Reduced river flows below irrigation dams decimate freshwater dolphins Rare photo showing two Indus River dolphins in the wild. Photo credit: Albert Reichert, CC-BY.N The Indus River dolphin (Platanista gangetica…
Miniature acoustic tags allow researchers to track newborn sea turtles during 'swimming frenzy' Baby sea turtles vanish after they scamper into the ocean. Years later, juvenile turtles may pop up…
Researchers find that warming ocean and acidification could hit young sharks hard Fierce predatory sharks rule the oceans from the apex of the food pyramid. But climate change may be…
Little chance of reaching 'sustainable population' in next century According to recent projections, the number of people living on Earth could exceed ten billion by the end of this century.…
What happened to Egypt's Serengeti-like ecosystem? Art helps scientists unravel the past The scientists found that major disappearances coincided with climate and environmental changes. Click here to see a Brazilian…
A controlled burning of Macondo well oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster that rose to the ocean surface. [Credit: David Valentine] Images from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster endure, from…
A small-scale fisher in Sri Lanka. [Credit: Nishan Perreira/Project Seahorse]. Do you know how that tuna sashimi got to your dinner plate? Probably not—and chances are, the restaurant that served…
Millions drink toxic arsenic in their water. This German nature lover and microbiologist says bioluminescent bacteria could light the path to safety. Interview by Nsikan Akpan. A knob turns, and…
The catastrophic explosion that spewed some five million barrels of oil deep into the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 will take a heavy toll in the ocean’s lowest layers…
At first glance, a recent report from the U.S. White House on the social cost of carbon reads like a daunting economics exam. A small chart poses the first question…
A polar bear plods through summer mud in the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Photo by: Jon Sweetman. The mighty polar bear has long been the poster child for the effects of…
They evaded humans for millions of years and live very private lives. The hulking, fleshy-finned fish known as the coelacanth has beguiled scientists for generations. But the coelacanth mystique that…
Hundreds of kilometers of commercial fishing lines slither along coastal waters in Costa Rica, hooking thousands of mahi-mahi and many other marketable fish. But when scientists scrutinized fishermen’s catch, they…
Wolves and grizzlies aren’t best buddies. Burly bears can barge in on a feasting pack, making off with the wolves’ fresh kill. Wolves have been known to dig into bear…
The plan from Ecuador’s government was simple: Pay us and we won’t destroy the planet's most extraordinary ecosystem. Dubbed the Yasuní-ITT initiative, the plan called upon developed nations to pay…
Some good news out of the Amazon rainforest: given enough time, deforested land can rebound enough to host bird species that had previously deserted the area, according to a recent…
The Amazon rainforest is so vast, and so diverse, that seemingly simple questions— such as which species of trees are most common— remain unanswered. Researchers are finally seeing the forest…
Puppet shows, posters and children’s activities that draw from local traditions are helping to save an endangered monkey in China. The activities, which encourage villagers—children and adults alike—to protect their…
In 1990, British cloud physicist John Latham published a paper arguing he could cool global climate by brightening clouds over the ocean. Most colleagues ignored the paper, titled “Control global…
Indonesian fishermen load sardines into the back of a truck. Photo by Rhett Butler. Global fisheries are gutting the world economy by US$13 billion annually, according to an economic analysis…
Apparent recovery of endangered muriqui monkeys in Brazil may not tell the whole story On paper, the northern muriquis (Brachyteles hypoxanthus) look like a conservation comeback story. Three decades ago,…
Groundnut breeder Albert Chamango grows tall perennial pigeon peas alongside his low-growing legumes to increase crop yields. Chamango works with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in…
A female leatherback surveys the ocean at Playa Grande, Costa Rica. While her hatchlings will be affected by rising beach temperatures, she faces threats at sea. Photo by: The Leatherback…
These maps represent how people and parasites moved in this study. The red areas represent areas with more movement out of them; blue represents areas with more movement to them;…
University at Buffalo students crawl over remnants of an ancient glacier on Baffin Island, Canada. Photo by Jason Briner, courtesy of the University at Buffalo. Even as glaciers retreat from…
The body of a bird killed in a window strike. Birds mistake the reflective glass as a clear flight path, flying into the window at full speed. Photo by: Paige…
Crows may be imagining more than we imagined. New research suggests certain crows make decisions based on factors they can’t see. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the…
Giant crab invasion looms in Antarctica Dangerous and disruptive king crabs lurk in a deep pocket of the Antarctic continental shelf, clamoring to escape their cold-water prison to reach and…
You’ve probably seen them: the TV ads showing chimpanzees wearing suits, driving cars, or smoking cigars. These ads may tickle our funny bone, but they warp our perceptions of how…
It took a custom-made submarine, billionaire Paul Allen, and a tenacious desire lasting well beyond two decades to unveil enigmatic details about the life of the coelacanth—the primitive fish that…
