Do you like snakes, lizards and frogs? Why herpetology might be the career for you

Nov 10, 2023 14:44 pm UTC| Nature

We are so fortunate to share the world with a huge diversity of creatures. For me, some of the most fascinating are reptiles and amphibians. Collectively called herpetofauna, reptiles and amphibians are ectotherms; they...

Climate Change Series

How global warming shakes the Earth: Seismic data show ocean waves gaining strength as the planet warms

Nov 07, 2023 09:04 am UTC| Nature

As oceans waves rise and fall, they apply forces to the sea floor below and generate seismic waves. These seismic waves are so powerful and widespread that they show up as a steady thrum on seismographs, the same...

Wildcats lived alongside domestic cats for 2,000 years but only started interbreeding 60 years ago – new study

Nov 07, 2023 09:00 am UTC| Nature

You are unlikely to have seen one, but wildcats are still clinging on by a claw in Scotland. Most of the cats living in the wild in Scotland are hybrid cats with a mix of wildcat and domestic cat ancestry or feral domestic...

Climate Change Series

The wildfires that led to mass extinction: a warning from California's Ice Age history – podcast

Nov 05, 2023 20:35 pm UTC| Nature

In recent years, Californians have had to deal with some deadly and destructive wildfires. But in fact, this part of the western United States has been shaped by fire for millennia. In this episode of The Conversation...

Climate Change Series

Storm Ciarán is breaking records and research suggests more severe weather in future

Nov 05, 2023 20:32 pm UTC| Nature

Storm Ciarán made landfall in south-west England and northern France overnight on November 1, with heavy rain and winds blowing up to 180 kilometers per hour (108 mph). The UK Met Office names storms each winter...

Climate Change Series

El Niño may be drying out the southern hemisphere – here's how that affects the whole planet

Nov 05, 2023 20:32 pm UTC| Nature

It is a well-known fact that water is the key to life on Earth. But it is less well known that only about 1% of all water on the planet is fresh water available to humans, plants or land-based animals. The rest is in...

Taming wild northern rivers could harm marine fisheries and threaten endangered sawfish

Nov 05, 2023 19:42 pm UTC| Nature

Australias tropical northern rivers still run wild and free. These relatively pristine areas have so far avoided extensive development. But this might not last. There are ongoing scoping studies exploring irrigating...