Biodiversity News

May 21, 2024

Top Headlines

Scale Matters in Determining Vulnerability of Freshwater Fish to Climate Changes

May 17, 2024 — A team explored the influence the spatial extent of research -- the geographical coverage of data collected -- has on evaluating the sensitivity of different fish species to climate ...

Cloudy Waters Causes African Fish to Develop Bigger Eyes

May 20, 2024 — Variations in water quality can impact the development of the visual system of one species of African fish, suggests a new ...

Bees and Butterflies on the Decline in Western and Southern North America

May 15, 2024 — Bee and butterfly populations are in decline in major regions of North America due to ongoing environmental change, and significant gaps in pollinator research limit our ability to protect these species, according to a new ...

Differing Values of Nature Can Still Lead to Joined Up Goals for Sustainability

May 17, 2024 — Recognizing and respecting the different ways nature is valued can enable better environmental decision-making, according to new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 7:30pm EDT

Climate Change Is Most Prominent Threat to Pollinators

May 15, 2024 — A new article has found that climate change is the most prominent threat to pollinators -- such as bumblebees, wasps, and butterflies -- who are essential for biodiversity conservation, crop yields ...

Mosaic Grassland Landscapes Are the Most Beneficial

May 14, 2024 — Grassland provides many services for humans, animals and nature, such as feed production, carbon storage and recreation. Researchers spent two years investigating permanent grassland, its ...

Island Birds More Adaptable Than Previously Thought

May 13, 2024 — The researchers found that birds were more evolutionarily similar on smaller, more isolated islands than on larger, less remote places. The team had expected to find that forested areas had more ...

Transformation of Ocean Management Is Underway

May 9, 2024 — Despite its benefits and recognition as a keystone practice of ocean stewardship and conservation, adoption of ecosystem-based management has been slow to take hold. To support this change in ocean ...

Ocean Biodiversity Work Needs Improvement

May 9, 2024 — An international collaboration says the world's largest marine protected areas aren't collectively delivering the biodiversity benefits they could be because of slow implementation of management ...

Rapid Oyster Reef Restoration Gives Hope for Repairing the Sea

May 9, 2024 — After a century of functional extinction on the Australian mainland, a Flat oyster reef has been successfully restored along a metropolitan Adelaide ...

Scientists Find Ancient, Endangered Lamprey Fish in Queensland, 1400 Km North of Its Previous Known Range

May 8, 2024 — Scientists have confirmed the identity of an unusual, ancient and Endangered species of fish that is living in the coastal rivers of Queensland, ...

Acceptance of Animals in Urban Environments

May 8, 2024 — How do city residents feel about animals in their immediate surroundings? A recent study shows how different the acceptance of various wild animals in urban areas is. Important factors are the places ...

Turbid Waters Keep the Coast Healthy

May 6, 2024 — To preserve the important intertidal areas and salt marshes off our coasts for the future, we need more turbid water. That is one of the striking conclusions from a new ...

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Is Shifting the Ecological Balance of Caribbean Reefs

May 3, 2024 — A new study shows stony coral tissue loss disease is causing drastic changes in the Caribbean's population of corals, which is sure to disrupt the ...

New Eco-Friendly Lubricant Additives Protect Turbine Equipment, Waterways

May 2, 2024 — Scientists have developed lubricant additives that protect both water turbine equipment and the surrounding ...

Oil Palm Plantations Are Driving Massive Downstream Impact to Watershed

May 2, 2024 — The global demand for palm oil -- the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, in everything from instant noodles to lipstick -- is driving worldwide tropical deforestation. While many ...

To Bend the Curve of Biodiversity Loss, Nature Recovery Must Be Integrated Across All Sectors

May 2, 2024 — The alarming rates of biodiversity loss worldwide have made clear that the classical way of governing biodiversity recovery based on protected areas and programs for the protection of endangered ...

