@nytopinion.nytimes.com, @DouthatNYT - Ross Douthat's recent column on living in an age of extinction is well worth reading and I think he is spot on about how the digital age is leading to extinctions of many human institutions. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/o...

Species communicate many ways in nature, often across large differences in taxa. There is so much we need to learn to better understand and preserve the world. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Mary Elizabeth Banning, a 19th century mycologist, finally gets her due recognition. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/s...

If correct, this data on microplastics in plants is really bad news. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Rephotography helps to document our rapidly changing environment. And it is changing a lot - even in 24 years. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/t...

Sea otter's role as keystone species varies with location due to different suites of species in the two locations. Sea Otters are always important actors, but some places they are more important than others. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

This article has beautiful video of fungal networks expanding and moving material within their bodies. It is incredible stuff. So much of our world depends on the actions of fungi. Watch and be amazed. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/s...

Non-migratory bird reproductive strategies are related to annual climatic variability. Lots of annual variation - reproduce quickly with lots of offspring. Little annual variation - reproduce more slower. Climate change might mess up those strategies. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The good news - rainfall in the Amazon basin may be more robust to deforestation than originally thought. So perhaps rainforest can become re-established following deforestation. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

Science writer Ed Yong reflects on the complexities of life and understanding the world we live in. And he provides a beautiful quotation to help us carry on - "Hope is a discipline." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...

Orchids are fascinating. This species can parasitize wood decomposing fungi to gain nutrition while remaining photosynthetic and thus growing more vigorously. Cool stuff. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

While not a surprise, this is a valuable study that reveals urban tree health and potential benefits vary with conditions in urban areas. Those closer to water and green spaces do better than those more surrounded by hard-scaping. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

You just never know what may surface from the deep ocean. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/s...

Keep going researchers and writers! We need the National Nature Assessment to be published. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/c...

Coordinated responses by experienced professionals can help limit the extent of disastrous wildfires. However, the current group in Washington would prefer to fire as many experience professionals as possible. How will they respond then? www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/m...

Centipede shape - or perhaps dendritic - in the ice on a driveway after yesterday's freezing rain.

Northern boreal forests will probably experience significant changes in the next century - moving further north and increasing in density in colder areas. The southern edge of the forests will become less dense. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Excellent bubbles in the ice on Lake Sharvy at the Green Oaks Field Research Center. You can't tell in the photo but the shallow bubbles are about 6 inches down, the deepest bubbles about 10 inches down.

Bad news for biodiversity - there is evidence for widespread declines in genetic diversity even in species that do not appear to be experiencing population decline. www.science.org/content/arti...

It is amazing how tiny birds survive harsh winter weather. I'm always glad to see them flock to my bird feeders. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/r...

In the Andes, vicuna dung and microbial activity speed post-glacial succession. Can their activity keep with accelerating rates of glacial melt? www.nature.com/articles/s41...

When the political meets the scientific and ethical, let's hope scientific and ethical win. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/c...

Sunset over Hope Cemetery, Galesburg IL.

Two new truffle species described in North America. I especially like that taxonomic/ecological research was aided by truffle dogs. I need to train my dog to help me find truffles. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

On a day when it is -17 C here, it is hard to imagine outdoor ice rinks and skating could disappear in the future. That is why our short term memories are so faulty. We need to look at long term trends in the data. www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...

We learn so many new things everyday. Bird migrations may be facilitated by social interactions between birds of different species but similar size and flight speed. That is fascinating. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Fascinating study of feral domestic dogs living around the Chernobyl exclusion zone. They are a genetically distinct population but their uniqueness does not appear to be due to mutations caused by exposure to radiation. www.science.org/doi/full/10....

A belated birthday recognition to Aldo Leopold who would have celebrated his 138th birthday on Jan. 11. Long may his ideas and writing continue to inspire conservationists and environmentalists everywhere.

Move evidence of species evolving in response to human domination of our ecosystems - www.theguardian.com/environment/...

More bad news about climate change and food production. Climate change is already having negative impacts on apple production in areas of the US the produce large numbers of apples. There are some measures that may help mitigate those impacts. iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Raking away plant litter can enhance biodiversity during restoration projects. I love it when simple solutions produce good results. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

We keep finding new species. The world is such a fascinating place and we have so much still to learn. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

More sobering news about the future of tree diversity. Merely setting aside land and stopping deforestation is not enough. Animal pollinators and seed dispersers also must be saved. Not so merry new. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A new report that suggests tackling environmental problems in a holistic manner is the best way to solve the biodiversity crisis. It's a good idea but haven't we heard this before? www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/c...

Another sad, no tragic, cautionary tale from the Arctic. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/o...

In a former life I was an oceanographer studying how the Gulf Stream influences the distribution of zooplankton - especially copepods. Here is a drawing of one my favorites - Centropages hamatus. #crustmas

Wolves as pollinators? Now, that is an unexpected finding. The more we look, the more connections we see in nature. esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

So maybe my inability to stop saying 'you guys' isn't so bad. McWhorter makes the case that it is now just a part of grammar. Strangely he doesn't note its regional origins. 'You guys' often seems to be a particularly Midwestern turn of phrase to us Midwesterners. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/o...

This is a fascinating study of genetic changes in two populations of dogs living in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Also fascinating - the article includes a "plain English summary." More journals should do that. cgejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Clovis people preferred mammoths and other large mammals for their diet. Which leads me to wonder once again about how much of the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna was due to human hunting. www.livescience.com/archaeology/...

Our genus - Homo - contains multitudes. We learn more about our relatives every year. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Climate change keeps throwing us more curveballs - well more like high, hard fastballs right at our head - and we don't pay enough attention to make the necessary changes. Once upon a time The Blob was a sci-fi film. Now it is a disaster in the sea. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/01/c...

For years here in the rural Midwest, the best place to find prairie plants has been in old pioneer cemeteries that were never plowed. It is good to see more cemeteries embracing native plants and natural landscaping as a way to help preserve biodiversity. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/29/c...

Taking a brief holiday break in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Winter arrived just as we did.

Good news on the restoration front - cranberry bogs back to wetlands. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Wow - evolution has achieved the perfect launch angle for maximum distance dispersal of spitting cucumber seeds. Nature is amazingly wonderful. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/s...

Our small projects - backyard gardens and similar - are beneficial to both the entire natural world and ourselves as we work to save as much biodiversity as possible. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/o...

My neighbor's red maple is at peak color in this soft gray light

Yet more bad news about the effects of climate change - rivers turning toxic in the Peruvian Andes. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/s...

A field trip to see excellent restoration work on the Squamish estuary and wetlands in BC.