Shihmen Reservoir releasing sediment through the power plant discharge outlet. Image Credit: Peellden The accumulation of sediment in reservoirs across the American West represents a significant challenge for water resource management. Since the early 20th century, thousands of dams have been constructed to provide essential services, including hydro-electric power, irrigation for agriculture, and reliable municipal…

Snakes aren’t simple tubes. Their bodies have five regions—including a short neck By measuring every vertebra along the bodies of 13 native Australian snakes, evolutionary biologists have discovered that a snake’s spine is much more organized than previously believed. Instead of being one long, uniform structure, it contains five distinct anatomical regions, including a surprisingly…

Georgia officials trap 866 invasive yellow-legged hornets, eradicate 44 nests this year State agriculture teams in Georgia have trapped at least 866 invasive yellow-legged hornets and destroyed 44 active nests so far this year, according to official data released by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.The figures, listed on the state’s public yellow-legged hornet eradication dashboard,…

Representative Image of the newly discovered Demon Cavefish in a dark underwater cave (Image of University of Alabama at Huntsville) For more than three decades, biologists have carried out quarterly surveys of Bobcat Cave in northern Alabama, a site that sits beneath the secured grounds of the US Army’s Redstone Arsenal and is already home…