Natural history discoveries from two years of Nature Notes

It is now two years since we launched our Nature Notes article category, designed to provide a home for Natural History observations. The response has been extraordinary, with over 200 Nature Notes submitted – clearly there was an untapped demand for somewhere to publish natural history! To celebrate, we look back at 10 Nature Notes that have both caught the eye of our editors and represent some of the breadth of the papers we have received.

Freshwater mussels: Hidden biodiversity on the brink

Blog written by Cheryl L. Morrison1, Nathan A. Johnson2 and Jess W. Jones3 . Read the full article here. 1U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Leetown Research Laboratory, Kearneysville, WV 25430, USA. 2U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Gainesville, FL 32653, USA 3U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Fish and Wildlife...

Why we should embrace a broad, simplified definition of traits

Blog written by Manuela González-Suárez. Read the full article here. If you are interested in nature, you probably pay attention to how organisms look, behave, and where they prefer to live. These characteristics have helped us classify life on Earth and are commonly described in nature and identification guides. Natural history has always paid attention...

Charting your future by examining the past; Using historical records and maps to describe Fiji’s habitat change since the 1800s

Blog written by Katherine Newcomer Lawson. Read the full paper here. How do we tell stories that were never written down? Old tales passed down from ancestor to child can sometimes take new forms and new patterns and absorb new meaning in new times when heard by fresh ears. Some stories are forgotten while others...

A STEM summer camp leads to discoveries in urban backyards

While many primates seek shelter at night, we humans rely on artificial light to stay awake. Our methods of generating light at night have always created consequences for other species. Prior to electricity, street lamps were fueled by whale fat, which created severe hunting pressure on whales. Electricity reduced the demand for whale fat, while...