environment

painting of a bright pink flamingo against a deep blue background, standing in water and creating little tornados

Research

Flamingos create water tornados to trap their prey

Stomp dancing, head jerking, chattering and skimming generate whorls and eddies that funnel brine shrimp and small animals into the birds’ mouths.

A lone wolf walks through yellow grassland

Opinion

What we really need in the fight against extinction

a woman with dark hair and glasses wearing a blue and yellow feathered earring

Mind & body

Indigenous knowledge helps biotech find new drugs. This grad student wants those companies to give back.

Research

Artificial leaf uses sunlight to capture carbon and produce valuable chemicals

A new electric train at the Caltrain San Francisco station.

Electric trains are quieter, more reliable than diesel. New study finds they’re healthier, too.

Two steelhead trout swim within the bubbling waters of a flowing stream.

A single dry winter decimated California’s salmon and trout populations

3 gold circles against a blue background, with leaping squirrels in two and a leaping robot in the middle

No robot can match a squirrel’s ability to leap from limb to limb — until now

a large green iguana with narrow yellow stripes rests on the lower trunk of a palm tree with a beach and ocean in the background

Iguanas floated one-fifth of the way around the world to colonize Fiji

Two people sit on chairs made from tree trunks and smile at the camera. Behind them is a long wooden table that holds basketry and serving utensils.

Initiative aims to create a ‘rightful presence’ for the Ohlone community at UC Berkeley

a brown furry animal with black eyes and a pointy snout photographed on the ground amid green and yellow plants

This shy California shrew avoided the camera and the limelight — until now

A coyote walks along a ridge at night, with a view of the lights of Los Angeles in the background.

How urbanization shapes coyote life in Los Angeles

A person wearing black waders stands waist-deep in a creek, inspecting what appears to be a black pipe that spans the width of the creek.

Diversity in coho salmon could be key to species survival

Mars depicted as a brown and blue orb

Ancient beaches testify to long-ago ocean on Mars

brown frog with yellow stripe on side, sitting on a brown leaf

En busca de una rana venenosa y de un nombre culturalmente apropiado

brown frog with yellow stripe on side, sitting on a brown leaf

In pursuit of a poison frog — and a culturally appropriate name

A close up of a small shrew sitting in grass and leaves.

California’s most elusive mammal photographed for the first time

All environment