September 21, 2018

In the Pacific Ocean, floating plastic pollution has collected into a giant area of marine debris known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). Marine debris consists of garbage dumped directly into the ocean or carried there by waterways. Such debris can injure animals or make them ill. It can also poison and bury marine habitat. The GPGP, also called the Pacific trash vortex, spans an astounding 600,000 square miles (1.6 million square kilometers) of ocean surface—an area more than twice the size of Texas and nearly three times the size of France.

A member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) helps disentangle an albatross chick from plastic debris in the northwestern Hawaiian islands. Credit: Ryan Tabata, NOAA

The GPGP is actually two large fields of marine debris, a western patch near Japan and an eastern patch near Hawaii. The fields are linked by a convergence zone where warm South Pacific waters meet cooler Arctic waters. There, currents and winds carry garbage from one patch to the other. Circular currents move clockwise around the patches, creating a massive vortex that keeps the debris from scattering to other parts of the planet. Unfortunately, all ocean waters have similar pollution problems, and the ocean plastic plague is not limited to the vast Pacific.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch includes two general areas of massed marine debris collected and held in place by ocean currents. Credit: NOAA Marine Debris Program

The GPGP contains an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of fishing nets, glass, light metals, ropes, and other discarded rubbish. Most GPGP debris is washed out to sea from Asia and North America. Other debris is left behind by boaters, oil rigs, and cargo ships. The majority of this debris is made of plastic, and it gathers in large patches because it floats and much of it is not biodegradable. Most plastics do not wear down or decompose; they simply break into tinier and tinier pieces. 

The GPGP is visible in large swaths on the ocean surface, but much of it exists as microplastics in what appears to be cloudy or milky-colored water. Oceanographers and ecologists recently learned that only a fraction of marine debris floats near the surface, meaning that the deeper waters and sea floors beneath the GPGP are also heavily polluted.

Plastics in particular are a problem because of their omnipresence: they are simply everywhere. Most plastic objects are easy to spot, but plastics exist where you might not expect them: the synthetic chewy polymer in gum, the microbeads in soaps and gels, and even the microfibers of fleece or nylon clothing. Plastics are cheap to manufacture, so cheap, in fact, that many plastics are only used once. Such single-use plastics are the greatest threats to the world’s oceans. People typically use plastic bags, coffee stirrers, forks and spoons, straws, soda and water bottles, and food packaging only once and then throw them away. These items end up in landfills, in lakes and rivers, and in the oceans, and they do harm everywhere. Most of these items can be recycled, but only about 10 percent of plastic is ever reused. Scientists estimate that humans discard about 300 million tons (275 million metric tons) of plastic every year. Of that amount, some 9 million tons (8.1 million metric tons) finds its way into the world’s oceans.

Plastic pollution has a dire effect on marine wildlife, killing hundreds of thousands of fish, sea birds, sea turtles, seals, whales, and other smaller animals each year. Larger animals become entangled in plastic, trapping them or hindering their movement, and they drown or die of starvation. Sea turtles eat plastic bags, mistaking them for their favorite food, jellyfish. The bags suffocate the turtles or kill them by blocking their digestive systems. Sea birds such as albatrosses often mistake plastic resin pellets for fish eggs and feed them to chicks, which then starve or die of ruptured organs. Clouds of microplastics can kill by blocking sunlight: phytoplankton and other types of algae (a large base of the ocean food chain) depend on photosynthesis to survive. Microplastics also effect small fish and carnivorous plankton that mistakenly eat the synthetic particles: the animals either die or pass the plastic up the food chain. Researchers have found high numbers of plastic fibers inside food fish sold at markets—so yes, people too end up eating indigestible and often toxic plastic.

