Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “The Deep Stuff”
While natural spaces like forests, meadows, and coral reefs popular destinations for outdoor adventures, other habitats get a bad rap. For example, wetlands are better known as stinky, mosquito-infested wastelands. From folklore to movies and video games, people view wetlands as sinister, unpleasant, and even dangerous. However, many laws and conservation organizations now protect them. Why is that? Why do …
Endangered species—those at risk of going extinct—often tend to get a lot of press and attention. Aside from climate change, they are among the best known environmental issues. Groups like the IUCN spend huge amounts of time and money trying to protect species that might go extinct. Likewise, people like me spend their entire careers studying how to prevent extinctions. …
Plants are so widespread in natural places that it’s easy to overlook them. Almost everywhere you go at certain times of year, the plants form a wall of green. But how do plants find their habitats in the first place? After all, they can’t move around on their own like animals. In this Deep Stuff blog post, let’s explore seed …
If you’ve ever picked up an ecology textbook or read some interpretive signs in a natural area, chances are you’ve heard of keystone species. People throw this term around a lot when talking about ecosystems, food webs, and conservation. But what is a keystone species? And where did the term come from? In this Deep Stuff post, I’ll give you …
The natural world is filled with beautiful colors. If you’ve ever been stung by a bee, then you know that not all colors mean good things. Many plants, animals, and fungi actually have bright colors to say “stay away.” Scientists call these warning colors aposematic coloration or aposematism. But how does it work in the first place? Let’s explore the …
Forests are perhaps the most iconic and recognized biome on Earth. When most people hear the word nature, a forest is what comes to mind. And with good reason! Forests make up around 1/3 of all the land on Earth. Meanwhile, all of those trees are the foundation of many land-based food chains. At the same time, people all over …
If you’ve read other posts from my Nature and Health mini-series, you know that the number of ways that nature improves our health is staggering. Spending time in natural spaces benefits us in so many ways it can be hard to keep track of them all. In this post, I’d like to expand upon one especially valuable benefit of going …
Have you ever heard the expression “higher on the food chain”? Alternatively, another common and related expression is the “web of life” or “circle of life”. All of these terms sound cool and important, but what do they mean? More importantly, what can they tell us about how nature works? Ask any scientist or naturalist, and they’ll tell you that …
Outdoor activities and nature study give us a way to escape the daily grind, get some fresh air, and take a break from the indoors. However, beyond just being a source of fun, recreation, and learning, time outdoors also benefits our health in many ways. This shouldn’t come as a surprise; people have gone to nature to feel serene, calm, …
For many people, nature helps us slow down and escape the pace and stress of our lives. For others, it’s an opportunity for mountain biking, backpacking, climbing, or birdwatching. Beyond that, an increasing number of people are going outside based on their doctor’s orders. In other words, they’re spending time in nature to benefit their health. Although this may sound …
