Environment

Too many of us underestimate soil. We may think of it simply as dirt instead of the complex ecosystem of macro- and microscopic organisms of which it consists. Without soil, we would not have the substrate required to grow various plants which are necessary for us to eat, breathe and survive. More than...

At thedailyECO, we show you there are many ways to categorize animals. This ranges from their eating habits and morphological characteristics to their reproductive behaviors and type of habitat. One group of categorization you may not have considered is locomotion. How animals move is imperative to their...

It can be helpful to look at cells as little factories. They have different departments and structures within them which carry out specific functions. Similar to a factory, these different structures within a cell work collectively to perform the overall function of the type of cell. Individually, they...

Wetlands are areas of land that are either permanently or seasonally saturated with water. They are found throughout the world and include a variety of habitats such as marshes, swamps, and bogs. Wetlands are important ecosystems that provide numerous benefits to both humans and wildlife. Wetlands also...

A body of water refers to various large accumulations of water which can be either natural or manmade. This means they can range from just a few feet to millions of square miles of surface area. Size is not the only defining characteristic of bodies of water. How the water flows within it, how water...

We should know that water gives life to our planet, but not all water is the same. Although 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, the vast majority is saltwater found mainly in seas and oceans. This saline water represents 97.5% of all water on Earth. While we may think the rest is freshwater,...

Biodiversity on our planet is distributed unevenly. We know this when we compare the scarcity of life somewhere life Antarctica with the abundance of somewhere like the Amazon rainforest. These areas have plant and animal species which are well adapted to their regions. Some of these species are only able...

Viruses and bacteria are two types of microorganisms that are important to understand for a variety of reasons, including their impact on human health and the environment. Both viruses and bacteria can be controlled and treated by a variety of methods, including vaccines, antibiotics, and antiviral drugs....

Although they may appear to be very different in form and behavior, there are great similarities between cows, giraffes and hippopotamuses. One of the most defining is the fact they are all artiodactyls, otherwise known as even-toed ungulates. While we have used these animals as examples, there are...

Primates are a diverse group of mammals that include humans, apes, and lemurs. Due to their close genetic and behavioral similarities to humans, primates are often studied to gain insights into human evolution, behavior, and biology. Primates have played a significant role in human evolution, and studying...

Botany is a complicated field of study which requires years of study to even get to grips with the basics. Such complication is not made any easier by the fact gardeners will often use completely different terminology for the same plant. The names they use depend on their culture, personal preference...

We should be aware that bacteria can be very harmful to individual organisms, depending on their type and rate of infection. We may be less aware of just how important different types of bacteria are for both individual organisms and the larger ecosystems in which they live. They can help in food digestion,...

Located near coastal regions of various oceans, we can find the presence of underwater kelp forests. Although they can seem like magical spaces more closely associated with fairy tales than science, they are naturally occurring underwater forests. Unlike their terrestrial counterparts, underwater kelp forests...

Leaves are the plant organs specialized to capture light energy through photosynthesis. Leaves come in different sizes, colors, and shapes, and there are several ways to classify them. Leaf morphology describes the different ways in which plant leaves are classified. All trees have a leaf structure...

The world's rainforests store up to 50% of the CO2 that exists in our atmosphere, although this amount may be reduced thanks to climate change. The ability to absorb so much carbon dioxide is thanks to the vegetation which abounds in jungle ecosystems. It is thanks to this abundant vegetation that we can...

The Solanaceae family, also known as the nightshade family (Solanaceae Juss.) is a family of herbaceous or woody plants that includes about 98 genera and about 2700 species, most of which are poisonous, such as deadly nightshade, which can even cause death. Only a few are edible, including potatoes,...

All plants have certain basic characteristics such as needing sunlight, water and nutrients to develop. Despite these fundamental similarities, there are is an incredible range of diversity among plant species. These differences include their habitat, texture, colors, reproduction and many others. One of...

Cell division is a vital biological process which allows life on our planet to continue. Although they are made of atoms, the cell is the basic building block of living beings. It is from cellular behavior that anatomical and physiological changes occur within organisms. Like the larger organisms of which...

All living things are made up of cells, the basic unit of life. From tiny organisms to complex animals, we all have cells that allow us to carry out basic functions. There are different ways to classify cells: according to their origin in evolution (prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells), according to their energy...

All living organisms are composed of cells which are responsible for their functioning of their biological processes. Although they themselves are made of atoms, cells are considered the basic building block for all life. We know about their existence thanks to microscopy, the technical field which allows...

In biology, we refer to the adaptation of living things or biological adaptation as the process by which living things develop the ability to survive in a different environment. These changes can be morphological, physiological, behavioral, and molecular in nature. In other words, adaptation can occur...

Although all ice is frozen water, we categorize this substance in different ways according to certain categorizations. It is for this reason we can know the difference between an ice cube and an iceberg. These characteristics are important as they have various repercussions on Earth's climate, something...

We often speak of our metabolism in very broad terms, especially in terms of our ability to gain or lose weight. In actuality, metabolism is a set of very precise processes which occur in all living organisms. This is true from the largest mammal to the smallest unicellular organism. Metabolism is the...

The origin of life has intrigued humans since the beginning of consciousness. It is no surprise that understanding these origins has been influential in various scientific disciplines. Desire to understand and the ability to do so have not always been equal and our understanding of the fundamental building blocks...

Water is one of the most important elements on our planet and necessary for the existence of life. Without it, all living things and plants would die out. Oceans and rivers feed us, regulate our climate, and produce much of the oxygen we breathe. They are also the basis for much of the global economy,...

