Ecology

There has never been a better time to be or become a birder

By cutting trees in response to international demand for tobacco, farmers induced wildlife to start eating virus-laden bat guano

Mixotrophs, which have characteristics of both animals and plants, could help blunt the effects of marine heat waves on ocean ecosystems

An online underwater livestream lets worldwide volunteers ring a “fish doorbell” to help fish fulfill their reproductive missions

People keep trying to help old-growth forests survive fire by cutting trees, even though the forests have done fine on their own for 1,000 years

The COVID lockdowns and the subsequent reemergence of humans had some surprising effects on wildlife beyond “nature is healing” tropes

Signs reminding pet owners to “curb" their dog and scoop their pet’s poop have been joined in some places by posted warnings that pet waste can spread disease

Is your dog’s tail-wagging a side effect of domestication, or did humans select for it?

The ancestral Maya lived in better harmony with the environment and kept water clean naturally. We can learn from them

Big-headed ants are invading new territories in Kenya—and the consequences are rippling through the whole ecosystem, scientists have found

Some scientists say the controversial fishing practice of ocean trawling stirs up buried organic matter, some of which makes its way to the surface in the form of carbon dioxide

There are 856 mammal, bird, amphibian and reptile species currently missing—but researchers continue to search