So there is an ocean plastic plague out there, and it is spreading every day: what is being done about it? At sea, unfortunately, little is happening. The GPGP and many other ocean garbage patches around the world lie in international waters. A nation’s territorial waters extend only 12 nautical miles (14 miles or 22 kilometers) from the coast. Most nations observe this limit to regulate commercial fishing, navigation, shipping, and use of the ocean’s natural resources. While some nations claim territorial waters much farther out than 12 nautical miles, none wants the responsibility or expense of cleaning the pollution that collects out there. International waters are exploited and heavily trafficked, but garbage patches are largely ignored beneath the prows of money-making ships.

A tugboat deploys The Ocean Cleanup’s first ocean-sweeping floater to collect plastic marine debris on Sept. 15, 2018. Credit: The Ocean Cleanup

Individual efforts are helping, however. Dutch inventor Boyan Slat recently founded The Ocean Cleanup, an organization that has developed an ocean-sweeping floater to collect plastic garbage. The floater—made from a durable, recyclable plastic called high density polyethylene (HDPE)—is a 1,000-foot- (600-meter- ) long horseshoe that collects plastics in its mouth and in screens that drape beneath the surface. The screens are made from a tightly woven textile impenetrable to marine life, preventing animals from becoming ensnared. The plastics are collected, extracted, and either recycled, resold, or disposed of properly. The floaters will be placed in low-trafficked sea zones, illuminated and equipped with radar and Global Positioning System (GPS) beacons to avoid collisions with ships. The first of these ocean-sweeping floaters began Pacific sea trials in September 2018, and The Ocean Cleanup hopes to have a fleet of 60 such cleaning systems by 2020. The lofty goal is to reduce the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by 50 percent by 2025.

Other organizations doing what they can to help include the Plastic Pollution Coalition and the Plastic Oceans Foundation. Other inventive forms of cleanup include introducing plastic-eating bacteria (a slow cure that could create other problems) and small scale “SeaBins” that float in harbors and filter out floating garbage. 

As Benjamin Franklin famously said, however, an ounce of prevention is worth of a pound of cure. Stopping the ocean plastic plague—and all other forms of pollution—depends on our habits and behaviors at home. Governments must encourage recycling and develop better waste management systems. Industry must switch to more environmentally friendly plastics capable of natural decomposition. Fishing crews can help by collecting plastic caught in their nets and returning it to shore for processing. Individuals can help by reducing the use of disposable plastics and products with plastic microbeads or microfibers. If plastics must be used, recycle or reuse whenever possible. And, as always and with everything, never litter.

August 3, 2018

For many people in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer of 2018 has been touched by fire and obscured by smoke. Summers are typically fire seasons in many areas, but climate change has caused hotter and drier conditions in recent years, and wildfire outbreaks have become more frequent and more destructive. Other causes of increased fire activity include the building of more developments in fire-prone areas, a lack of proper forest management, and, of course, simple human carelessness. In the past weeks, fires have killed more than 100 people and destroyed homes and large swaths of land in Asia, Europe, and North America.

A firefighting helicopter flies over a wildfire in the Greek town of Rafina near Athens on July 23, 2018. The Greek wildfire was the deadliest yet this year, claiming the lives of 92 people. Credit: © Angelos Tzortzinis, AFP/Getty Images

In southeastern Greece, a wildfire erupted July 23, destroying or damaging some 3,500 structures and killing 96 people along the Attica coast. The giant wildfire, just 18 miles (30 kilometers) east of Athens, the Greek capital, burned out of control for several days, gutting seaside resorts and holiday homes. Fanned by high winds, the fast-moving blaze trapped and killed groups of people, including entire families as they huddled between the flames and steep cliffs overlooking the Aegean Sea. The high death toll prompted criticism of the the area’s lack of access roads, warning systems, and other civil protection measures in areas surrounded by forest and at high risk of wildfires.

In far northern Europe, dozens of wildfires have consumed more than 62,000 acres (25,000 hectares) this summer in Sweden, which is experiencing an abnormally lengthy and intense heat wave. Neighboring Finland and Norway are also suffering from unusual heat and wildfire outbreaks, as are Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on the other side of the Baltic Sea. Wildfires also torched drought-stricken areas of Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.

