’t attending school in person, they can learn from the encounters they have with insects outside.
Ahead of National Science Week, Chief Scientist Alan Finkel reflects on the growing value of citizen science, emphasising the need for more collaboration as we deal with an evolving climate.
The European firebug was first discovered in North America in Utah in 2008 and has quickly expanded its range.
(Shutterstock)
Social media has proved to be a helpful source of observations of snakes feeding. Knowing more about their diet is useful because it’s linked to their venom biochemistry.
Releasing balloons at weddings and other celebrations is festive, until they break into pieces and become plastic pollution. A citizen science project is spotlighting the problem.
Yellow trout lily flowers nearly a week earlier now than in previous decades in the Appalachian Mountains.
Katja Schulz/Wikipedia
Climate change has advanced the arrival of spring by as much as several weeks in some parts of the US. This can mean major crop losses and disconnects between species that need each other to thrive.
Costa’s Hummingbirds are frequent visitors at feeders in Arizona and southern California.
Julian Avery
Millions of Americans feed wild birds, especially in winter and spring. Studies show that this can influence birds’ health and behavior in surprising ways.
Obama nungara in a garden in France.
Photo by Pierre Gros
The predatory flatworm Obama nungara travelled in potted plants from Argentina to Europe, where it’s distrupting soil ecosystems. Now, citizen-scientists are helping map their distribution.