For living organisms to survive, they require various physiological processes and metabolic pathways which influence their physical forms. These processes have been adapted over millions of years of evolution thanks to their ability to pass information on from generation to generation. This information is...

The temperature ranges of our planet are incredibly dynamic, but we can find the coldest zones at the poles. Especially during winter where there is no sunlight, temperatures drop dramatically with levels being recorded as low as -89 ºC (-128.2 ºF). The result of such sub-zero temperatures is found...

The Protista kingdom is the classification of eukaryotic organisms consisting of various unicellular and multicellular microorganisms that, although they do not have much in common, are placed in the same kingdom because they do not fit into other kingdoms. Protists have very specific, distinctive characteristics...

You may be aware of wetlands. It may also be fairly easy to deduce that a wetland is a piece of land with a high water content, but then it is easy to be unsure how to differentiate this between geographical features such as lakes and swamps. For this reason, understanding the terminologies of different...

Although planet Earth is a closed system in terms of matter, it is constantly changing as a response to the conditions of a given place and time. From our human perspective, some of these changes are not easily perceptible. This is the case with evolutionary processes. While it may be common to think...

When we look at the diversity of nature, we may marvel at how these incredible organisms that inhabit are planet differ from each other. This wonderment is made all the greater when we consider the fact all the cells of living beings evolved from the same common cell ancestor. We know this thanks to the...

Evolution is the process by which living organisms change over time. They do so in order to adapt to the particular conditions of their environment. These changes take place in the genetic code of the organism, allowing them to be passed down from generation to generation. Much of what we know about evolution...

The Andes are one of the world's most beautiful mountain ranges, extending from Venezuela in the north all the way through to Argentina in the south. In fact, they are the largest continental mountain range in the world. Covering such a large span of territory, it is understandable that the area around...

Ecology is the study of ecosystems and the various biological, zoological, botanic and environmental processes which construct these ecosystems. One definition of ecosystems states they are formed by natural environments called biotopes and by a community of living beings called biocenosis. These can be...

Supporting our environment is not a selfless act. Finding ways to reduce the impacts of climate change and the environmental degradation our world faces is the only way to ensure our future. The same applies to future generations. Knowing how to slow or even reverse the effects of environmental degradation...

We should all be aware of environmental impact in a general sense. When we discuss the environmental impact of something, we refer to the consequences certain actions have on the larger environment. Such impacts can be large or small and they do not always have to be negative. Our very existence will have an impact...

Even if you have never heard the term, you will likely know of different xerophytic plants. Also known as xerophytes, these plants are drought resistant and can be found all over the world. Perhaps the most well known are different type of cacti, although there are many other different types of xerophytic...

Biodiversity reaches higher rates in tropical biomes than in polar biomes. We know this thanks to studies of the world's ecosystems. Ecologists have been able to confirm the fact that greater diversity in nature occurs closer to the equator by obtaining exact data on the flora and fauna of each biome on...

You may notice there are times of the year when insects are more abundant than usual. This is seen in summer when mosquitos make themselves well known. You may not have spent much time wondering why. The availability of resources is one such reason, as is the change of weather. Many animals have adapted...

The enormous natural splendor of our planet is still being discovered, despite our best attempts to chart every last inch of the globe. In an attempt to understand how it works, cartographers, researchers and various scientists have had to rely on a range of categorizations. This includes to myriad species...

Lakes, lagoons, rivers, ponds, seas or oceans are all types of bodies of water. Some are much bigger than others, but size is not the only difference between them. Since so many of the world's bodies of water and waterways are so interconnected, it can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between one...

Deforestation will occur to some degree due to natural causes. Some ecosystems have their own ways of regenerating and continuing their lifecycles. Human action on various ecosystems has also caused deforestation, something which has been important for various types of infrastructure and other aspects of civilization....

When we consider plant reproduction, it is likely we first think of seeds. By submerging in various substrates, many seeds can germinate, develop roots and produce the shoots which result in an adult plant. While a common method of propagating a species, this is not the only way plants reproduce. Especially...

Temperate forest biomes are very diverse, as we can distinguish between different types, such as temperate deciduous forests, temperate rainforests, temperate coniferous forests, temperate deciduous forests, or mixed temperate forests, to name a few. These forests, as their name implies, are located in the temperate...

One of the most important ways to understand living beings is to classify them. Since there are so many types of organism, we choose various metrics by which we can group them. Some are larger than others. For example, we make a clear distinction between plants and animals. Not all distinctions are so...

Inland waters are permanent bodies of fresh water lying on or below the surface of the earth. Except for estuaries and other watercourses, these waters are distant from coastal areas. They are areas whose characteristics and uses are characterized by permanent, seasonal, or intermittent flooding. These waters...

Our planet has many terrestrial biomes home to a large number of ecosystems with spectacular biodiversity. Forests are one such biome, distinguished by the presence of a large amount of trees. Despite there being certain criteria which make a forest a forest, there are many different types which can seem almost...

It is easy to feel helpless when it comes to protecting our world's ecosystems. Corporations and industries which pollute and destroy on a large scale can make our own contributions can seem pointless. While it is true that individual responsibility will only get us so far in terms of conservation, it is...

Also known as cytology, cell biology is a field of science which helps us to understand how living beings work. Different techniques have been developed to help facilitate our understanding, providing us great insight into how different cells work to fulfill their functions. We don't use this knowledge...

All living beings have at least one cell. While they can differ in many ways, they are all morphological and physiological structures which have complex and specialized functions. Similar to how human beings have organs as part of their anatomy, cells have their own subunits which are used to carry...