This week in northern California, firefighters continued to battle the Carr Fire that has killed 8 people, destroyed over 1,500 buildings, and consumed some 125,000 acres (50,000 hectares) of land. The wildfire started on July 23 along Carr Powerhouse Road in Shasta County near the city of Redding. The “mechanical failure of a vehicle” ignited dried grasses and trees, and soon flames were roaring through the forested hills around Whiskeytown Lake west of Redding. The wildfire, aided by hot and dry weather, high winds, an abundance of natural fuel, and steep terrain, has since been chased westward by more than 4,200 firefighters—2 of whom have died fighting the blaze. Reports of  “firenados” (huge, rotating whorls of smoke, flame, and ash) encouraged nearly 40,000 people to obey evacuation orders and leave the fire area (which included parts of nearby Trinity County). Many people will return to find their homes and property in ashes.

The Carr Fire is the largest of 17 wildfires currently burning throughout the state of California. Collectively, wildfires in the western United States have scorched 4.6 million acres (1.86 million hectares) so far this year, a 24 percent increase over the annual average for the past decade. Wildfires have also stricken large areas of western Canada and parts of Mexico this summer.

Wildfires have also consumed vast amounts of territory in Siberia of eastern Russia. Since May, firefighters have been battling immense wildfires in the Amur Oblast region along the Chinese border, where towering pyrocumulus clouds have injected smoke and pollutants high into Earth’s atmosphere. Pyrocumulus clouds are formed by rising heat from wildfires or by plume emissions from fossil fuel-burning industrial plants, and they sharply increase the levels of carbon dioxide and harmful aerosols in the atmosphere.

July 26, 2018

The baobab, one of the world’s most unusual and iconic trees, is in danger. The gigantic baobab, known as the “tree of life,” can live as long as 3,000 years. But the hardy trees are suddenly dying in unusual numbers, many long before their expected life spans. Climate change has increased the occurrence of such weather anomalies as droughts, floods, and lightning storms, all of which can harm or kill baobab trees. A destructive mold called black fungus is also appearing more frequently on baobab trees. The tree is further threatened by the loss of its natural habitat to agriculture and development. Habitat loss and illegal hunting have also greatly reduced the population of African elephants, the animals largely responsible for spreading the tree’s seeds. If no action is taken to protect the baobab and its environment, certain species of the tree could be extinct within 100 years.

These giant baobabs form part of the magnificent Avenue of the Baobabs in the Megabe region of western Madagascar. Credit: © Monika Hrdinova, Shutterstock

Baobab is the name of a group of trees that grow in tropical and subtropical regions of the Eastern Hemisphere, especially in Madagascar. The best-known type of baobab is found on the African mainland. It has an extremely thick, often bulging, trunk. This tree may grow to 80 feet (24 meters) tall with a trunk from 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 meters) in diameter. The tree has white flowers that open at night and are pollinated by bats. The fruit, called monkey bread, is almost 1 foot (30 centimeters) long. It dangles from the tree like a lantern from a long, ropy stem. The fruit holds many seeds buried in a mealy pulp. The pulp, which is rich in vitamin C, serves as food for both animals and people, and it is also used to flavor cool drinks. People sometimes use the leaves and bark in medicines. They make paper, cloth, and rope from the bark fibers. The giant trees also provide shade in the hot climates where they grow, serving as cool gathering places for animals and humans alike.

African elephants, who are themselves in danger, help propagate baobabs by eating the tree’s fruit and seeds (antelopes, baboons, and other animals also contribute). The seeds pass through the animal’s digestive system, and they are then dropped in ready-made fertilizer. Elephants tend to walk great distances in search of food and water, and a single tree’s seeds can thus be spread out over many miles. Ironically, elephants are also known to damage or kill baobab trees in times of severe drought. Elephants sometimes rip apart a baobab’s trunk to get at the tree’s bountiful water supply inside.

