Smithsonian.com

It’s been a good year for wildlife stories in Smithsonian magazine. Here are nine you should read if you haven’t already:

Geoducks: Happy as Clams: In the Pacific Northwest, fishermen are cashing in on the growing yen for geoducks, a funny-looking mollusk turned worldwide delicacy

What’s So Hot About Chili Peppers?: An American ecologist travels through the Bolivian forest to answer burning questions about the spice

In Search of the Mysterious Narwhal: Ballerina turned biologist Kristin Laidre studies the elusive, deep-diving, ice-loving whale known as the “unicorn of the sea”

Finding Feisty Fungi in Antarctica: On treeless Antarctica, wood fungus is feasting on polar exploration relics

The Cahaba: A River of Riches: An unsung Alabama waterway is one of the most biologically diverse places in the nation, home to rare flora and fauna

The scarlet macaw, on the cover of the December issue, is prized by smugglers

Return of the Sandpiper: Thanks to the Delaware Bay’s horseshoe crabs, the tide may be turning for an imperiled shorebird

Invasion of the Longhorn Beetles: In Worcester, Massachusetts, authorities are battling an invasive insect that is poised to devastate the forests of New England

Wildlife Trafficking: A reporter follows the lucrative, illicit and heartrending trade in stolen wild animals deep into Ecuador’s rain forest

Ethiopia’s Exotic Monkeys: High in the Simien Mountains, researchers are getting a close-up look at the exotic, socially adventuresome primates known as geladas

What animal, plant or other creature should we investigate in 2010?