October-December, 2008

Volume 9, Number 4

Features

Impostor Fish Cover Story
Misnaming seafood isn’t just a ripoff. It’s a global phenomenon that’s wreaking havoc on ocean conservation.
By Douglas Fox

The Most Popular Lifestyle on Earth
Forget lions, tigers, and sharks. The billions of tiny parasites that make a living castrating and brainwashing their hosts may be the new kings of the food web.
By Carl Zimmer

The Sterile Banana
As uniformity replaces diversity, some of your favorite fruits could be on the cusp of extinction.
By Fred Pearce

Innovations

Hold That Thought
Tiny neurologger records brain waves as animals navigate habitat
Spot On
Facial-recognition technology picks individual animals out of a crowd
Low-Gas Grass
Genetically modified grass could cut greenhouse emissions from cows
Robofish
Underwater droids monitor whales, track pollution, and map sea caves
Seeing-Eye Seals
Elephant seals carry sensors deep below the Antarctic ice

Lighten Up

Cartoons by Mike Williams Print Only

Essay

The Nature of Pain Print Only
by Thomas Eisner

Numbers in Context

Environmental Refugee Crisis
The total number of natural disasters has quadrupled in the past two decades

Journal Watch

Closing in on a lion killer
Climate spurs early migration
People flock to protected areas
Penguins act as global sentinels
Tiger bones in high demand
Bird diversity slows West Nile
An unlikely ally for leatherbacks
Ecotourism’s toll on biodiversity
Birds listen for nest sites
Fish rebound in no-take zones

Think Again

Foreclosure Fish
By Debora MacKenzie