Adrian Patrut, a chemist at Babeș-Bolyai University in Romania, has led an international research study on baobab trees since 2005. Patrut pioneered a radiocarbon technique to date baobabs, which do not have the tell-tale age rings found in most trees. Patrut and his team have kept close tabs on the largest and oldest baobabs in southern Africa. They found that 9 of the 13 oldest recorded baobabs (between 1,100 and 2,500 years old) and 5 of the 6 largest have died in the past 12 years—an alarming death rate among these long-living trees. Parts of many other baobabs have also died. The trees have multiple core systems within their massive trunks, allowing parts of the tree to die while the rest lives on.

Of the nine species of baobab trees, six are endemic to the African island of Madagascar. Of those six, half are on the Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The numbers of three Madagascar baobabs—Adansonia grandidieri, Adansonia perrieri, and Adansonia suarezensis—have dropped more than a 50 percent since the 1950′s. A. perrieri and A. suarezensis are considered critically endangered. The numbers of the remaining baobab species that live in mainland Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and Australia are also on the decline.

May 4, 2018

Today, May 4, is a holiday in Japan known as Greenery Day, a day dedicated to nature and the environment. On Greenery Day, commemorative plantings of trees take place throughout the country and events celebrate the beauty and importance of nature. Until 2007, Greenery Day was celebrated on April 29, the birthday of former Emperor Hirohito, whose reign name was Showa. Hirohito was known for his love of plants and nature.

Japan’s love of gardening and plants is celebrated on the May 4 holiday of Greenery Day. This traditional Japanese house shows the great care given to natural beauty. Credit: © SuperStock

Before being designated Greenery Day, May 4 was a national holiday already, simply because it fell between two other holidays: Constitution Day (May 3) and Children’s Day (May 5). (In Japan, a day between two holidays automatically becomes a holiday.) Add Showa Day (which replaced Greenery Day on April 29), and Japan has four holidays during a seven-day period known as “Golden Week.” Many businesses are closed during Golden Week, and many people enjoy an extended time away from work.

Greenery Day was originally celebrated on the birthday of Emperor Hirohito, seen here on a white horse in 1938. Credit: © AP Photo

Japan’s current emperor, Akihito, is expected to abdicate on April 30, 2019. His son Crown Prince Naruhito will then ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1. The government may make these days national holidays as well, in which case May 2—sandwiched between holidays—would also become a national holiday. As a result, all seven days of Japan’s spring Golden Week would be holidays. In any case, the Emperor’s Birthday holiday—December 23 for Akihito—will switch to February 23, Naruhito’s birthday.

Japan currently celebrates 16 national holidays, more than many other countries observe. The United States has 10 federal holidays. Canada has 9 (with more scheduled by province), and Australia has 7 (but more are instituted by local governments).

December 6, 2017

Seventy years ago today, on Dec. 6, 1947, United States President Harry S. Truman officially opened southwestern Florida’s Everglades National Park. The park was established to conserve parts of the Everglades wetlands and the Big Cypress Swamp, as well as many coastal islands along the Gulf of Mexico. Covering 1,508,976 acres (610,661 hectares), the junglelike plant life of Everglades National Park includes saw grass, delicate orchids, lacy cypress trees, pines, palms, and thick tangles of mangrove trees. Crocodiles, alligators, manatees, and many other animal species live there.

Everglades National Park is in the Florida Everglades, one of the few subtropical regions of the United States. The southern part of the park includes many red mangrove trees, whose spreading roots catch and hold soil. Credit: National Park Service

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, land developers tried to drain parts of the Everglades wetlands, intending to turn the area into valuable real estate properties. Canals and levees diverted water from both the Everglades and nearby Lake Okeechobee, damaging the wetlands. Conservation efforts led to the creation of Royal Palm State Park in 1916, a protected area that steadily expanded and became the basis for Everglades National Park.

Everglades National Park includes large areas of wetlands that provide a home for wildlife. In this picture, roseate spoonbills wade near a young alligator. Credit: © Shutterstock

Further degradation of the Everglades—made worse by rising sea levels and heavy traffic on the park’s roads and waterways—sparked the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan in 2000, a 35- to 50-year project meant to “restore, preserve, and protect the south Florida ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region.”

