Biology

Warm waters off West Coast has lingering effects for salmon
Sep 17, 2017

Warm waters off West Coast has lingering effects for salmon

The mass of warm water known as "the blob" that heated up the North Pacific Ocean has dissipated, but scientists are still seeing the domino-effect it is having on Northwest salmon and steelhead...

Read more

Graceful menace: States take aim at non-native swans
Sep 17, 2017

Graceful menace: States take aim at non-native swans

The graceful mute swan, symbol of love and hero of storybooks, is targeted for destruction by wildlife managers in New York and other states...

Read more

Scientists: Ash tree species pushed to brink of extinction
Sep 14, 2017

Scientists: Ash tree species pushed to brink of extinction

Five prominent species of ash tree in the eastern U.S. have been driven to the brink of extinction from years of lethal attack by a beetle...

Read more

Scientists: Future of oldest tree species on Earth in peril
Sep 14, 2017

Scientists: Future of oldest tree species on Earth in peril

Researchers say a type of tree famous for having the longest lifespan on Earth is losing a slow-motion race to the top of mountains across the Western United States...

Read more

Rescuers save entangled whale off of Cape Cod
Sep 13, 2017

Rescuers save entangled whale off of Cape Cod

A Massachusetts marine science center says it has disentangled a humpback whale off of Cape Cod...

Read more

Massachusetts study: Climate change threatens birds
Sep 13, 2017

Massachusetts study: Climate change threatens birds

A new report warns that more than 40 percent of the most common breeding species of birds in Massachusetts are considered "highly vulnerable" to climate change...

Read more

Seeding the future? 'Ark' preserves rare, threatened plants
Sep 10, 2017

Seeding the future? 'Ark' preserves rare, threatened plants

Seeds from hundreds of rare plant species around New England are being collected and frozen inside a "seed ark" for future use...

Read more

The US West had a snowy winter, so why the fiery summer?
Sep 8, 2017

The US West had a snowy winter, so why the fiery summer?

Wildfires are chewing across dried-out Western forests and grassland, putting 2017 on track to be among the worst fire seasons in a decade...

Read more

Billions of dead trees force US fire crews to shift tactics
Sep 7, 2017

Billions of dead trees force US fire crews to shift tactics

Thick stands of dead timber in the Western U.S. have forced firefighters to shift tactics, trying to stay out of the shadow of lifeless, unstable trees that could come crashing down with deadly force...

Read more

Dog helps sniff out invasive ants on California island
Sep 6, 2017

Dog helps sniff out invasive ants on California island

Scientists assessing efforts to eradicate invasive ants on the Channel Islands off the California coast have enlisted a four-legged worker to sniff out the aggressive insects and make sure the invasiv...

Read more