Wildlife
National parks are key conservation areas for wildlife and natural resources
National parks are key conservation areas for wildlife and natural resources The United States’ national parks have an inherent contradiction between protecting fragile wild places and ensuring public enjoyment. The parks are crucial for research and conservation efforts, containing diverse environments such as volcanoes, glaciers, and ecosystems that face various challenges like climate change and […]
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War, politics and religion shape wildlife evolution in cities
War, politics and religion shape wildlife evolution in cities Human cultural practices, including religion, politics, and war, can shape wildlife evolution in cities, leading to genetic drift, population differentiation, and changes in ecosystem dynamics. The construction of walls around religious buildings in Oviedo, Spain, led to the isolation of fire salamander populations on either side, […]
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Trade in a mythical fish is threatening real species of rays that are rare and at risk
Trade in a mythical fish is threatening real species of rays that are rare and at risk The trade in “pez diablo” (devil fish) is threatening real species of guitarfishes, which are rare and at risk due to overfishing and habitat loss. Guitarfishes are being caught, dried, and carved into exotic shapes to create pez […]
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AI helps tell snow leopards apart, improving population counts for these majestic mountain predators
AI helps tell snow leopards apart, improving population counts for these majestic mountain predators Researchers are using AI to help identify individual snow leopards from camera trap photos, which can be challenging due to poor lighting, angles, and obscuring parts of the animal. The current method for identifying individuals involves comparing patterns of black rosettes […]
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Central Brazil Cerrado
Central Brazil Cerrado The Serra de Caldas, also known as the Caldas Novas dome or Caldas Ridge, is a monolithic oval-shaped plateau located in central Brazil’s state of Goiás. The plateau stands approximately 300 meters above the surrounding landscape and covers an area of about one-fifth of Brazil’s land area. The Serra de Caldas is […]
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The rise and fall – and rise again – of white-tailed deer
The rise and fall – and rise again – of white-tailed deer White-tailed deer were nearly extinct in North America by the early 20th century, with only 300,000 individuals remaining, but their population has since rebounded to around 30-35 million. The species’ decline was largely due to European colonization and the introduction of a trans-Atlantic […]
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Humans are one of the biggest threats to lions
Humans are one of the biggest threats to lions Humans are one of the biggest threats to lions, responsible for an average of 22 lion fatalities per year in areas around Etosha National Park. The study found that there was no single reason behind the killings, but rather a combination of environmental, cultural, and climatic […]
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Mountain chickadee chatter: Scientists are decoding the songbird’s complex calls
Mountain chickadee chatter: Scientists are decoding the songbird’s complex calls Scientists are studying the complex calls of mountain chickadees to understand their communication system, which is unusual compared to other songbird species. The “chick-a-dee” call contains six elements that can be combined in hundreds of unique combinations to convey different information, similar to human grammar, […]
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Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions
Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions Every year, over 1 billion birds die from collisions with glass windows in the United States alone, making window collisions the top human cause of bird deaths. Most frequently, glass acts as a mirror, reflecting clear […]
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Fleeting fireflies illuminate Colorado summer nights − and researchers are watching
Fleeting fireflies illuminate Colorado summer nights − and researchers are watching Researchers are studying fireflies in Colorado to shed light on their elusive behavior and conservation status. Fireflies are scarce west of Kansas, but can be found in Colorado’s wetlands and temporary water sources, where they face unique environmental challenges such as dry landscapes and […]
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