If there is only one thing you learn about ecosystems, it should be that all of the living residents of an ecosystem are dependent upon one another for their survival. But what does that dependence ...

An isopod, well-adapted to the harsh conditions of arid-lands, crawls on the desert floor in search of plant litter. New study reveals that in arid ecosystems, larger arthropods such as termites and ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover the living world, from microbes to ecosystems. Decomposer fungi are central to breaking down dead material across ...

Slugs. They’re slimy. They’re sticky. And they make some people squirm. The largest type of slug in the United States, named for its yellow body, is the banana slug. Some banana slugs also have brown ...

Quick Take Preventing global ecosystem collapse requires the 1 specific chemical process performed by marine bacteria. Over 20,000 species of marine worms fail to achieve true decomposition without ...

Debate on the relationship between diversity and stability has been driven by the recognition that species loss may influence ecosystem properties and processes. We conducted a litterbag experiment in ...