Some--birds called wire-tailed manakins, residents of tropical forests in the Americas--are cooperators as well as competitors. They cooperate, forming alliances for a common cause. [...more]
Despite the importance of seasonally dry forests, little is known of their ecology. Now, a new book The Ecology and Conservation of Seasonally Dry Forests in Asia, published by Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, explores these unique ecosystems, its animals, plants, and the people that inhabit them. [...more]
Mark Torchin, a marine ecologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, talks about how he studies the parasites of invasive marine animals such as snails. Much of his research focuses on biological invasions and the dynamics between the host, the parasites and the surrounding ecosystem. [...more]
The recent field of invasion biology faces a new challenge as 19 eminent ecologists issue a call to "end the bias against non-native species" in the journal Nature. [...more]
Researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and partnering organizations will build a frozen repository of Great Barrier Reef coral sperm and embryonic cells. Genetic banks composed of frozen biomaterials hold strong promise for basic and applied research and conservation of species and genetic variation. [...more]
A study published in the journal Global Change Biology finds that while fertilizer has been the dominant source of nitrogen pollution in Caribbean coastal ecosystems for the past 50 years, such pollution is on the decline, thanks in part to the introduction of more advanced, environmentally responsible agricultural practices during the last decade. [...more]
The predictability and scale of seasonal changes in a habitat help determine the distance migratory species move and whether the animals always travel together to the same place or independently to different locations. [...more]
The new research reveals that from the period between 1100-1600 small agricultural settlements up and down the Delaware River Valley caused a 50-percent increase in sediment runoff into the Delaware River. [...more]
Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have found that fledgling catbirds living in the suburbs are extremely vulnerable. Almost 80 percent are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. Nearly half of the deaths are connected to domestic cats. The team studied catbird nests in 3 suburban neighborhoods in Maryland: Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park, and Bethesda. Learn more about this 2011 study by clicking here. (Catbird photo by Gerhard Hofmann)
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