For many plants, spring is just a really good time. They have endured a cold, dark, hard winter and in some places, winters can be murderously tough for plants.
Plants & Animals
Sep 9, 2025
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9
Most trees in the Amazon (90%), the Atlantic Forest (90%), or the Cerrado, the Brazilian savanna-like biome (60%), depend on animals to disperse their seeds, ensure their reproduction, and keep the forest standing. Birds, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 6, 2025
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1
A lot of attention has been paid to how climate change can drive biodiversity loss. Now, MIT researchers have shown that the reverse is also true: Reductions in biodiversity can jeopardize one of Earth's most powerful levers ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 28, 2025
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41
New research into the biomechanics of explosive seed dispersal in squirting cucumbers (Ecballium elaterium) reveals how these plants have adapted a suite of unique traits that help propel their high-speed seeds far and wide.
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2025
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0
Picture a primordial Earth: a world of muted browns, grays and greens. Fast forward to today, and Earth teems with a kaleidoscope of colors. From the stunning feathers of male peacocks to the vivid blooms of flowers, the ...
Evolution
Feb 17, 2025
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63
In the dark and moist understories of the subtropical forests of Shimoshima Island in Japan grow parasitic plants that feed on the roots of other plants. They are called Balanophora, and for over a century, the mechanism ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 4, 2024
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1
A team led by the University of Oxford has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the squirting cucumber squirt?
Plants & Animals
Nov 25, 2024
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3
Some of the wild plants that grow across the Australian landscape may not be so wild, according to new research led by Penn State scientists.
Ecology
Oct 10, 2024
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171
The extinction of hundreds of bird species caused by humans over the last 130,000 years has led to substantial reductions in avian functional diversity—a measure of the range of different roles and functions that birds ...
Evolution
Oct 3, 2024
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51
A study conducted across 30 field sites in the southwest UK has revealed the importance of incorporating varied habitats into the landscape at large.
Plants & Animals
Aug 21, 2024
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14