November 24, 2017

Today, November 24, is Evolution Day, a celebration of the day British naturalist Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species on Nov. 24, 1859. The groundbreaking book presented Darwin’s theory of evolution. Since then, advances in various scientific fields have resulted in refinements of the theory. The main ideas of evolution, however, have remained largely unchanged.

Charles Darwin, a British naturalist, became famous for his theories on evolution. Credit: © Time Life Pictures, Getty Images

Darwin’s theory of evolution included several related ideas. These ideas included the belief that evolution had occurred and that most evolutionary change was gradual, requiring thousands or millions of years. Darwin also proposed that the primary mechanism for evolution was a process called natural selection. He said that the millions of species on Earth arose from a single original life form through a branching process called speciation. By speciation, one species can give rise to two or more species. The full title of Darwin’s book is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

Darwin’s theories shocked most people of his day. They believed that each species had been created by a separate divine act. Darwin’s book, which is usually called simply The Origin of Species, presented facts that refuted this belief. It caused a revolution in biological science and greatly affected religious thought. Since the book’s publication, religious groups have tried to discredit the theory of evolution because it conflicts with their religious beliefs. For example, they claim that the theory of evolution disagrees with the Biblical account of the Creation. Some people argue against the theory of natural selection because they believe it diminishes the role of divine guidance in the universe. Scientists—and science itself—fully embrace evolution, however, and use millions of examples as proof.

November 10, 2017

Last month, in October, scientists in Germany warned that flying insect populations are rapidly declining. A study published in the scientific journal PLOS One revealed that about 75 percent of the flying insects in German nature preserves have disappeared in less than 30 years. The decline in natural areas of Germany could spell doom for flying insects—and many other forms of life—around the world. Quick action is needed to stem this decline, a serious matter referred to somewhat less seriously as the “windshield phenomenon” by some biologists (meaning there are fewer dead bugs to clean off automobile windshields these days).

A recent study showed alarming reductions in populations of flying insects, a group of animals that includes bees, butterflies, dragonflies, mosquitoes, and fireflies (pictured here). Credit: WORLD BOOK photo by Don Stebbing

Scientists have described and named more than 1 1/2 million species (kinds) of animals. Of these, about 1 million are insects. Scientists discover thousands of new insect species every year, and they believe there are many more yet to be found. Insects form the basis of many thousands of food chains. About 60 percent of birds rely on insects as part of their diet, and many types of bats, fish, spiders, and other animals also rely heavily on insects. In addition, about 80 percent of wild plants rely on insects for pollination. Without insects, many of these animals and plants would die. Without those plants and animals, many other forms of life would die.

For the long-term study, scientists at the Entomological Society Krefeld set up malaise traps (tentlike traps made of fine mesh material that catches a wide variety of insects) in 63 German nature preserves over the course of 27 years. Malaise traps are generally set out for long periods and checked every 7 to 14 days. The traps were placed in grasslands, sand dunes, swamps, wastelands, and other areas where insects should have been plentiful. By measuring the weight of the insect catch—known as the biomass—from each malaise trap, researchers detected the sharp drop in flying insect numbers. The decrease from 1990 was alarming: an 82 percent decline at midsummer (when the populations should be most active), and a 76 percent decline throughout the year.

Pesticides and habitat destruction are thought to be the main culprits behind the decline. Jason R. Cryan, deputy director and chief of research and collections at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in the United States, noted that “Although the study was conducted entirely in Germany, these contributory factors are common globally, and thus we can expect that insect population declines of similar magnitude are occurring in other regions of the world.”

Earlier this year, the Entomological Society of America (ESA) published two formal position statements on endangered insect species and arthropod biodiversity. The statements mention the critical role insects play in healthy ecosystems and note that insects are often early indicators of ecological shifts. The ESA has called for enhanced research and increased conservation efforts to reduce habitat destruction and the use of pesticides.

