Ecosystems | Science News for Students

Ecosystems

an American lobster on a counter

As climate change warms the Atlantic, the range of the lobster is shifting north. Lobsters are just one of many species around the world reacting to global warming.

temmuzcan/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Ecosystems
 
Apr 11, 2019
Warming pushes lobsters and other species to seek cooler homes
a photo of a field of Mount Rainier wildflowers

With the help of volunteers, scientists are monitoring wildflowers on Mount Rainier as part of climate change research.

Mount Rainier National Park/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Ecosystems
 
Apr 11, 2019
Photographing wildflowers and other ways you can help fight climate change
a photo of a path through a forest lush with greenery

When most people think about life on Earth, they imagine animals. But animals are only a small part of the planet’s life, at least as measured by mass. Overall, green plants dominate.

quickshooting/iStockphoto

Environment
 
Mar 28, 2019
Life on Earth is mostly green
a photo of a a camera on a tripod standing on a melt pond, there is ice stretching to the distant horizon

Cameras set up in the Arctic’s Chukchi and Bering seas (one shown) record the amount of light that reaches water through the ice. More light means more algal blooms.

K. Frey/Clark University

Weather & Climate
 
Mar 14, 2019
Disappearing sea ice could disrupt Arctic’s food web
a photo showing a drill into the ice above Lake Mercer in Antarctica

Researchers drilled through a kilometer of ice above Lake Mercer in Antarctica. They found mud that contained carcasses of tiny animals resembling spiders, crustaceans, worms and water bears.

Billy Collins/SALSA Science Team

Animals
 
Feb 27, 2019
Animal graveyard found in deeply buried Antarctic lake
a photo of Steve Perlman rappeling down a verdant cliff over turquoise waters

Steve Perlman rappels down a cliff in the Wailau Valley on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. He is a botanist who has spent the last 45 years searching for, and protecting, rare plants

Hank Oppenheimer

Plants
 
Feb 7, 2019
Rare-plant hunters race against time to save at-risk species
a photo of a spotted salamander in the wild

Young spotted salamanders eat plenty of mosquito larvae. Waterborne bug spray could deform or kill youthful salamanders — but not the mosquitoes.

Fyn Kynd/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Ecosystems
 
Jan 9, 2019
Mosquito repellent could pose risks to baby salamanders
a computer generated image of an iceberg on the ocean at night

It’s dark during the Arctic winter. The sun doesn’t rise for days or even months. But scientists are learning that all is not quiet in the Arctic night (seen here in an illustration). There’s a months-long party happening under the sea.

bestdesigns/iStockPhoto

Ecosystems
 
Jan 3, 2019
Welcome to the Arctic’s all-night undersea party
an underwater photo of mosquito larvae

Mosquitoes start their lives as larvae that live in water. They chow down on algae and bacteria — and tiny bits of plastic, if they happen to be around.

ApisitWilaijit/istockphoto

Pollution
 
Oct 30, 2018
Microplastics take flight in the bellies of mosquitoes
a photo of a young woman putting in a contact lens, reflected in a mirror

One in five people who wear contact lenses flush their used eyewear down the sink or toilet. That plastic pollutes the environment and can harm wildlife.

STUDIOGRANDOUEST/iStockphoto

Pollution
 
Oct 9, 2018
Don’t flush your contact lenses