Freshwater ecosystems cover a tiny portion of the Earth surface yet host an outstanding biodiversity. About one tenth of all known species inhabit rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, or floodplains. They are also essential to human well-being providing us with food, clean water, and leisure. Freshwater... click to read more

When the Isthmus of Panama formed, it connected North and South America, allowing the interchange of the previously separated faunas from two continents. A puzzling aspect of this interchange is that North American mammals seem to be more successful. The fossil record shows more mammals... click to read more

Everyone likes bees; they are fuzzy, love flowers and do many great things – but they might not be around for much longer. Although most of us are familiar with the European honeybee, this is but one of over 20 thousand species of wild bees, and... click to read more

Biologists have understood for a long time that plant and animal species are not evenly distributed among the world's tropical areas, and wondered why. Africa has spectacular numbers of primate and hoofed mammal species. Southeast Asia is much smaller in size than Africa, but has... click to read more

Sea otters are a marine mammal with a long history of interactions with humans. Beyond their cute appearance, they were once hunted to near extinction for their lush pelts. To help recover this endangered species, sea otters were re-introduced to the northwest coast of Vancouver... click to read more