Topic: Ecology

Ancient Farmers of the Amazon
This video segment from Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race" tells the story of the leafcutter ant and the fungus it farms -- an example of mutually beneficial symbiosis.

Biological Invaders
This video segment from Evolution: "Extinction!" shows the impact of invasive species on native ecosystems.

Bt Corn
This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" looks at corn that has been genetically modified to resist one insect pest, and the multiple concerns it raises.

Changing Arctic Landscape
In this video adapted from the Artic Athabaskan Council, learn how warmer temperatures in the Arctic are transforming the landscape, triggering a host of effects such as permafrost thawing and insect infestations.

Classical vs. Transgenic Breeding
This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explains that genetic engineering and classical breeding both alter the genetic makeup of crop plants.

Complex Relations
In this text excerpted from chapter 3, "Struggle for Existence," of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Darwin draws on firsthand and historical information for his observations about evolution.

Contaminants in the Arctic Human Population
In this video segment adapted from LOKE Films and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, learn how human populations in the Arctic are affected by industrial contaminants in the food chain.

Deep Sea Vents and Life's Origins
Deep-sea vents are home to strange, luminescent life forms that thrive through chemosynthesis. This video segment from NOVA: "Volcanoes of the Deep" hypothesizes life's beginnings in this extreme environment.

Energy Flow in the Coral Reef Ecosystem
This video segment, adapted from NOVA, describes the energy flow in a coral reef, including its food web.

Field Biology
This video segment from the teacher video series Learning That Works uses a case study to highlight the effectiveness of a project-based, real-world approach to teaching science.

Frozen Frogs
This video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW shows how the common wood frog freezes solid every winter, an adaptation that allows the organism to survive the cold winter.

Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect
This video segment from Race to Save the Planet: "Only One Atmosphere" discusses the greenhouse effect and global warming.

The Grand Canyon: Evidence of Earth's Past
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a fossil found among the Grand Canyon's rock layers reveals the existence of a shallow sea that once covered most of western North America.

Hummingbird Species in the Transitional Zones
This video segment from Evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" shows biologists Chris Schneider and Tom Smith studying hummingbirds and other animals in Ecuador. Their research is investigating the processes by which new species are formed.

Inuit Observations of Climate Change
In this video adapted from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, an Inuit community collaborates with Western scientists studying climate change. Inuit observations are recorded and included in the data collection process, expanding the scientists' understanding of changes in the area.

The Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle
This video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department describes how humans are helping restore safe nesting grounds for the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle to ensure its successful repopulation.

A Night in the Coral Reef
Coral reefs are often portrayed as brightly lit, bustling underwater marvels full of colorful creatures. This video segment, adapted from NOVA, paints a different picture as it explores the nocturnal behavior of organisms in the reef.

The Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen, one of the most abundant elements in the universe, is essential to life. This interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta provides an overview of the nitrogen cycle.

An Origin of Species
In this Evolution Web feature, witness for yourself how a new species can evolve as you observe natural selection and adaptive radiation in action.

Penguin Response to Climate Change
Find out how climate change is affecting Antarctic Adélie penguins and their ecosystem in this video segment adapted from Lloyd Fales and Sweetspot Pictures, Inc.

Radiometric Dating
In this video segment from A Science Odyssey: "Origins," scientists explain how Earth's age was determined by radiometric dating.

Snapshot of US Energy Use
This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at American energy consumption and the resulting production of greenhouse gases.

Super Salmon
This video segment from FRONTLINE/NOVA: "Harvest of Fear" explores genetic modification of salmon and possible consequences.

Ted Daeschler and Neil Shubin: Early Tetrapod Fossils
In this transcript of an interview filmed for Evolution: "Great Transformations," Ted Daeschler and Neil Shubin describe the discovery and significance of some of their key fossil finds.

The Value of Wetlands
This video segment adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department explores the role of the wetlands in our environment, including providing habitats for wildlife, acting as natural water filters, and playing a part in the greater water cycle.

The Wall of Time
This illustrated timeline from the Lunar and Planetary Institute provides a journey through four-and-a-half billion years of time from the birth of our solar system to its current existence today.

Your Carbon Diet
Find out how much energy you use and common sense ways to conserve. From the FRONTLINE/NOVA Web site "What's Up with the Weather?"