Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Pisaster ochraceusPisaster ochraceusWhen ochre sea stars were removed from a patch of rocky shore at Washington’s Mukkaw Bay, California mussels spread over the rock. In the experimental patch, the number of species living on that rock fell. By eating mussels, the sea star keeps space open for other species on the shore.0
  2. 2African forest elephantAfrican forest elephantSome trees in the Congo Basin get their seeds scattered by an elephant. Forest elephants swallow fruit and leave intact seeds in their dung. In the Ndoki Forest, researchers matched seeds in dung with elephant movements to see how far that delivery service can reach. A tree with few other…0
  3. 3North American beaverNorth American beaverA beaver dam makes room for other species. In Oregon’s Bridge Creek, researchers installed posts to help beavers anchor dams. As dams and pools multiplied, juvenile steelhead survived better than they did in the comparison watershed. Here the effect comes from reshaping the stream itself.0
  4. 4Sea otterSea otterIn the western Aleutians, rocky coasts with sea otters supported more kelp than coasts without them. Otters eat sea urchins, which graze kelp. The relationship can run at different speeds in different places. Long records from Vancouver Island and southern California show why two kelp forests can…0
  5. 5Gopher tortoiseGopher tortoiseThe long tunnel of a gopher tortoise can provide refuge from heat, fire, and predators. Florida mice dig little side tunnels off the main passage, and eastern indigo snakes can shelter in the burrow. One animal’s excavation creates habitat for others, including insects closely tied to the burrow…0
  6. 6Green humphead parrotfishGreen humphead parrotfishA bumphead parrotfish helps turn pieces of a reef into sand. This large Indo-Pacific fish breaks up reef carbonate as it feeds, taking bites of live coral as well. It shows how a fish can change the structure of a reef by excavating material from the surface.0
  7. 7Black-tailed prairie dogBlack-tailed prairie dogFor a black-footed ferret, a prairie dog colony provides both hunting grounds and shelter. The ferret eats prairie dogs and uses their burrow system. In the shortgrass plains, black-tailed prairie dog colonies can have particularly dense burrow networks, so losing a colony takes away a food source…0
  8. 8Pink salmonPink salmonA spawned-out pink salmon can feed other fish long after the run passes. In experimental stream channels in southeast Alaska, adding pink salmon carcasses increased the growth of young coho salmon. The returning adults bring nutrients acquired at sea into streams, where they become available to the…0
  9. 9Southern cassowarySouthern cassowaryThe large fruits of a rare Daintree rainforest tree, Ryparosa kurrangii, suit an animal that can swallow them whole. In a germination trial, seeds that passed through a southern cassowary sprouted far more often than untreated seeds. The bird can change both where a seed lands and its chance of…0
  10. 10Cornitermes cumulansCornitermes cumulansThe mounds of this termite in Brazil’s Cerrado can shelter other termites and ants. A field survey found at least 17 termite species and 10 ant species nesting across the different mounds. Look at the mounds as a set of buildings, each able to house more than the colony that made it.0