ecology | 88.5 WFDD

Brendan George Ko / Penguin Random House

1:17am May 05, 2021

Science Science Books Arts Environment Health & Safety

Trees Talk To Each Other. 'Mother Tree' Ecologist Hears Lessons For People, Too

by Dave Davies

Ecologist Suzanne Simard says trees are "social creatures" that communicate with each other in remarkable ways — including warning each other of danger and sharing nutrients at critical times.

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Omar de Kok-Mercado, Iowa State University

12:02pm Jul 14, 2020

Science Science Environment

How Absentee Landowners Keep Farmers From Protecting Water And Soil

by Dan Charles

America's vast fields of corn and soybeans have displaced wildlife and polluted waterways. Farmers could help solve those problems, but often don't, in part because they rent that land.

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Ryan Kellman/Adam Cole / NPR's Skunk Bear

3:19pm Dec 04, 2018

National National Science

VIDEO: To Save A Fox, Scientists Took To Land, Air And Sea

When the population of Channel Islands foxes started to vanish in the '90s, no one knew why. Bringing them back from near-extinction has meant unraveling a mystery that started with World War II.
Basic Books

2:16pm Nov 12, 2018

Science Science Books Arts Health & Safety

Counting The Bugs And Bacteria, You're 'Never Home Alone' (And That's OK)

by Terry Gross

Ecologist Rob Dunn's new book describes the tiny life forms, helpful and risky, that live in different parts of the home, including on floors and in water faucets, basements and heating systems.

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6:17am Jul 09, 2018

Education Education

Bridging Cultures Through Shared Learning From Greensboro To Senegal

by David Ford

An exchange program in the Triad is bringing together Guilford County elementary school students with their peers in Senegal, Africa.

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Ilpo Kojola / Nature

4:32pm Mar 27, 2018

Science Science

Mother Bears Are Staying With Their Cubs Longer, Study Finds

by Rebecca Hersher

In many parts of the world, it is illegal to shoot a brown bear with cubs. The restrictions have made mother bears more likely to spend an extra year with their cubs.

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Christian Ziegler/ Minden Pictures / Getty Images

5:18pm Apr 04, 2017

National National Science Environment

Sound Matters: Sex And Death In The Rain Forest

Scientists eavesdropping in trees have decoded a high stakes game of hide and seek. Katydids rely on ultrasound to find mates and listen for bats, which use ultrasound to find the bugs, and eat them.
Hanna_M_Rowan2, North Carolina's Candid Critters Project. Creative Commons

1:01pm Feb 24, 2017

Science Science

Catch A Critter On Candid Camera - For Science!

North Carolina Candid Critters is on a mission to fill in the gaps in our wildlife knowledge. Strap on your science sealbelt, because they want your help!

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Jordan Wilkerson

1:00pm Jul 29, 2016

Science Science

Atomic Bombs Help Hawksbill Turtle Preservation

How can you tell the age of a turtle? This is an important question, especially when it concerns the critically endangered Hawaiian hawksbill turtle. The answer is the bomb!

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Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images

6:26pm Mar 02, 2016

National National Science Environment

To Make A Wild Comeback, Cranes Need More Than Flying Lessons

by Christopher Joyce

The 15-year project wasn't a flight of fancy. Biologists used a plane to successfully teach many young, captive-bred whooping cranes to migrate cross-country. But the birds aren't reproducing well.
Courtesy of Rohan Cleave/Melbourne Zoo

2:33pm Feb 11, 2016

National National Science Environment

Love Giant Insects? Meet The Tree Lobster, Back From The Brink

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The 8-inch insect nearly went extinct when hungry rats overran its island. But Melbourne scientists found a few in 2001 and started a thriving colony. Now the San Diego Zoo is hatching them, too.

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6:57pm Jun 26, 2015

Science Science Environment Health & Safety

Save Wildlife, Save Yourself?

by Jessie Rack

Protecting the environment may reduce many diseases, such as Lyme and West Nile, a study finds. The tantalizing idea suggests that conservation and human health may be more connected than we thought.