126 Items Tagged

Biology

Scientists don’t know how many silky anteaters live in Brazil’s Parnaíba Delta. Densely vegetated mangroves make it difficult to count the elusive animals.

Brazil's Most Adorable Anteater May Be a New Species

These isolated, pocket-sized silky anteaters live among the mangroves of Brazil’s Atlantic coast.

James Hall November 20, 2023

Electric eels, native to the Amazon region, are known for delivering powerful, painful jolts to prey, would-be predators, and the occasional human. But much less is known about their reproduction.

The Shocking Sex Lives of Electric Eels in Brazil

Lightning and other environmental electricity may jumpstart reproduction for the Amazon Basin fish.

James Hall November 15, 2023

The bright colors of a monarch butterfly (<em>Danaus plexippus</em>), just like the boldly striped caterpillars of the species, warn predators to stay away.

The Monarch Butterfly Steals From Poisonous Plants to Survive

The butterfly defends itself using milkweed, just one of several plants packed with heart-stopping toxins that may also be in your medicine cabinet.

Noah Whiteman October 25, 2023

After you die, bacteria harvest your body for the nutrients that help push daisies.

When You Die, Your Necrobiome Recycles You

An environmental microbiologist explains why an individual's death is a new lease on life for an entire ecosystem.

Jennifer DeBruyn October 16, 2023

Podcast: Searching for Squids with Sarah McAnulty

We journey through the ocean depths, meeting a different cephalopod at each stop along the way.

The Podcast Team October 2, 2023

Scientists estimate there are some 4,000 bees native to the United States alone—but many of them are struggling to survive in our warming, pesticide-ridden world.

To Save America's Native Bees, the Oregon Bee Project Is Mapping Every Single One

The project aims to make a complete 'bee atlas,' detailing every single local pollinator.

Kate Raphael September 22, 2023

Researchers in an inflatable boat prepare to tag a bull shark they have flipped on its back, inducing tonic immobility. Science cannot yet explain why many species seem to go into a trance in this position.

To Track Bull Sharks, First Hit Their Snooze Button

For these researchers in Southern Africa, tagging the apex predators starts with putting them in trancelike tonic immobility.

Ryan Truscott September 20, 2023

Wild bluebells, native to the area, are thriving once more on Eoghan Daltun's land on Ireland's Beara Peninsula.

Rewilding His Corner of Ireland's Beara Peninsula Is One Man's Labor of Love

Eoghan Daltun has spent 14 years creating a showcase of native biodiversity.

Rory Carroll August 21, 2023

Meet the Algae and Other Microbes in Your Neighborhood

All you need is a jar of local water and a microscope—you may even find new species. Welcome to Algae Obscura.

Julia Van Etten August 15, 2023

Alligator gar can grow to gargantuan sizes.

world's largest

The World's Largest Freshwater Fish Are Weird and Wonderful

From 600-pound catfish to ancient sturgeon, these giants could be lurking in a river near you.

Stefan Lovgren July 31, 2023

A naked mole rat in laboratory tunnel. The oldest recorded naked mole rat in captivity lived to 39 years old.

The Secrets of the Longest-Living Mammals

Why do mole rats, Brandt's bats, and bowhead whales live so much longer than their relatives?

Roxanne Hoorn July 26, 2023

Fireflies glow along Japan's Hino River some 450 miles west of Tokyo.

How A ‘Firefly Course’ Is Saving Japan’s Favorite Glowing Insect

At the Moriyama City Firefly Forest Museum, nurturing Genji fireflies comes with homework.

Shoshi Parks July 25, 2023

Fifty years ago, only four Mauritius kestrels remained alive, making the bird the world’s rarest raptor. After a labor-intensive recovery, the species’ numbers are falling again.

The World's Rarest Raptor Hangs On Thanks to an Invasive Species

The Mauritius kestrel benefits from a plant that's harming the island's ecosystem, complicating conservation efforts.

Ryan Truscott July 24, 2023

Biologists on the Canary Islands only became aware of the islands’ robust population of angelsharks about a decade ago.

This Fake Beach in the Canary Islands Is a Baby Shark Paradise

Tenerife's Playa de las Teresitas attracts tourists looking for sun—and endangered angelsharks.

Dag Goering July 10, 2023

An adult male orangutan contemplates his next move in haze produced by Indonesia’s 2015 wildfires.

Wildfire Smoke Changes Orangutan Calls in Borneo

During massive fires in Indonesia, the critically endangered primates' voices provided clues to their overall health.

Wendy Erb July 3, 2023

Some two dozen white tubes sit in front of a triangle lattice wall

Bibo Park Ibiza Botánico Biotecnológico

This Ibiza botanical garden showcases some wild machines that run on plants, literally.

This New Species Is a Fish out of Water by Choice

The Juan Deriba killifish, found in a tiny area of Bolivia, jumps out of water to evade threats.

James Hall May 23, 2023

A bald eagle catches a coot in its talons at Orlando Wetlands Park in February 2023. The park—a natural wastewater treatment facility—attracts more than 230 bird species, as well as alligators, turtles, bobcats, and other wildlife.

This Orlando Water Park Is Wild. No, Really.

At Orlando Wetlands Park, water goes for a ride—through a natural filtration process—and attracts birds, gators, and more.

Gemma Tarlach May 9, 2023