Brandon Keim
Nature’s Fear Factor
Ecologists argue balance is maintained by predators on the prowl.
How “My Octopus Teacher” Defied Convention
Craig Foster reflects on a relationship that changed his connection to the natural world.
Octopuses Find New Hunting Buddies
Animals are teaming up to adapt to a changing world.
The Pandemic Can’t Lock Down Nature
Witnessing wildlife carry on is not just an escape. It’s reassuring.
Where to See the Real Living Dead
Everyone knows forests are alive, but Suzanne Simard, who studies complex, symbiotic networks, helps us see that life anew. Even dying, for a tree, is not what it seems.Photograph by Tomasz Wrzesien / Shutterstock Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . Talk of “Mother Trees,” from a scientist studying plant […]
Never Underestimate the Intelligence of Trees
Plants communicate, nurture their seedlings, and get stressed.
How “Useless” Science Unraveled an Amphibian Apocalypse
One spring day in 1984, Joyce Longcore got a phone call from Joan Brooks, a biologist at the University of Maine. Brooks had received a National Science Foundation grant to study the interactions of fungi and bacteria in peat bogs. She needed a hand, and she heard through the grapevine that Longcore knew a bit […]
This Piece of Ocean Trash Criticizes Ocean Trash
Nearly three years ago, George Boorujy took a trip to Wolfe’s Pond Park, on the southeastern edge of Staten Island in New York City, and threw a bottle into the ocean. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . On a cold, sunny day this February, artist Brigitte Barthelemy, her husband, […]
Why Are So Many Animals Homosexual?
Few creatures can boast of devotions so deep as greylag geese. Most are monogamous; many spend their decade-long adult lives with the same goose, side-by-side in constant communication, taking another partner only if the first should die. It’s a remarkable degree of fidelity, and it includes relationships of a sort that some humans consider unnatural. […]
What Pigeons Teach Us About Love
The sweet, avian romance of Harold and Maude.