A previously unknown species of rock-excavating bees, discovered 40 years ago but not reported in the scientific literature, finally gets the spotlight.
animals
Climate Warming May Have Helped Kill the Dinosaurs
New evidence indicates ancient warming spells that coincided with prodigious volcanism and a powerful meteorite impact, both seen as possible causes of mass extinctions about 66 million years ago.
Understanding the Distribution of Juvenile Jumbo Squid
An expanding zone of shallow, oxygen-depleted water in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean may be vertically restricting the habitat of this important source of food, according to a recent study.
Bark Beetles Cause Big Tree Die-Offs, but Streams Flow Steadily
Recent beetle epidemics have driven tree die-offs across North America, and previous studies predicted an increase in annual streamflow would follow—but a new study shows this may not be the case.
Cooling Galápagos Sea Surface Temperatures Affect Local Penguins
The Galápagos cold pool is expanding northward as a result of climate change, and local penguin populations are rising.
How Bat Breath and Guano Can Change the Shapes of Caves
Researchers working in caves in Borneo and elsewhere are finding evidence that biological processes shape many tropical caves by slowly eating away at surrounding rock.
Birds Ignore Volcano Blast, Puzzle Scientists
When a nearby volcano unexpectedly erupted in the midst of a behavioral study of Andean condors in Argentina, the researchers scrambled to observe disruption to condors' lives. Oddly, there was none.
Survey Shows Where Arctic Marine Bird Populations Thrive
"Hot spots" of species richness currently include the Bering Sea, Lancaster Sound, Baffin Bay, and Davis Strait. Will this change as sea ice melts?
Silk Insect Nets Can Reshape Creek Beds
Colonies of tiny caddisflies slow stream sediment transport with their silk nets.
