Ecology

A global plan, ambitious but doable, could double food production by mid-century and simultaneously rein in the emissions, deforestation and pollution caused by agriculture

What's the best way to control ecological pests? Feed them to the world's greatest predator—us

Pests, fungal infections and a changing climate threaten cacao crops and the chocolate they produce. But researchers have strategies to rescue this favorite sweet

Parrotfish munching on algae ingest coral and then eliminate the rocky substrate, creating island-building grade sediment in places like the Maldives. Julia Rosen reports

A heritage committee of the UNESCO cultural agency raised long-term concerns about the reef's future

Black balls that litter the planet may prove the best marker for a new geologic epoch recognizing humanity's outsized impacts

The West is adapting to more wildfires but this season may test its resilience

A team of deep divers plunges into the “twilight zone,” a little-explored region of depth between 200 and 500 feet below the surface, with two goals: "catch fish" and "stay alive".

Climate change will challenge tall trees like California's redwoods

Unusual adrenal and lung conditions seen in dead dolphins in the months after the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill point to the oil as the cause. Steve Mirsky reports

The four-year study took thousands of samples at hundreds of sites

A crude petroleum spill that has stained a California beach and fouled offshore waters may rank as the biggest oil spill to hit the Santa Barbara coastline in more than four decades.