PALAU

Around the World January 1, 2011

Think of a heavily fished lake—few fish survive to grow to full size. Human presence might have had the opposite effect on the humped conch, a small sea snail that has been eaten for thousands of years.
SHARE:

PALAU: When humans hunt or harvest an animal, individuals of that species often get smaller. Think of a heavily fished lake—few fish survive to grow to full size. Human presence might have had the opposite effect on the humped conch, a small sea snail that has been eaten for thousands of years. As human population has grown, the average size of the conchs has—in defiance of conventional wisdom—crept upward. This might be caused by human activity and agriculture adding nutrients to the water. 

  • Features September/October 2024

    Hunting for the Lost Temple of Artemis

    After a century of searching, a chance discovery led archaeologists to one of the most important sanctuaries in the ancient Greek world

    Read Article
    Courtesy Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece
  • Features July/August 2024

    Java's Megalithic Mountain

    Across the Indonesian archipelago, people raised immense stones to honor their ancestors

    Read Article
    Indonesia Java Gunung Padang Megalithic Site
    (Courtesy Lutfi Yondri)
  • Features July/August 2024

    The Assyrian Renaissance

    Archaeologists return to Nineveh in northern Iraq, one of the ancient world’s grandest imperial capitals

    Read Article
    (Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project)
  • Features May/June 2024

    Searching for Lost Cities

    From Iraq to West Africa and the English Channel to the Black Sea, archaeologists are on the hunt for evidence of once-great cities lost to time

    Read Article
    Lands of the Golden Horde, fourteenth-century map
    (© BnF, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY)