High and DryArticle 08.20.2023Utah’s immense Great Salt Lake has receded in recent years, revealing the microbial reefs crucial to its ecosystem.
Call of the LiarArticle 08.02.2023The notion that only male birds sing has long been assumed. But evidence increasingly shows that females do, too. Now, scientists are studying a sensational singer in Australia to suss out why.
The Galaxy in the WoodsArticle 07.05.2023As more people flock to see fireflies, scientists are trying to harness their enthusiasm without harming the bioluminescent wonder they’ve come to see.
Sky BathingSpotlight 06.09.2023With their habitat recovering following the eradication of invasive goats, giant tortoises are once again flourishing and bathing in abundance on the slopes of Isabela’s Alcedo Volcano and on other Galápagos islands.
Africa’s Conservation ConundrumArticle 05.15.2023The trophy hunting industry in Africa is dying, and that should concern all of us. What, if anything, replaces it will prove critical for the protection of the continent’s wildlife and wild places.
Of Moths and MarsupialsArticle 04.26.2023The ancient relationship between the mountain pygmy possum and the bogong moth reveals the complexity of global climate change—and the lengths people may have to go to save some species from extinction.
Songs of the DammedArticle 04.12.2023As Lake Powell water levels drop, native plants are reclaiming Glen Canyon.
Rogues of the RainforestArticle 03.22.2023Tropical vines are wandering, as they always have, but recent environmental changes are giving them an edge over other rainforest plants—a shift that could have enduring impacts on climates around the globe.
Washington’s Runaway Snow GeeseArticle 01.24.2023Mae West said too much of a good thing is wonderful. But she’d never seen the beautiful, marauding snow geese that swoop in each fall to take over Washington State’s Skagit Valley.
Making Nature Less PredictableArticle 12.02.2022In their fight against the homogenization of nature, scientists and farmers are walking well-worn paths and using innovative approaches to help bring native pollinators back to California.
Learning from the AncientsOpinionReview 11.22.2022In his latest book, Elderflora, Jared Farmer chronicles a history of exploration and study, destruction and preservation that will keep humans and age-old trees intertwined for the long haul.
Saving the Dragon’s BloodArticle 10.12.2022Despite a range of threats, from droughts and cyclones to goats and militarization, Socotra’s iconic trees are staging a slow, patient comeback—with the help of the people who know them best.
Prince of DarknessSpotlight 08.24.2022Helmet jellyfish have taken over a Norwegian fjord, demonstrating the species’ tenacity and offering clues about environmental factors that can upend an ecosystem.
Past the SaltArticle 07.14.2022In San Francisco’s salty South Bay, an ambitious wetlands restoration project is seeking to balance a return to the ecological past with the realities of a changing future.
Undertakers of the ForestSpotlight 05.02.2022Tiny, shape-shifting slime molds have an outsized influence on the cycle of life.
Clear Water RevivalPhoto Essay 05.02.2022In a biodiversity wonderland hardly known outside South Africa, a decades-long effort to restore native fish and their streams is starting to pay off—but new trouble could undermine this fragile comeback.
Ghana’s Sacred MonkeysArticle 04.19.2022Myth and mystery have long protected two species of monkey and the West African forests they depend on, but for how much longer?
The Tale of the Trojan TroutArticle 02.21.2022Can the introduction of a modified invader save the West’s native fish?
City Owl, Country OwlSpotlight 01.21.2022Unlike their more iconic cousins, diminutive northern pygmy owls occasionally manage to raise families in urban forests—some little more than a stone’s throw from the local café.
