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"A lonely island in the middle of the South Atlantic conceals Charles Darwin's best-kept secret. Two hundred years ago, Ascension Island was a barren volcanic edifice. Today, its peaks are covered by lush tropical "cloud forest". What happened in the interim is the amazing story of how the architect of evolution, Kew Gardens and the Royal Navy conspired to build a fully functioning, but totally artificial ecosystem."

Join Bill Nye as he delves into the Greatest Discoveries in Biology. This program explains how the early use of microscopes and Anton Van Leeuwenhock's accidental discovery set the stage for studying microorganisms. It explores 19th century research breakthroughs and covers cell division, sex cell division, and cell differentiation. Learn how the discovery of mitochondria has helped us understand reproduction, ancestral lines, and cancer; how cells convert sugars, fats, and proteins into energy in the Krebs Cycle; and how they communicate through neurotransmitters and hormones. Explore the process of photosynthesis and how the discovery of the ecosystem process bridged biology with physics, chemistry, and other fields of science that describe the environment.

"Carolinian Canada is a unique ecosystem zone found in southern Ontario. The term 'Carolinian' refers to its similarity to the forests found in North and South Carolina in the southern United States."

"In particular, rapid swings in the density of plants and fleas indicated the food web was unstable and about to change. The idea that such early warning signals ought to exist is not new - but the researchers say this is the first time it has been demonstrated experimentally. "For a long time, ecologists thought these changes couldn't be predicted," said research leader Stephen Carpenter from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, US. "But we've now shown that they can be foreseen. The early warning is clear; it is a strong signal.""

According to a paper in PLoS Computational Biology, "PageRank" can be applied to the study of food webs.