Articles for category: Ecology

Desert Engineering: How Water Infrastructure Carved Cities Into the Arid Southwest

Desert Engineering: How Water Infrastructure Carved Cities Into the Arid Southwest

Annette Uy

Picture a place where the sun beats down relentlessly, and rain is but a distant memory. Yet, amidst this harsh environment, thriving cities emerge, bustling with life and innovation. The American Southwest is a testament to human ingenuity and resilience, where water infrastructure has transformed barren deserts into vibrant urban landscapes. This fascinating transformation is ...

Rock art cave.

California’s Rock Art Caves: Messages from the First Americans

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine standing in a dimly lit cave, surrounded by walls adorned with ancient symbols and images. These are not just random markings; they are messages from the first Americans, etched into stone thousands of years ago. California’s rock art caves offer a fascinating glimpse into the distant past, revealing the thoughts, beliefs, and daily lives ...

Permafrost is any ground that has remained frozen for over 2 years like this one.

Frozen Time Capsules: What Canadian Permafrost Is Preserving From Prehistory

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine a world where time stands still, where remnants of ancient ecosystems remain untouched by the passage of millennia. This world exists beneath the icy surface of Canada’s permafrost, an extraordinary natural archive preserving tales from prehistory. The permafrost acts like a time capsule, offering us glimpses into the past, revealing secrets of long-lost flora ...

How Bison Could Be the Natural Solution to Wildfire Management

Why Some Animals Follow Wildfires — and What They Find in the Ash

Trizzy Orozco

When flames tear through a forest, most of us imagine every living creature fleeing in terror. But nature has a different story to tell. While chaos and destruction dominate the headlines, something remarkable happens in the shadows of wildfire zones that challenges everything we think we know about survival instincts. The Fire Followers: Nature’s Unlikely ...

Closeup of a koala resting in a tree.

7 Marsupials You Didn’t Know Existed (or Were This Cool)

Trizzy Orozco

The animal kingdom holds countless surprises, but few groups are as wonderfully bizarre as marsupials. While most people can name a kangaroo or koala, the true diversity of pouched mammals extends far beyond these iconic species. From gliding possums that defy gravity to carnivorous devils that crush bones with their jaws, marsupials have evolved into ...

Pancake Rocks, New Zealand.

Before Plants: How the First Oxygen May Have Come From Rocks, Not Leaves

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine a world where lush green forests and vibrant plant life were non-existent. Picture a barren landscape where the air was devoid of the life-sustaining oxygen we take for granted today. It’s a world that existed billions of years ago, long before the first plant leaf unfurled. Surprisingly, the oxygen that eventually paved the way ...

The Secret Life of Rivers: How Underground Streams Shape Entire Ecosystems

The Secret Life of Rivers: How Underground Streams Shape Entire Ecosystems

Annette Uy

Beneath the surface, hidden from our everyday gaze, lies a fascinating world that plays a crucial role in the health and vitality of our planet’s ecosystems. This mysterious realm consists of underground streams, often overlooked, yet they weave an intricate web that supports life above and below ground. These hidden waterways meander silently through the ...