Why fieldwork is still crucial for science research
There are some things it's impossible to discern without ground truthing
1 peer comment
I am a tropical forest ecologist and PhD student at Wake Forest University. I currently study the disturbance ecology of tropical montane forests, which means I spend a lot of time scrambling up landslides in the Peruvian Andes! My work is important for understanding the structure, composition, and functioning of these dynamic forest ecosystems.
How one invasive plant can change a rainforest
The mountain apple's entry into Indonesia a century ago still threatens biodiversity there
1 peer comment
'Being Ecological' is a book with admirable aims and a tangled execution
Prioritizing data over action can be counterproductive – but so is a muddled message
A gold rush in the Peruvian Amazon threatens to fill a vital and diverse ecosystem with mercury
Bats are the canaries in the Amazonian goldmine
What Pokémon GO can teach conservationists about public engagement
In six days, players collected as much data as naturalists had in 400 years
Four facts about Marie Tharp, the woman whose art mapped the bottom of the sea
She discovered the Earth's 'backbone' even though men wouldn't let her on a ship for 17 years
Scientists were long baffled by a methane surplus in our atmosphere. The culprit: trees
It's not just flatulent cows
2 peer comments
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The hidden costs of fieldwork are making science less diverse
Here are five practical ways to start fixing the problem
Animals feel a 'landscape of fear' – just like humans
Afraid of lions by moonlight and raptors by day, animals will behave in dramatic ways
Biodiversity doesn't just arise out of healthy ecosystems. It helps create them
Why researchers are starting to think differently about biodiversity
What modern conservationists can learn from humanity's long history with rainforests
There's a growing body of evidence that humans have been modifying tropical forests for over 40,000 years
Should peer review stop being anonymous?
Prominent researchers can take the gamble, but junior scientists risk retribution
4 peer comments
Floating detritus is giving new insights into deep-sea corals
Environmental DNA is a less invasive way to solve long-submerged mysteries
4 peer comments
Can corals be saved? The key may be in their microbes
Biologists are studying corals with techniques designed for humans
3 peer comments
Science doesn't need to be so complicated. The answer: more sensible statistics
Let the battle between human psychology and science have statisticians' supervision
2 peer comments
What does California's future look like? Scientists asked trees
Blue oaks have up to 500 years of climate history written in their rings
1 peer comment
What the Ice Age tells us about how plants will manage in a hotter world
New research seems to resolve a puzzle of why plants struggled in the past
1 peer comment
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Is light pollution changing how plants do – and don't – grow?
Plants depend on cycles of light. Now, they're always on
2 peer comments
Toxic chemicals are being freed from melting glaciers
Scientists are finding decades-old DDT and PCB flowing from the Tibetan Plateau
3 peer comments
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Beetles exploit bacteria labor to grow their exoskeletons
New research has revealed a "symbiotic organ" in weevils, showing how tiny organisms shape larger life
3 peer comments