A drone image of a breeding colony of Greater Crested Terns. Researchers used plastic bird decoys to replicate this species in an experiment that compared different ways of counting wildlife.
Jarrod Hodgson
A few thousand fake ducks, a group of experienced wildlife spotters and a drone have proven the usefulness and accuracy of drones for wildlife monitoring.
Toque macaques in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka.
(Shutterstock)
Future initiatives for conservation mainly depend on the proper co-ordination of scientists, governments, conservation groups and the media, especially when corruption is close by.
Bottlenose dolphins, are very coastal and subsist on small fish connected to reefs and smaller bays.
Shutterstock
Imagine being one of the last few people alive. Would that make it ok to destroy the natural world? This thought experiment reveals the true value of nature, beyond the benefits to humans.
Ongoing controversy around wild horses in Australia encompasses debate about their impact and their cultural meaning, argues Michael Adams.
Marcella Cheng/The Conversation NY-BD-CC
The cultural meanings of wild horses
The Conversation18,6 MB(download)
Today's episode of Essays On Air explores how humans have related to horses over time and across the world, and asks: is it time to rethink how we 'manage' brumbies in the wild?
Soybean crop on a family farm near Humboldt, Iowa, 2017.
USDA/Preston Keres
Congress is drafting the 2018 farm bill, which will guide agriculture, nutrition, trade and rural development policy. A former agriculture secretary explains how this bill reaches far beyond farms.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau kayak in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, in British Columbia.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken swift action on protecting marine areas over the past two years, but he’ll need to continue this momentum if he is to cement his legacy.
A Senate committee has recommended an end to sharks culls and nets. According to surveys, the public is on board with the idea of ending policies that are lethal to sharks.
Supporters of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments during a rally Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 in Salt Lake City.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
President Trump signed an order on Dec. 4 to drastically reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Four legal experts explain why this action is likely to be reversed.
If Europe is going to reap the benefits of conservation measures at home, its experts need an understanding of where “their” birds migrate to when they head off to Africa.
Australia is among seven countries contributing to more than half of the world’s biodiversity loss. Yet next month, a crucial network of long-term research sites will lose funding.
Brazil has been throwing money at Amazonian cattle farmers, hoping they’ll adopt ‘greener’ crops like fruit or corn. A new study shows why loans won’t fix the environmental issue presented by ranches.
The Tongariro Crossing is one of New Zealand’s most popular walks in a national park.
AAP
Valentina Dinica, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand’s wildlife and natural wonders are major draw cards for tourists, but tourism companies operating in national parks contribute little to conservation.
Without help, Tasmania’s swift parrots could be wiped out within three generations.
JJ Harrison/Wikimedia Commmons
Tasmania’s swift parrots are in trouble. Scientists are aiming to help them by keeping them safe from predators, but without better habitat protection, the species may go extinct.
Banded stilts gather to nest and raise chicks at desert salt lakes.
Tom Putt
A new study gives insight into the strange breeding behaviour of banded stilts. These water birds fly thousand of kilometres to nest in temporary desert salt lakes.
Land clearing is once again on the rise in Queensland.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
The outgoing Threatened Species Commissioner has downplayed the importance of land clearing as a threat to Australia’s plants and animals. But it’s the biggest threat, and magnifies the others too.
Leadbeater’s possum sightings are up – but that doesn’t mean the critically endangered species is recovering.
David Lindenmeyer
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University