Only a few hundred Devils Hole pupfish live in an isolated pool in the desert, where occasional floodwaters roil their habitat.
ecosystems
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Seawater Dynamics in an Underexplored Antarctic Fjord
Wind is the major driver of salinity changes within the narrow, glacier-fed cove.
Posted inNews
When Forests on Land Burn, Forests Underwater Feel the Impact
Kelp is a habitat, a carbon sink, and a binding agent in your ice cream. But new research shows that California’s kelp forests are affected by the fate of their counterparts on land.
Posted inScience Updates
Ecosystem Observations from Every Angle
Proximal remote sensing provides a bridge between ecosystem flux data at Earth’s surface and optical data from satellite sensors, improving our grasp of feedbacks between terrestrial ecosystems and climate.
Posted inNews
Affordable Robots Measure Soil Respiration
Measuring soil carbon flux, also known as soil respiration, can be expensive or time-consuming. A set of affordable robots that gather these data autonomously could especially benefit the Global South.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Ocean Deserts Could Help Capture CO2 and Mitigate Global Warming
Various nutrient sources in the upper waters of oceanic subtropical gyres, which are the Earth’s largest oligotrophic ecosystems, play a crucial role in governing the sequestration of atmospheric CO2.
Posted inNews
Even Treated Sewage Harms Freshwater Ecosystems
In a controlled experiment, researchers diverted wastewater from an advanced treatment facility into a healthy stream and monitored the unfolding ecological effects.
Posted inNews
Millions Likely Live in Areas Contaminated by Mining Runoff
Heavy metal contaminants from mining can live in ecosystems for centuries. A new global database shows where the problem is worst.
Posted inNews
Arctic Warming Triggers Abrupt Ecosystem Shift in North America’s Deepest Lake
Great Slave Lake’s huge cold water mass shielded it from impacts of the rapidly warming climate—until now.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Northern Ecosystems are Shaped by Snow
Changing climate in the Arctic leads to a shorter snow season but deeper snow in the depths of winter. Under the insulating snow, biological processes are accelerated leading to higher nutrient availability and carbon losses.