Environment

Alejandro Rico Guevara is one of the foremost researchers on hummingbird bills. He has spent years studying how hummingbirds use their beaks to feed and fight. But his latest research looked at how human actions seem to be driving a high-speed example of evolution in hummingbird bills.Rico-Guevara, assistant professor of biology at the UW and curator of birds at the UW Burke Museum, is interviewed.

Many bird enthusiasts like to hang bright red feeders filled with homemade sugar water to attract hummingbirds to their gardens. Now, new research suggests this common practice may be driving rapid evolutionary change in one species in California. Alejandro Rico-Guevara, assistant professor of biology at the UW and curator of birds at the UW Burke Museum, is quoted.

A new study suggests that Anna's Hummingbirds in the western United States are not only keeping up with human influence on their habitat, they're thriving. Alejandro Rico-Guevara, assistant professor of biology at the UW and curator of birds at the UW Burke Museum, is quoted.

These birds have evolved to withstand the equatorial sun and shelter in volcanic rocks along a subtropical coastline. After 50 years, biologist Dee Boersma, professor of biology at the UW, continues to learn new things about the species.

President Donald Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday to find ways to block climate laws across the country, putting Washington in his crosshairs once more. Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

Biologists Benneth Obitte and Inoro Tanshi are exploring Nigerias bat diversity and trying to save it. Tanshi, postdoctoral researcher in the UW Department of Biology, is quoted.

Bonobos grunts, peeps and whistles may share an advanced linguistic property with human language. Shane Steinert-Threlkeld, assistant professor of linguistics at the UW, is quoted.

Believe it or not, Republicans love renewable energy. How its packaged matters, though. Just dont mention climate change. Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

Believe it or not, Republicans love renewable energy. How its packaged matters, though. Just dont mention climate change. Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

Trickery by female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds results in reduced aggression from other hummingbirds and increased access to nectar resources.

After President Donald Trump canceled a report on the state of nature in the United States, the scientists working on it many from the Seattle area say theyll continue their work and build on it. Phil Levin, professor of practice in environmental and forest sciences at the UW; Dr. Howard Frumkin, professor emeritus of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW; Devon Pena, professor of anthropology at the UW and Josh Lawler, professor of environmental and forest sciences at the UW, are quoted.

After President Donald Trump canceled a report on the state of nature in the United States, the scientists working on it many from the Seattle area say theyll continue their work and build on it. Phil Levin, professor of practice in environmental and forest sciences at the UW; Dr. Howard Frumkin, professor emeritus of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW; Devon Pena, professor of anthropology at the UW and Josh Lawler, professor of environmental and forest sciences at the UW, are quoted.

Thousands of grasshopper specimens from mountains in Colorado show trends in how the insects changed in size over 65 years. With earlier emergence of spring greenery and earlier summer drought, grasshopper species that emerged early in the year grew larger, while grasshopper species that emerge later in the year grew smaller in size. The study, led by UW biologist Lauren Buckley, shows that changes in insect size can be predicted based on lifecycles and environmental conditions.

At the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens with screensavers. The project was called SETI@home. The hope was that with the power of millions of computers, researchers could comb through radio signals hitting Earth from outer space to find a hint of something unusual. James Davenport, research assistant professor of astronomy at the UW, is interviewed.

The Hubble Space Telescope has generated the most comprehensive survey yet of the Andromeda galaxy, the nearest galactic neighbor to the Milky Way. The new mosaic of about 2.5 billion pixels yields new clues to the galaxy's history. UW astronomers presented the findings Jan. 16 at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.