The European ant that clones another species
European ant queens can lay eggs of a different species to mate with them and create a separate set of workers. These worker ants may…
Category: Ecology
Hidden bacteria dominate Earth’s deep soils
Scientists showed that an understudied bacterium is widespread in deep soils worldwide and adapted to life with very little energy.
Why do deep-sea microbes have such small appetites?
The deep sea is one of Earth’s largest reservoirs of carbon, yet microbes don’t consume very much of it. Researchers showed that this is…
Metal-tolerant plants could change the future of mining
Researchers demonstrated that some plant species store high amounts of nickel in their biomass, making them good candidates for metal…
Lava tubes contain unknown “microbial dark matter”
Researchers discovered lava tubes on Mauna Loa containing previously unknown microorganisms with metabolisms and communities that could…
This ant queen gives birth to a different species
Researchers found that the queen of one ant species can produce both her own species and another by cloning the males of the other species…
How quickly can forests recover from wildfires?
Scientists modeled forest productivity before and after wildfires. They found that plant regrowth depended on the type of biome and how much…
Is groundwater heating up?
Researchers modeled groundwater temperature trends from 2000 to 2100. They estimated that groundwater could warm by up to 3.5°C over the…
Most river water comes from the ground
Hydrologists incorporated ground and surface water flow data into Earth System models. They used these models to estimate that nearly 60% of…
Microbes make different greenhouse gases during wetland drainage
Researchers found that soil microbes release less methane but more carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide in draining peatlands.