Low-Intensity Grazing Is Locally Better for Biodiversity but Challenging for Land Users, a New Study Shows

Apr. 30, 2024 — A team of researchers has investigated the motivation and potential incentives for and challenges of low-intensity grazing among farmers and land users in ...

Unlocking the Genetic Mysteries Behind Plant Adaptation: New Insights Into the Evolution of a Water-Saving Trait in the Pineapple Family (Bromeliaceae)

Apr. 30, 2024 — Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Tillandsia (air plants). This sheds light on the ...

Fading Lights: Multiple Threats to North America's Firefly Populations

Apr. 29, 2024 — Scientists have applied a data-driven approach to understanding firefly population dynamics on a continental scale. Key findings from this new study indicate that fireflies, part of the beetle order, ...

Climate Change Could Become the Main Driver of Biodiversity Decline by Mid-Century

Apr. 25, 2024 — Global biodiversity has declined between 2% and 11% during the 20th century due to land-use change alone, according to a large multi-model study. Projections show climate change could become the main ...

Curiosity Promotes Biodiversity

Apr. 25, 2024 — Cichlid fishes exhibit differing degrees of curiosity. The cause for this lies in their genes, as reported by researchers. This trait influences the cichlids' ability to adapt to new ...

Deer Are Expanding North, and That's Not Good for Caribou

Apr. 25, 2024 — In the boreal forest of Western Canada, researchers have considered that both changing climate and increased habitat alteration have enabled deer to push farther ...

Unveiling the Lionfish Invasion in the Mediterranean Sea

Apr. 25, 2024 — Researchers have published a comprehensive study on the invasion of lionfish in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting a rapid spread and the potential ecological impacts. The research shows the ...

Diversity and Productivity Go Branch-in-Branch

Apr. 24, 2024 — Researchers found that forests with higher trait diversity not only adapt better to climate change but may also thrive. The study unveiled how tree functional trait diversity plays a pivotal role in ...

Lemur's Lament: When One Vulnerable Species Stalks Another

Apr. 19, 2024 — What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by ...

Fourteen Years After the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Endemic Fishes Face an Uncertain Future

Apr. 18, 2024 — The 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest accidental spill in history, released almost 100 million gallons of oil, causing significant pollution. A decade later, its long-term ...

Marine Microbial Populations: Potential Sensors of the Global Change in the Ocean

Apr. 18, 2024 — Animal and plant populations have been extensively studied, which has helped to understand ecosystem processes and evolutionary adaptations. However, this has not been the case with microbial ...

38 Trillion Dollars in Damages Each Year: World Economy Already Committed to Income Reduction of 19 % Due to Climate Change

Apr. 17, 2024 — Even if CO2 emissions were to be drastically cut down starting today, the world economy is already committed to an income reduction of 19% until 2050 due to climate change, a new study finds. These ...

Dog Attacks on Mountain Tapirs Highlight a Growing Threat to Endangered Wildlife

Apr. 17, 2024 — Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened ...

Unique Field Study Shows How Climate Change Affects Fire-Impacted Forests

Apr. 17, 2024 — During the unusually dry year of 2018, Sweden was hit by numerous forest fires. A research team has investigated how climate change affects recently burnt boreal forests and their ability to absorb ...

Florida Wildlife Corridor Eases Worst Impacts of Climate Change

Apr. 16, 2024 — Florida is projected to lose 3.5 million acres of land to development by 2070. A new study highlights how Florida can buffer itself against both climate change and population pressures by conserving ...

Biodiversity Is Key to the Mental Health Benefits of Nature

Apr. 16, 2024 — New research has found that spaces with a diverse range of natural features are associated with stronger improvements in our mental wellbeing compared to spaces with less natural ...

Tropical Forests Can't Recover Naturally Without Fruit-Eating Birds

Apr. 15, 2024 — Natural forest regeneration is hailed as a cost-effective way to restore biodiversity and sequester carbon. However, the fragmentation of tropical forests has restricted the movement of large birds ...