Paleontologists working in a cave on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola have discovered the first-known instance of ancient bees nesting inside pre-existing fossil cavities.

Fossils of animal bones found in a cave contained dirt and sediment in their empty tooth sockets. A scientist realized that it wasn't just dirt-- he'd stumbled across the preserved nests of prehistoric bees that had laid their eggs in these bones. This is the first time that bees have been known to use bones or fossils as nests.

A new study published in Biochar reveals that alkaline biochar, a type of carbon-rich soil amendment, significantly improves microbial carbon use efficiency and nutrient cycling in saline-alkali soils. These findings could help farmers and land managers restore degraded soils in arid and semi-arid regions around the world.

A new study reveals a critical link between seasonal seabird nesting and the movements of top marine predators in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The research found that the annual summer arrival of fledgling seabirds at French Frigate Shoals concentrates tiger sharks in specific areas, forcing other species, including gray reef and Galapagos sharks, to drastically shift their own habitat use to avoid predation and competition.

Salt marshes, those critical habitats that protect coastal towns from flooding, store massive amounts of blue carbon, support fisheries and play a key role in ecological resilience, are struggling to survive as oceans rise due to climate change. A new study led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Massachusetts Geological Survey reveals a previously undiscovered source of the sediments that are key to the salt marshes’ survival: the ocean. The research, published recently in Geophysical Research Letters, relies on an innovative method of working with satellite data to see a process that has been hitherto invisible and holds immediate implications for coastal management.