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Questions and answers

Evidence-based answers to specific questions about nature.

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Magazine

Questions and answers

Documentary photograph: Why Do Leaves Change Color Before Falling?

Documentary photograph Photo by Sandra Huberius Source: wikimedia_commons CC BY-SA 4.0 resized and converted to WebP

Questions-and-answers · 3 min

Autumn Colors: What We Know and What Remains Debated

The loss of chlorophyll can reveal other pigments, but there is no single explanation for all autumn colors. Here is what the sources allow us to say—and what they do not yet establish—about the leaves of trees and shrubs.

Questions-and-answers · 3 min

What distinguishes a floral visit from pollination?

An animal arriving at a flower is not enough to call it a pollinator: the difference is whether pollen actually moves from the anthers to the stigma. What can be concluded from observing a visit, and what requires more evidence.

Questions-and-answers · 2 min

How do loggerhead hatchlings find their first route to the sea?

On an undeveloped beach, the ocean’s open horizon provides a visual reference. Artificial lighting can disrupt that first journey.