Alex Riley

Freelance science and nature writer. Find me at my personal website; alexriley.co.uk

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How Autism Shaped the Modern Conversation

On Facebook, iPhone messenger, and What’s App, conversation is often silent and devoid of body language. Emotions are condensed…

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Beavers are back in the UK and they will reshape the land

It has been 400 years since Britain was home to beavers. Now they have returned, and they are rapidly proving their worth

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The Shark Fin Ban That Should Be Banned | Hakai Magazine

Why eliminating the shark fin trade in the United States is bad for sharks and legitimate fishers.

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Meet Nanotyrannus, the dinosaur that never really existed

Palaeontologists have believed for decades that a smaller version of Tyrannosaurus rex also stalked North America

Feature for BBC Earth

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Are We Overvaluing Reef Sharks? | Hakai Magazine

Most sharks are not apex predators—so why do we keep talking as if they are?

Article for Hakai Magazine

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A strange extinct animal made this giant stone corkscrew

The bizarre fossil was discovered in Nebraska in the late 19th Century, and it would help reveal a lost chapter in evolutionary history

Feature for BBC Earth

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Bees learn while they sleep, and that means they might dream

A new study suggests that bees can store information in long-term memory while they sleep, just like humans do when we dream

Article for BBC Earth 

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Forget webs, spiders also make slingshots and 'silkhenges'

Spiders are famous for the silk they use to spin their webs. But they have put it to a host of other uses, from bondage sex to slingshots

Listicle for BBC Earth

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The Hangover of Coral Bleaching

Even if a reef recovers from bleaching, the damage is already done to future generations.

News story for Hakai Magazine

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Pheromones are probably not why people find you attractive

Are you really sending out airborne aphrodisiacs to potential mates? Alex Riley investigates.

Feature for BBC Future

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Why do the most flamboyant males have the evolutionary edge?

Male flamboyance does more than ruffle a few feathers – it helps the female choose a mate in top metabolic health

Feature for Aeon

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The women with a controversial plan to save corals

We have used selective breeding to create new dog breeds and improve crop yields. Could it also help corals survive the ravages of climate change?

Feature for BBC Earth

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The fish that makes long and short-range water missiles

The archerfish’s water arrows are powerful enough to dislodge insects from leaves and branches – now physics has revealed just how impressive the missiles really are

Feature for BBC Earth

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Five wild animals that won’t do it in cages

Endangered species can be difficult to breed in captivity. Here are five of the toughest nuts to crack

Listicle for New Scientist

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Playing Cupid to get reluctant corals in the mood for love

A tropical sea, a sunset, a full moon – that’s what normally turns on exotic corals. So how do you get them spawning in a London aquarium?

Feature for New Scientist. (Paywalled and in print.)

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This shrimp is carrying a real-life working stun gun

A snapping shrimp can click its claws together and knock out its prey - without ever touching it

Creature feature for BBC Earth

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Finding Our First Fish | Hakai Magazine

Sharks aren’t primitive, and they aren’t the most primitive surviving jawed fish either. New fossils are rattling the fish family tree.

Feature for Hakai Magazine