Environment / Ecosystems

Water Wranglers

DISCOVER co-sponsors a round table discussion on the future of water on a changing planet. 01.24.2012

#24: Gut Microbes Establish 
Your Identity


Your gut population falls into one of three groups. 12.22.2011

World's Deepest Known Animal: Worm That Lives Under Almost a Mile of Rock

Researchers dubbed it "Halicephalobus mephisto," from the Greek for “he who loves not the light.” 10.12.2011

Winemaking: a Combination of Science, Nature, Art, and Footwork

Each glass tells you something about the wine's milieu as well as the vintner's approach. 09.27.2011

Are Toxins in Seafood Causing ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's?

What started as the discovery of an unknown disease in Guam has spread to a line of ominous findings about some of our most debilitating conditions and potential toxins lurking in bodies of water around the world. 07.22.2011

The Transplanted Forest: A Bold Experiment in Preemptive Climate Adaptation

With global temperatures rising, British Columbia is taking aggressive action to protect one of its most valuable natural resources—timber forests—from shifting climate zones. 07.19.2011

Vertical Farming in the Windy City

The fish feed the plants, and they both feed the people. 06.27.2011

Alvin Gets a $40 Million, 21st-Century Makeover

The esteemed deep-sea submersible will soon be able to go four miles under the ocean's surface, allowing it to explore 98 of the ocean. 06.24.2011

Charting Earth’s Chemical-Kissed Seas

There's a lot in the oceans besides water and salt. A series of sampling missions aims to reveal what's happening with the trace elements in seawater. 06.21.2011

Discover Interview: Lynn Margulis Says She's Not Controversial, She's Right

It's the neo-Darwinists, population geneticists, AIDS researchers, and English-speaking biologists as a whole who have it all wrong. 06.17.2011

Should Conservationists Allow Some Species to Die Out?


In the battle to save endangered animals, some environmentalists say we should ignore the charismatic pandas and condors and instead practice "conservation triage." 05.09.2011

Hot Zone—A Warming Planet's Rising Tide of Disaster

Dengue in Texas. Malaria in New York. Hypertoxic pollen in Baltimore. Climate change is making disease and other humanitarian threats ever more challenging. 02.04.2011

The 100 Top Science Stories of 2010

Every year DISCOVER sorts through the scientific accomplishments of the past 12 months, and assembles a list of the coolest experiments, most brilliant discoveries, and most world-changing events. As you page through the countdown to the #1 science story, we think you'll come to the same conclusion we did: 2010 was quite a year. 12.16.2010

7 Visions of Our Hot, Awful Future

A bounty of 2010 books predict the future in a globally warmed world. Among the forecasts: boom town Detroit, abandoned Miami, an Arctic black gold rush, and a weirdly strong dried fruit market. 12.13.2010

When Animals Attack Our Attempts to Categorize Them

For three centuries, scientists have divided living things into tidy species. But the real world seems more slippery: a continuum in which one variety of life flows seamlessly into the next. 11.19.2010

Guantanamo Bay, Site of Important Ecological Research

Within the barbed wire and "Keep Out" signs that ring the Guantanamo Bay naval base, wildlife is thriving. So is scientific work. 08.06.2010

8 Keys to Deciphering Ancient Climates

Our lives extend only decades, so how do scientists study climate going back thousands and millions of years? Ancient pollen, clam shells, columns of sheer ice, and more. 07.08.2010

10 Science Hotspots—Where Mother Nature Reveals Her Secrets

From glaciers to undersea vents to tornado-wracked plains, these are the locations that draw boatloads of scientists from all over the world. 06.30.2010

Vertical Farms: High Hopes for Feeding the Future

To feed the hungry world, architects and agriculturalists dream of towering green "farmscrapers." 06.02.2010

Elephants Roaming America? A Big Idea for Rebooting Nature

A new theory suggests that the thick forests that we think of as wild may actually be an effect of human settlement. 05.05.2010

Beavers Sign up to Fight Effects of Climate Change

Washington officials think the industrious critters could save more of 650 trillion gallons of water each year, blunting the effects of hot and dry summers. 04.19.2010

Art That Breathes and Grows—Because It's Made Out of Plants

Botanical wizards use rice paddies, empty churches, and city buildings to grow a new kind of art. 04.19.2010

Serpents, Flyers & Hammers: Strange Fish That Rule the Open Sea

These magnificent wanderers of the open ocean have inspired sailor's legends and blockbuster movies. 04.12.2010

How Big Is Your Water Footprint?

