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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

In ecology, decomposers are heterotrophic organisms—primarily bacteria and fungi—that chemically break down dead organic matter, waste products, and detritus into simpler inorganic compounds. They ...

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 ...