November 2, 2017

A recent report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Brazilian Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development details 381 new animal and plant species discovered in the Amazon rain forest over a 24-month period. The report, titled “New Species of Vertebrates and Plants in the Amazon 2014-2015,” lists 216 new plants, 93 new fish, 32 new amphibians, 20 new mammals, 19 new reptiles, and 1 new bird in the vast Amazon region that spans several South American countries. The Amazon rain forest contains a wider variety of plant and animal life than any other place on Earth.

Milton’s titi monkeys (Callicebus miltoni), also known as fire-tailed zogue zogues, are seen here in the jungles of the Mato Grasso in Brazil. The monkeys were among 381 new animal and plant species recently discovered in the Amazon rain forest. Credit: © Adriano Gambarini, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia/SciELO

Among the new species of Amazon fish is the freshwater honeycomb stingray (Potamotrygon limai). Most stingrays live in shallow parts of the world’s oceans and in saltwater bays, but the honeycomb stingray lives in fresh water. The pattern on its back, or dorsal side, is usually dark brown with honeycomb-like speckles. The new mammals include a previously unknown species of pink river dolphin (Inia araguaiaensis). Analyses of skull bones of the new pink river dolphin show it to be different from other Amazon River dolphins and Bolivian river dolphins. Scientists believe the newly described dolphin parted from its Amazon basin cousins some 2.8 million years ago. There may be about 1,000 of these newly found pink river dolphins in the Amazon River system. The construction of hydroelectric dams and industrial, agricultural, and cattle ranching activities threaten the new pink river dolphin as well as many other forms of life.

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The Amazon rain forest, the richest and most diverse ecosystem on Earth, covers much of northern South America. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Another new Amazon mammal is Milton’s titi monkey, known locally as the fire-tailed zogue zogue (Callicebus miltoni). Milton’s titi is known for its long, red-orange bushy tail and ocher sideburns and beards. The small primate weighs about 3 1/3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) and is named in honor of Milton Thiago de Mello, a noted Brazilian primatologist. The newly described monkey lives in southern parts of the Amazon region. Unfortunately, the small new titi population is threatened by deforestation.

This most recent WWF report is the third in a series that has listed some 2,000 new animal and plant species over the past 17 years. The report comes amid growing environmental disputes between mining interests and conservationists in Brazil, where a majority of the Amazon rain forest lies. Accelerated rates of habitat destruction in the region could push many of these new species to extinction before scientists have the chance to study them. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has already labeled several of the newly identified plants and animals as threatened or endangered. In addition, the WWF is calling for urgent action to protect the Amazon rain forest itself. Aside from deforestation and pollution from agriculture, logging, and mining, a recent presidential decree in Brazil may eradicate an Amazonian nature reserve the size of Switzerland.

August 25, 2017

The Andes Mountains of Peru in South America have recently revealed some grape-sized secrets: three new species of so-called rubber frogs. An international team of researchers discovered the tiny amphibians while rooting through the Andean grass, rocks, and moss, and the scientists published their findings last month in the journal Zootaxa. The team, which consists of Edgar Lehr from Illinois Wesleyan University, Rudolph von May from the University of Michigan, and scientists from Peru and the Czech Republic, has been rather frog happy lately. The newly described animals—the Pui Pui rubber frog, Humboldt’s rubber frog, and the hill dweller rubber frog—are actually the third, fourth, and fifth new frog species discovered by the team this year. The species discovered earlier, which are also found in the Peruvian Andes, are Attenborough’s rubber frog and the Ashaninka rubber frog.

Humboldt’s rubber frog is found only at a single site high in the Andes Mountains of Peru. The frog is named for German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Credit: © Rudolf von May, University of Michigan

To make these discoveries, the scientists ventured to the hard-to-reach Pui Pui Protected Forest in Peru, a two-day hike from the nearest human settlement. The remote protected area, established in 1985, consists of alpine forests and grasslands. There have been few biological surveys conducted in the park since it was established, which leaves the possibility of more animal discoveries in the future.

