Computer dating for animals? Finding the right matchup - using DNA rather than personality questionnaires - could help select the best partnerships for captive breeding programs.
Many seabird species, including the blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea), consume plastic at sea because algae on the plastic produce an odor that resembles their food sources.
J.J. Harrison
Thousands of seabirds die every year from consuming plastic trash in the oceans. But why do they eat plastic? New research shows that it produces odors that help some species find prey.
A dead vaquita entangled in a gillnet.
NOAA Fisheries West Coast
As the vaquita porpoise heads towards extinction, new management measures in Mexico still may have missed the point – affecting not one but two critically endangered marine species.
Historical evidence shows African elephants are endangered by the ivory trade, despite any attempt at regulating the market. A total ban is the only hope for the world’s largest living land animal.
American ginseng, a slow-growing native plant long used in traditional medicine, was abundant in colonial times. Now illegal harvesting and other stresses are pushing it close to extinction.
Storm season in the Australian tropical savanna.
Euan Ritchie
Australia’s Great Northern Savannas are the largest and most intact ecosystem of their kind on Earth. But they still face pressure from grazing, mining and agricultural expansion.
Despite ongoing conflict in the DRC, the number of endangered mountain gorillas in the Virunga National Park has increased.
Shutterstock
For the survival of iconic species in Africa, it is crucial that conservation efforts do not ignore conflict zones.
The Bramble Cay Melomys is arguably the first mammal driven extinct by climate change, rather than direct human interaction.
Ian Bell/EHP/State of Queensland
Australia’s conservation laws presume that we can preserve everything in its natural state. But in a changing world, we’ll have to be more flexible than that.
Pandas are bears – but two million years ago they stopped eating meat. Their digestive systems have not yet adapted, though. Do upset stomachs make panda pregnancy more difficult?
The Fat-tailed Dunnart is found in box gum grassy woodland.
Damian Michael
There’s rarely good news in conservation - but we’ve been studying a program that actually works.
The grizzly, or brown, bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is posed to lose protections under the Endangered Species Act.
Jim Peaco, Yellowstone National Park
The grizzly bear of Yellowstone is expected to be delisted from the Endangered Species Act. But a survey of grizzly bear researchers finds flaws in how wildlife experts evaluate scientific data.
Worth crowing about? Birds that can problem-solve do best in cities.
Gypsytwitcher/shutterstock.com
Why are our cities full of crows, ravens and rainbow lorikeets, while other species decline? The answer comes down to street smarts, adaptability, and sometimes plain bullying.
Antarctica’s delicate ecosystem could be under threat from invasive species.
Ceridwen Fraser
A warming Earth could see invading species arrive in Antarctica via the floating “taxi service” of the sea. That could be a threat to the southern continent’s delicate ecosystem.
Moo-ve along: livestock are one of many threats to Australian freshwater ecosystems.
Mick Stanic/Flickr
Virtual reality is enabling researchers to get first hand experience of remote environments, helping them make better decisions about their conservation.