Steller’s Sea Cows’ Ecological Legacy

A new paper explores the ways these extinct megaherbivores would have reshaped kelp forests across the North Pacific.

Oct 8, 2021 | 750 words, about 3 minutes

The Americas’ First Ecosystem Managers

When it comes to sea otters, modern conservation goals are overlooking the firm hand Indigenous people wielded through time.

Aug 18, 2021 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes

The Ingenious Ancient Technology Concealed in the Shallows

Fish traps have a long history around the world, and a vast network in a Vancouver Island estuary reveals generations of ecological wisdom.

Aug 3, 2021 | 3,500 words, about 18 minutes

Ancient Gardens Persist in British Columbia’s Forests

Indigenous-managed landscapes retain higher biodiversity than surrounding areas a century after the people who kept them were displaced.

Jun 9, 2021 | 800 words, about 4 minutes

Whale Bone Weapons Hint at World’s Earliest Coastal Economy

Thousands of years before the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, a widespread trade network carried large whale bone spears from Spain to France.

May 17, 2021 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

That Time Hitler’s Girlfriend Visited Iceland and the British Invaded

The location of this small island nation, along with its people and economy, played an unexpected and crucial role in the outcome of the Second World War.

May 11, 2021 | 4,500 words, about 22 minutes

For a Peek Inside Wisconsin’s Watery Past, Thank the Microbes

Since its discovery in the 1980s, a fossil site in a Milwaukee suburb has borne some of the best-preserved soft-bodied organisms from the Silurian.

May 5, 2021 | 950 words, about 4 minutes

Making Amends with Makatea

On this French Polynesian island dramatically scarred from mining, locals grapple with whether a new mine will heal or harm the landscape.

May 4, 2021 | 3,100 words, about 15 minutes