New research finds nearly 30% of land animals could disappear form their local area by 2100 due to climate change and habitat destruction. This is more than double previous predictions.
A short-tailed weasel in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Jacob W. Frank, NPS/Flickr
Polar bears and wolves may get the glory, but small predators like weasels, foxes and their cousins play outsized ecological roles. And many of these species are declining fast.
Emma Kast, University of Cambridge; Jeremy McCormack, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, and Sora Kim, University of California, Merced
Megalodon, the world’s largest known shark species, swam the oceans long before humans existed. Its teeth are all that’s left, and they tell a story of an apex predator that vanished.
Lee Smee, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Joseph W. Reustle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Hurricane Harvey destroyed the fishing infrastructure of Aransas Bay and reduced fishing by 80% over the following year. This removed humans from the trophic cascade and whole food webs changed.
Parasites do very well for themselves, which is why they are so common in the animal kingdom.
Geoffrey Read
Media coverage of sharks often exaggerates risks to people, but more than 500 shark species have never been known to attack humans, and there’s lots to learn about them.
Eastern quolls have been introduced in Booderee Nation Park as part of a rewilding project.
Oisin Sweeney
Rewilding is gaining popularity around the world, as a means to restore ecosystems to their ancient state. But just like Vegemite, Australian rewilding projects need to have a unique flavour.
An AC/DC-loving biologist tests the band’s 1980 assertion that “rock ‘n’ roll ain’t noise pollution.” Turns out it can be – and the negative effects of noise can ripple through an ecosystem.
Copepod with eggs (blue). Copepods are typically just a few millimeters long, but are important food sources for small fish.
NOAA
DNA sequencing is making it possible for scientists to identify thousands of species of zooplankton – drifting animals that are key links in ocean food webs.
A pelagic snail ensnares food with with a mucous web.
Linda Ianniello https://lindaiphotography.com
Biologists are finding new evidence that these ocean invertebrate grazers don’t just ingest whatever they catch. They can actually be picky eaters – and their choices might influence ocean food webs.
Plastic trash on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach.
Kevin Krejci
Matthew Savoca, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
A new study shows that anchovies – key food for larger fish – are attracted to plastic trash because it smells like food. This suggests that toxic substances in plastic could move up through food chains.
A tank can give a good idea of what will happen out in the wild.
A new study suggests the benefits of a boost to marine plant growth from increased carbon dioxide will be cancelled out by the increased stress to fish species.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University