The tiny hill dweller rubber frog lives among the bushes, mosses, trees, and feather grass of the Peruvian Andes. Credit: © Rudolf von May, University of Michigan

The three new species are land-breeding frogs, and they do not have a tadpole stage. The eggs laid by females develop directly into froglets. This mode of reproduction is successful as long as there is plenty of moisture.

Like all frogs, these new species are faced with threats from habitat loss and climate change, as well as Chytrid fungus, which can lead to chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease that has depleted amphibian populations around the world. The scientists took skin samples from the frogs, and several had the fungus—but that does not necessarily mean the frogs have the deadly disease. It is important to know that the fungus is there, however, so scientists can learn how these isolated frogs react to it.

August 14, 2017

Nymphs, in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, were minor goddesses or semidivine beings represented as lovely maidens. The word nymph comes from Greek and Latin words describing a young girl of marriageable age, or a young bride. In ancient stories, the nymphs inhabited and guarded the different realms of nature. For example, oreads watched over hills and mountains. Dryads and hamadryads took care of trees and forests. Nereids (daughters of the sea god Nereus) kept watch over the Mediterranean Sea, and the Oceanids (daughters of the Titan Oceanus) protected the oceans. Naiads were nymphs of brooks, rivers, and streams. Some nymphs were associated with a particular hill, tree, or other natural feature, to which their lives were linked. Nymphs lived for a long time but usually were not considered immortal.

Statues of dancing nymphs grace a fountain in the gardens of the Royal Palace of Caserta in southern Italy. Credit: © Antonio Gravante, Shutterstock

Nymphs often figured in stories about love, as the pursuer or the pursued. Some nymphs or groups of nymphs shied away from amorous affairs, but others were passionate—and sometimes vengeful—lovers. They became involved with both gods and humans. Nymphs often were represented as associating with satyrs and fauns, mischievous, playful, goatlike gods of the countryside and forest.

Metamorphoses, a collection of stories in verse by the ancient Roman poet Ovid, includes multiple tales of relentless lovers pursuing nymphs who transform to escape. The work’s title—Metapmorphoses—means transformations. In one story, the god Eros shot the god Apollo with an arrow that made him fall in love with the nymph Daphne. Eros shot Apollo in revenge for insulting his skill as an archer. He also shot Daphne with an arrow that made her flee Apollo. Daphne, pursued by Apollo, prayed for escape and was transformed into a laurel tree. Apollo made the laurel his sacred tree and wore a crown of laurel leaves on his head in her honor. In another tale, the god Pan tried to start an affair with the nymph Syrinx, but she ran away from him in terror and begged the gods to help her. The gods changed Syrinx into a bed of reeds, from which Pan made a musical instrument called a panpipe. He became famous for the beautiful music he played on the panpipe.

In some ancient tales, nymphs pursued young men and would not take “no” for an answer. Some nymphs were downright dangerous. In the story of the Argonauts, a group of heroes on a quest for the golden wool of a flying ram, the ship Argo stopped at a place called Mysia. There, the handsome young hero Hylas left the ship to find fresh water. Nymphs attracted by his beauty lured Hylas away and abducted him. In another story, a young Sicilian herdsman named Daphnis pledged his loyalty to a nymph. But a princess tricked Daphnis into becoming her own lover instead. The betrayed nymph then blinded or killed Daphnis in revenge. The Odyssey, a work by the Greek poet Homer, tells of the Sirens, sea nymphs whose sweet singing lured sailors to destruction on rocky shores. The hero Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin) put wax in his sailors’ ears so they could not hear the Sirens. Then Odysseus was tied to the mast so he could listen to the Sirens safely. The Argonauts also encountered the Sirens. They escaped because the hero Orpheus’s beautiful singing countered the Sirens’ song and saved his comrades. These and many other ancient stories describe the often perilous attraction of the nymphs.