High nutrient levels in 2018 resulted in a nearly 9,000-kilometer belt of Sargassum, a seaweed critical to many marine animals but also a nuisance when it washes up on shorelines, new results reveal.
ecosystems
Uncontrolled Chemical Releases: A Silent, Growing Threat
Uncontrolled releases of household, industrial, and agricultural chemicals during natural disasters pose an underappreciated hazard to humans and ecosystems. Here’s what we can do.
Leaping Global Temperatures Make Frog Disease Deadlier
Climate change will shift the warmest months, when disease rates spike, into tadpole season, which could endanger the long-term survival of common frogs.
Understanding Stream Metabolism with Reactive Tracers
When the blue dye resazurin encounters living microorganisms, it transforms into fluorescent pink resorufin and helps scientists understand ecosystem respiration, but it has its limitations.
Topography and Microclimate Shape Tree Ring Growth
Wizened bristlecone pines in California reveal past climate trends, and new research shows how slight variations in landscape position drive different growth patterns in trees’ annual rings.
A Novel Approach Reveals Element Cycles in the Ocean
Dissolved thorium isotopes light the way to a more thorough understanding of how different elements enter marine environments—and how long they stay there.
Arctic Undergoing Most Unprecedented Transition in Human History
The Arctic Report Card, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, outlines vast changes taking place in the Arctic region. Here are some major findings.
Long-term Dataset Reveals How Management Affects River Biology
River systems are affected by societies against a backdrop of climate change. A new dataset reveals how these forces affect river flow, chemistry, and the biological health of the river.
Heat Waves, More Than Coral Death, May Cause Fish to Flee Reefs
A study over a broad swath of the Great Barrier Reef shows that warming waters directly cause fish and invertebrates to leave the reef, making it harder for coral to recover from bleaching events.
Australian Algae Aid Understanding of Ecosystem Resilience
Wildfires may have driven a critical ecosystem transition in Tasmania’s Lake Vera more than 800 years ago.