Calculating how much water is used to make consumer products is a complicated but crucial task. 03.29.2010

The Coolest Science Experiments in Antarctica

Researchers go neutrino-hunting and penguin-watching at the South Pole. 02.25.2010

#12: Oldest Animal Fossils Uncovered

Sponges may have sprung up in special mini-ecosystems 850 million years ago. 01.25.2010

Lichens: Fungi That Have Discovered Agriculture

The often misunderstood symbiote can poison wolves, break down rocks, and live for thousands of years. 01.06.2010

#63: Did NASA’s Phoenix Find Liquid Water on Mars?

If fluid water does persist on Mars, life could be hanging on in thin layers of salty water just beneath the surface. 12.28.2009

#65: Hot Climate Produced Giant, Croc-Eating Snake

The 40-foot monster is helping scientists figure out what happened in our hotter past—and perhaps what awaits us in the future. 12.27.2009

#77: Did an Early Pummeling of Asteroids Lead to Life on Earth?

Early organisms apparently survived the Late Heavy Bombardment—which may have made our planet a much comfier place to live. 12.22.2009

#97: Tropical Heat Speeds Up Evolution

"The biggest, most obvious pattern in nature" is that there are more species in warmer areas. But why that's the case has been a mystery—until now. 12.16.2009

Beautiful Pools of Pollution

Farmers need fertilizers. But mining phosphorus for fertilizers is creating toxic wastelands. 11.24.2009

Humans vs Animals: Our Fiercest Battles With Invasive Species

From Burmese pythons to Galapagos goats, these animals are threatening a hostile takeover—unless we can stop them. 09.24.2009

9 of Humanity's Greatest Environmental Successes

We're making some headway in restoring the environment—even if we caused the devastation in the first place. 07.10.2009

10 Zany (or Genius?) Plans for Green Cities of the Future

Floating cities. A building with a million residents. An oil rig turned into a tourist getaway. Some architects are dreaming of a wild green revolution. 05.26.2009

A Shad Situation

The population of American shad rebounded in the 1990s but is again on the wane. 05.17.2009

A Scientist's Guide to Finding Alien Life: Where, When, and in What Universe

A variety of new findings point to the "habitable zones" where we're likely to find extraterrestrials. 05.11.2009

Can Giant Robots Successfully Mine the Mile-Deep Seafloor?

The economic collapse threatens the long-held dream of underwater mining. 05.04.2009

Man's Greatest Crimes Against the Earth, in Pictures

Humans rule the world… and destroy it in the process. 04.08.2009

The Strange Forests that Drink—and Eat—Fog

Several forests around the world use fog to get critical moisture and nutrients. 03.30.2009

Six Sites That Are the Galapagos For Modern Darwins

Researchers see amazing twists of evolution at the biological hot spots. 02.10.2009

#4: Slime Is Turning the Seas Into Dead Zones

Pollution, overfishing, and the rise of microbes spell doom for many bodies of water. 12.22.2008

#35: Scientists Find the Key to Bringing Dead Zones Back to Life

Phosphorus levels can make or break a lake, it turns out. 12.16.2008

#37: Shorebird Population Is in Rapid Decline

Australian and Asian birds are a clear example of population collapse. 12.15.2008

#45: Huge Population of Lowland Gorillas Found

For once, researchers come up with good news for an endangered species. 12.14.2008

#49: Plant Migration Tied to Climate Change

When the going gets hot, vegetation runs for the hills. 12.13.2008

10 Studies That Revealed the Great Global Amphibian Die-Off—and Some Possible Solutions

In our planet's sixth great mass extinction event, amphibians are among the hardest hit. 11.04.2008

Water at Ocean Vents Isn't Water—It's a Gas-Liquid Hybrid

You've heard about the freaky animals at ocean vents. Now check out the freaky water. 10.05.2008

Are Efforts to Save the Panda a Giant Waste of Money?

