Current plans to protect the Chesapeake Bay include planting trees along hundreds of miles of streams that empty into the Bay. This study provides realistic limits for how much these buffers might further reduce nitrate pollution, and it helps identify where buffer restoration can offer the greatest additional nitrate removal.

The post Study backs restoring green buffers along streams to reduce Chesapeake Bay pollution appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A 48 million-year-old fossilized leaf has revealed the oldest known evidence of a macabre part of nature – parasites taking control of their hosts to turn them into zombies.

The post Fossil reveals 48-million year history of zombie ants appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nearly 60 million years ago rainforests prospered at temperatures that were 3-5 degrees higher and at atmospheric carbon dioxide levels 2.5 times today’s levels.

The post Plant diversity in tropical forests increased during ancient global warming event appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recently a team of scientists working at the Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute in Panama, decided to try and learn for the first time just which body parts the gliding ant C. atratus uses to steer as they glide.

The post Gliding ants steer with hind legs as they fly backwards, scientists learn appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The discovery of starch granules in the calculus on Neandertal teeth provides direct evidence that they made sophisticated, thoughtful food choices and ate more nutrient-rich plants, for example date palms, legumes and grains such as barley.

The post Starch grains found on Neandertal teeth debunks theory that dietary deficiencies caused their extinction appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian plant physiologist Bert Drake has studied one wetland's response to climate change for more than two decades. He gives a tour of the field experiment and explains some of the findings.

The post On the Chesapeake Bay, Smithsonian plant physiologist Bert Drake has been studying one wetland’s response to climate change for more than two decades. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

“Orchids: A View from the East,” a joint exhibition by Smithsonian Gardens and the U.S. Botanic Garden, opens at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History […]

The post Orchids: A View from the East appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Community ecologist Sunshine Van Bael explains her work in Panama with leafcutting ants appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Introducing Leafsnap, an electronic field guide to North America trees run on a mobile phone app appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Bird species in rainforest fragments in Brazil that were isolated by deforestation first disappeared and then reappeared during the next quarter-century.

The post “Extinct” birds reappear in rainforest fragments in Brazil appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nutmeg-loving toucans wearing GPS transmitters recently helped a team of scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama address an age-old problem in plant ecology: accurately estimating seed dispersal.

The post Toucans wearing GPS backpacks help Smithsonian scientists study seed dispersal appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new study shows that as climate change enhances tree growth in tropical forests, the resulting increase in litterfall could stimulate soil micro-organisms leading to a release of stored soil carbon.

The post Increased tropical forest growth may result in release of stored carbon in the soil appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fulcaldea stuessyi is a newly discovered member of the Barnadesioideae, a subfamily of the Compositae, or sunflower family of flowering plants. It was found in northeastern […]

The post Fulcaldea stuessyi is newly discovered member of the Barnadesioideae, a subfamily of the Compositae, or sunflower family of flowering plants, appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The move enhances coordination efforts for the 46-plot research network, which partners with more than 75 institutions in 21 countries.

The post Global forest science research center moves from Harvard to the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Exquisitely preserved in fossil sediments dating from the Middle Jurassic, the insect, newly named Juracimbrophlebia ginkgofolia, was discovered in 165 million-year-old deposits, as was the ginko-like tree, Yimaia capituliformis, the mimicked plant.

The post Insect mimic of ginko-like leaf discovered 165 million years after its extinction appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new genetic analysis has revealed that many Amazon tree species are likely to survive human-caused climate warming in the coming century, contrary to previous findings that temperature increases would cause them to die out.

The post Warming climate unlikely to cause near-term extinction of ancient Amazon trees, study says appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Despite many laws to protect it, a new survey reveals wild ginseng in Maryland is on the decline.

The post Wild ginseng in steep decline in Maryland, survey reveals: Q&A with Smithsonian botanist Christopher Puttock appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Going for the gut will soon become standard protocol for scientists working to unravel the complex living web of interactions between plants and animals on […]

The post Going for the gut: DNA from beetle stomachs reveals complex network appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Invasive European earthworms could prevent roughly half a North American forest’s orchid seeds from even germinating, ecologists from Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and Johns Hopkins […]

The post Invasive earthworms threaten wild American orchids appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

South American rainforests thrived during three extreme global warming events in the past, say paleontologists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in a new report […]

The post Smithsonian scientists discover that rainforests take the heat appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The North Pole isn’t the only place on Earth affected by slight increases in temperature. Until recently, scientific thinking used to posit that tropical forests, […]

The post Rising temperatures mean more blooms for tropical rainforests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How do you diagnose a sick stream? Count its insects, according to Smithsonian biologist Don Weller.

