Science Daily

• As lakes turn brown, trout and bass decline while pike and walleye thrive

  Freshwater lakes across North America and Europe are becoming noticeably browner, reducing underwater visibility and reshaping fish populations. Research found that several popular sport fish, including trout, bass, perch, and whitefish, tend to decline in darker waters. Meanwhile, walleye and northern pike often become more abundant because they are better adapted to low-visibility conditions. The shift could change both lake ecosystems and the fishing experience for millions of anglers.

• Hidden geological process offsets carbon emissions from thawing permafrost

  Scientists found that thawing permafrost can trigger increased rock weathering, a natural process that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere. In some regions, this carbon uptake was strong enough to fully offset — or even surpass — river greenhouse gas emissions.

• The secret language behind animal cooperation

  Animals from different species often rely on surprisingly sophisticated communication to work together, whether finding food, cleaning parasites, or gaining protection. New research suggests these interspecies “conversations” are flexible, evolved, and far more important to life in nature than scientists once realized.

• Major errors found in Al Gore-founded Climate TRACE database

  A new study from Northern Arizona University is raising red flags about a widely used global emissions database from Climate TRACE, a consortium co-founded by Al Gore. Researchers found that the database may be dramatically undercounting carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks in cities—by an average of 70% across 260 U.S. cities, with some cities showing gaps of more than 90%.

• DNA time stamps reveal the strawberry’s surprising origins

  Researchers have created a new way to reconstruct the evolutionary history of complex plant genomes by analyzing genetic traces left by transposable elements. The technique revealed that modern strawberries were assembled through multiple ancient genome-merging events, shedding new light on how major crop species evolved.