Discoveries

Too often, innovations that have existed in the plant world for millennia are attributed to the human mind. A study of the bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), found in woodlands throughout New…

Humans have a long time to choose if, when, and how many times to reproduce. But many animals have short lives and must spend most of their time surviving and ensuring the perpetuation of…

You might have a hard time finding wild ginseng in the future woods, thanks to one of our most abundant herbivores: the white-tailed deer. Though deer populations are temporarily low in some…

Scientists have recently found that, when it comes to making offspring, American redstarts have good years and bad years. More specifically, a good year will likely be followed by a bad year,…

Two of the most important components of biodiversity are species diversity (how many species are out there) and genetic diversity (how wide a variety of genes are present in one species).…

Fragmentation of forests is one of the biggest threats facing animal populations in the Northeast. Some forest animals, especially amphibians, are considered to be especially vulnerable to…

The importance of forest cover along streams and rivers is not a new idea – we’ve likely all read that trees stabilize streambanks and prevent erosion, filter out runoff from…

Who knew that cowbirds could make good siblings? Well, decent ones, anyhow. Cowbird mothers are famous for laying their single eggs in the nests of other bird species, sometimes removing the…