Sure, they're magnificent beasts, but they may be sucking eco-dollars from other, more critical species. 08.12.2008

Could Pandas Be an Evolutionary Mistake—or Proof of an Intelligent Designer?

They don’t seem to care for sex or proper nutrition, raising questions about whether the fittest have survived. 08.05.2008

A Complete History of Carbon

A new book takes readers through the birth and unstoppable rise of this dangerous element. 08.04.2008

A First-Hand Look at the Grizzly Recovery

A weekend course sends visitors into the wild to see the bears up close. 07.23.2008

Skip the Shampoo? Dirty Human Hair Neutralizes Ozone

But it's not all good—also produces formaldehyde and other irritants. 06.26.2008

Whither the Coral Reefs?

Global warming and overfishing are killing reefs while scientists struggle to save them. 06.05.2008

Warning: Contains Pork By-Products

Pigs really are dirty—but only because humans make them that way. 04.28.2008

Funky Life at an Underwater Hydrothermal Vent

At Mothra Field, more than a mile underwater, temperatures reach 600 degrees. 04.15.2008

The Latest Endangered Species: Vacation Spots

Check out these 7 amazing locales soon; they may not be around for long. 04.10.2008

The Most Famous Ghost Town in America

Like a zombie, Bodie is in a permanent state of “arrested decay.” 03.17.2008

Biosphere 2 Repurposed for Luxury Homes

From landmark experiment to a backdrop for McMansions 09.21.2007

Jumbo Squid Invade California Coast

Human-caused environmental changes are a boon for the "red devil." 07.26.2007

Better Planet: Beepocalypse

Can we save honey bees from Colony Collapse Disorder? 06.28.2007

Your Body Is a Planet

90% of the cells within us are not ours but microbes'. 06.19.2007

Warming May Radically Change Ecosystems

Amazonia becomes savanna. The Sahara? No one knows. 06.15.2007

Black Gold of the Amazon

Precious soil could save the rainforest and combat global warming. 04.30.2007

Review: Earth Puts on Its Sunday Best

Discovery Channel's Planet Earth series draws toward a close. 04.18.2007

Laboratories in Lockdown

Inmates have time to watch moss grow. 03.12.2007

Life After the Wave

The Sri Lankan landscape on a path to recovery after the 2004 tsunami. 12.05.2006

Natural Selections: Roaming Free in the DMZ

War can sometimes establish unexpected havens for wildlife. 11.13.2006

Return of the Aral Sea

The desiccation of a remote island lake in Central Asia is one of the world's worst ecological disasters. Now, with an $85 million engineering project, the doomed sea is coming back to life. 09.01.2006

Revenge of the Venison

Deer beat black bears to the berry bushes. 08.01.2006

Whatever Happened To... the Exxon Valdez?

Now seventeen years after the most damaging oil spill in U.S. history, what's happened to the affected Alaskan environment? 08.01.2006

Fire in the Sky

Why America's ecological treasures sometimes just need to burn 06.25.2006

Biologists Find Life in Dark Frigid Trough

Biologists Find Life in Dark Frigid Trough 11.22.2005

Saving Eden

Can the ecology and the economy of Iraq's once-glorious wetlands be restored? 07.24.2005

The Truth About Invasive Species

How to stop worrying and learn to love ecological intruders 05.01.2005

Plankton Planet

The world would be a barren place without these ubiquitous plants at the bottom of the food chain 08.02.2004

The Ecology of . . . Roadkill

Very, very carefully—yet alive and intact, thanks to new ""ecopassages"" for wildlife 03.28.2004

