Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

  1. Animals

    Scientists discover the first true millipede

    The newfound deep-living species tunnels belowground using a whopping 1,306 legs!

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  2. Animals

    As the tropics warm, some birds are shrinking

    Migratory birds are getting smaller as temperatures climb, studies had showed. New evidence shows dozens of tropical, nonmigratory species are, too.

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  3. Animals

    A panda stands out at the zoo but blends in the wild

    A panda may stand out among bamboo at the zoo, but in the wild, its black-and-white coloring camouflages it from predators. Learn more with this web comic.

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  4. Earth

    Scientists Say: Savanna

    Savannas exist where there is more rainfall than in a desert, but less than in a forest.

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  5. Environment

    A new way to make plastics could keep them from littering the seas

    Borrowing from genetics, scientists are creating plastics that will degrade. They can even choose how quickly these materials break down.

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  6. Ecosystems

    Secret forest fungi partner with plants — and help the climate

    Forest fungi are far more than mere mushrooms. They explore. They move nutrients and messages between plants. They can even help fight climate change.

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  7. Animals

    Meat-eating bees have something in common with vultures

    Flesh-eating bees have acid-producing gut bacteria, much as vultures do. It lets them safely snack on rotting meat.

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  8. Animals

    Baleen whales eat — and poop — a lot more than we thought

    The amount of food that some whales eat and then poop out suggests these animals have a powerful influence over ocean ecosystems.

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  9. Plants

    Let’s learn about meat-eating plants

    Carnivorous plants use a variety of strategies to lure in and capture their prey, from sticky traps to jawlike leaves.

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  10. Climate

    Here’s how some sea-loving trees ended up far from the coast

    This “relict ecosystem” that’s more than thousands of years old moved inland due to warming and a rise in sea levels.

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  11. Oceans

    Scientists Say: Atoll

    Atolls form when coral reefs build up around underwater volcanoes.

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  12. Plants

    Scientists Say: Phloem

    Phloem is tissue that delivers food, made in leaves during photosynthesis, to the rest of a plant.

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