Two grass species that had been relatively rare in the plots, Spartina patens and Distichlis spicata, began to respond vigorously to the excess nitrogen. Eventually the grasses became much more abundant. Nitrogen ultimately changed the composition of the ecosystem as well as its capacity to store carbon.
Describing a species is a serious undertaking. In the case of T. acutus, Coats and his collaborators documented its microscopic life cycle, conducted extensive DNA analysis and unearthed scientific papers dating back to 1873—when parasitic dinoflagellates were first noted by German scientist Ernst Haeckel.
It seems the stuff of science fiction, but astronomers have found a real-life “Death Star” that shredded a rocky planet and is swallowing the dusty remains.
The new study suggests that echolocation calls also serve a social function–bats listen to the ultrasonic calls of other bats to identify roost mates, bats of the same species, members of the opposite sex and intruders to their territory.
This innovative facility will be at the front line of Earth defense by searching for “killer” asteroids and comets. It will map large portions of the sky nightly, making it an efficient sleuth for not just asteroids but also supernovae and other variable objects.
The donation includes an early version of the original solid-state Capri dimmer manufactured by Lutron in September 1964. Also part of the donation is a retail display featuring the fully functional dimmer and other Lutron dimmers and lighting-control systems that show developments at the company over the past 50 years.
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is a major partner in the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, which is a group of four telescopes on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory that photograph the sun in 10 different wavelength bands, or colors, once every 10 seconds.
Keeper Tracey Barnes talks about Billie Jean, an Andean bear, and her two new cubs at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
Science Spotlight
