By Symbiotic organisms, fungal farmers, and brave colonizers—lichens are the unsung heroes of nature’s food web. At almost 5,000 feet above sea level, the apex of Spruce Mountain—the tallest point in the Allegheny range—is equal parts breathlessly beautiful and startlingly bleak. At this elevation, temperatures can plummet far below freezing and
Giving Hellbenders a Head Start
West Virginia biologist Joe Greathouse works to increase vulnerable salamander populations through new rearing techniques. In the herpetology world, hellbenders are those celebrities you hear a lot about but don’t often see. Kieran O’Malley knew of them, sure. Working for nearly 20 years as a wildlife diversity biologist for the