Thanksgiving Introductions

Oysters graced the Pilgrims' feast of plenty, but today few remain in the waters off Virginia and Maryland. Can they be brought back? 11.27.2003

When Good Trees Go Bad

Could a massive marine extinction have been caused by . . . trees? 11.18.2003

The Biology of . . . Sourdough

Does America's most famous bread owe its flavor to a unique ecosystem? 09.01.2003

Rebuilding Eden

09.01.2003

The Gift of Salmon

In Alaska, biologists are learning that when wild salmon are free to swim upstream to spawn, dozens of other species flourish too 05.01.2003

If All The Trees Fall in the Forest

Two sleuthing scientists track down the cause of sudden oak death, a new disease that threatens every oak, redwood, and Douglas fir in the country 12.01.2002

Kingdom of the Panda

Can these threatened creatures thrive in freedom? Studies in the wild find reason for hope 11.01.2002

Works in Progress

How does a tree lift a hundred gallons of water hundreds of feet in the air? 09.01.2002

An Undersea Revival

09.01.2002

The Life, Death, and Life of a Tree

The only real threat the majestic redwood has ever faced is us 05.01.2002

The Lake Vanishes

06.01.2001

Wild Cats in Carolina

Is the Carnivore Preservation Trust creating a genetic future for threatened species—or genetic junk? 03.01.2001

Death by Dust Storm

01.01.2001

One Marsupial Too Many

Australians face the same problem with koalas as Americans do with deer. The pesky critters seem too cute to kill but are destroying a lot of precious habitat 12.01.2000

Do Parasites Rule the World?

New evidence indicates our idea of how nature really works could be wrong 08.01.2000

Purple Passion

Most botanists in this country want to kill every single one of those gorgeous plants. Could they be wrong? 08.01.1999

Reviews

How to begin understanding the way a trout sees the world 07.01.1999

Eat Dirt

In the competition between parrots and fruit trees, it's the winners who bite the dust. 02.01.1998

The Year in Science: Environment 1997

The Value of the Free Lunch 01.01.1998

The Year in Science: Plants 1997

New Harmony on Main Street 01.01.1998

The Web Below

11.01.1997

Birdie Work

07.01.1997

Primordial Pest

04.01.1997

The Sheltering Junk

02.01.1997

The Wired Butterfly

The world's tiniest radar tags are making a Rocky Mountain butterfly--and its ecology--a lot easier to follow. 02.01.1997

Flooded at Last

01.01.1997

Hold the Frog

12.01.1996

Ant Talk

08.01.1996

Trees of Salt

03.01.1996

The Secret Life of Backyard Trees

Ecologists are finding undescribed species and ecosystems in treetops. 11.01.1995

The Processing Plant

Bugs that fall into a purple pitcher plant get drowned in acid. Their carcasses are then ground up by a microscopic disassembly line: a chain of insect larvae that thrive in the pitcher pool, cooperating to feed themselves--and the plant. 09.01.1995

Death and the Microbe

Most people think of bacteria as selfish individualists. But in many microbial colonies, some bugs gladly sacrifice themselves for the greater good of bugkind. 09.01.1995

Life on a Melting Continent

Every winter an expanse of ice twice the size of the United States forms around Antarctica. Before it disappears in the spring, a vast, unexplored ecosystem comes into being. 08.01.1995

Easter's End

In just a few centuries, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism. Are we about to follow their lead? 08.01.1995

How to Make a Desert

You don't need to destroy all the plant life you see--just rearrange it a little. Then let nature do the rest. 02.01.1995

Insects Ascendant

11.01.1993

Back to Nature

You can put a zoo-bred animal back into the wild. But that doesn't mean you're putting back anything like a wild animal. 07.01.1993

Waves of Creation

Elisabeth Vrba has her finger on the pulse of evolution: bursts of climate change that sweep the planet, killing some species and leaving new ones--like ours--in their wake. 05.01.1993

Fly Wars

California spends tens of millions to defend its crops against the voracious medfly. But one entomologist says the defense is based on sloppy science. 02.01.1993

The New Diviner

04.01.1992