The post Streams damaged by too many hard surfaces in urban areas appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Katie Cramer is a MarineGEO Post-Doctoral Fellow and travels to Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama throughout the year to conduct research. Her recent paper […]

The post Q&A: Katie Cramer on the long term human impact on coral reefs in Caribbean Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As the Rim Fire burns deeper into Yosemite, park managers are fighting fire with fire—and one of the Smithsonian’s ForestGEO plots was caught in the […]

The post Smithsonian research plot burns in Yosemite fires appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A joint Harvard-Smithsonian study released today in the journal PLOS ONE reveals how much — and how little — Northeastern forests have changed after centuries of intensive […]

The post 400-year study finds Northeast forests resilient, changing  appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Shallow-water seagrasses can’t survive without enough light. And fish, shrimp, crabs and other creatures we rely on for food can’t survive without seagrasses. Smithsonian biologist […]

The post Ecosystems on the Edge: Underwater Light and Seagrass appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Hidden in the thick foliage of tropical forests a subfamily of colorful beetles–the Chrysomelidae–may be hiding the secrets to the earliest stages of social behavior. […]

The post Beetle moms show clear signs of maternal instincts and care appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

An ancient new player has entered the debate over global warming and it is pink. Labrador fishermen call them “red rocks” because underwater they resemble […]

The post Ancient algal ‘tree rings’ show dramatic decline in Arctic and sub-Arctic sea ice appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

One way to avoid a cold or the flu, doctors say, is to stay away from crowded places. Viruses spread fast in places where people […]

The post Sugar is key ingredient to evolutionary success of ants, researchers find appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Mexico is the fourth largest honey producer and fifth largest honey exporter in the world. A Smithsonian researcher and colleagues helped rural farmers in Mexico […]

The post Genetically modified soybean pollen threatens Mexican honey sales appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For centuries untold numbers of this tiny arachnid (cousin to spiders and ticks) have ended up in teapots, invisibly steeping alongside the leaves of the tea plant on which it lives.

The post Primitive, bizarre, beautiful: New mite species reveal a lost world awaiting discovery appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Residents of the southeastern United States might occasionally come across an oddity along a barbed-wire fence: a series of insects, mice or even small birds […]

The post Tiny, fierce and disappearing: breeding program aims to help the loggerhead shrike appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Carnivorous plants are a fascinating example of nature at its best. Living in habitats with nutrient-poor soil, carnivorous plants evolved to attract some insects as […]

The post How Carnivorous Plants avoid eating their pollinating insect friends appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

“When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters,” once a tagline of the American Lung Association, today it might easily describe what is happening in many […]

The post Gasping for air: nutrients, warming trigger ocean oxygen deficit appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History announced today that scientists with the museum’s Global Genome Initiative will attempt to capture the genomic diversity of half the […]

The post Smithsonian and Partners To Preserve Earth’s Genomic Plant Diversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Nausea, vomiting and weakness are but a few of the symptoms one might anticipate after eating leaves from the Taiwanese shrub Erycibe henryi. This wild […]

The post Meet the (flea) beetles! New species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This year’s El Niño event is one of the strongest on record and is still ramping up. Large parts of the tropics are turning into […]

The post Major El Nino Perfect opportunity for Global Change Research appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How much is a wetland worth? It’s a question that has plagued policymakers, scientists and other leaders looking to protect their communities and slow down […]

The post New report enables creation of carbon credits for restored wetlands appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Profound ideas don’t need to be complicated. A simple cube made of aluminum tubing, a centerpiece of a new exhibit “Life in One Cubic Foot,” […]

The post From Rochester to Polynesia, a simple cube unveils Earth’s dazzling biological diversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Long ago, one great ocean flowed between North and South America. When the narrow Isthmus of Panama joined the continents about 3 million years ago, […]

The post Recent Connection Between North and South America Reaffirmed appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

At the approach of a hungry parrot snake, a tree frog egg transforms from a haven to a prison. With no parent to offer protection, […]

The post Mystery solved: frogs use snout glands in emergency jail break appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

By now, most of the United States has started to feel the first cool caresses of winter. Everything is pumpkin spiced, and the last crickets […]

The post Feathered diplomats unite pupils in North and Central America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A newly discovered Hawaiian tree recently had the distinction of being added to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Critically […]

The post Newly named, Hawaiian tree species already critically endangered appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Living trees can rot from the inside out, leaving only a hollowed trunk. Wood rot in living trees can cause overestimates of global carbon pools, […]

The post Measuring trees with the speed of sound appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Caribbean coral reefs have become biologically and economically degraded habitats. The relative weight of the big factors in this ecological catastrophe–pollution, overfishing, warming and ocean […]

The post Coral reefs grow faster, healthier when parrotfish are abundant appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation offers a range of compelling residential, hands-on, interdisciplinary programs in conservation biology for undergraduate and graduate students and professionals at […]

The post Field Research: Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Muted moans of sadness punctuated the pandemonium that engulfed the Smithsonian’s National Zoo over the weekend as throngs of well-wishing visitors flooded through the Zoo’s […]

The post Bon Voyage Bao Bao! Washington loses its precious treasure appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Named for Charles Darwin, the only known specimen of a newly discovered beetle, Darwinylus marcosi, died in a sticky battle in a gob of tree […]

The post Beetle and pollen trapped in 105 million-year-old amber reveal fourth major pollination mode in mid-Mesozoic appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On Earth Day weekend, the Smithsonian will convene the first Earth Optimism Summit, a three-day event featuring more than 150 scientists, thought leaders, philanthropists, conservationists […]

The post Smithsonian To Convene Earth Optimism Summit April 21–23 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Dead zones affect dozens of coral reefs around the world and threaten hundreds more according to a new study by Smithsonian scientists published in the […]

The post Dead Zones May Threaten Coral Reefs Worldwide appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.