Animals shed bits of DNA as they go about their lives. A new study of the Hudson River estuary tracked spring migration of ocean fish by collecting water samples and seeing whose DNA was present when.
Given that cities may be home to 80% of humanity by the end of the century, they can only be sustainable if eco-friendliness is one of their core features.
Cities today are flooded with light and we seldom think of its harmful impacts on the natural world.
Jim Young/Reuters
Urban greening programs need to consider the harmful impacts of artificial lighting on ecosystems. Fortunately, we can do a lot to create more biosensitive lighting.
The rise of urban greening is an opportunity to recast the relationship between people and environment. Humans and non-human species are ecologically intertwined as inhabitants of cities.
Public park in Manhattan, home to a rat population with over 100 visible burrows.
Dr. Michael H. Parsons
Rats foul our food, spread disease and damage property, but we know very little about them. A biologist explains how he tracks wild rats in New York City, and what he’s learned about them so far.
Melbourne is powered by the coal-fired stations of Gippsland, which illustrates the problems with any urban strategy that neglects regional roles and interests.
AAP/Julian Smith
City-centric thinking arguably obscures connections between ‘humans’ and ‘nature’, and ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ or ‘wild’. Growing evidence of the depths of these links is testing the concept of ‘urban’.
Much of the ‘smart cities’ rhetoric is dominated by the economic, with little reference to the natural world and its plight.
Ase from www.shutterstock.com
The rhetoric of ‘smart cities’ is dominated by the economic, with little reference to the natural world and its plight. Truly smart and resilient cities need to be more in tune with the planet.
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.
A park, in this case Hyde Park in Sydney, is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to engage with nature in the city.
Lucy Taylor
Nature is dispersed through our cities, even if we don’t notice it. And there’s abundant evidence that engaging with nature, even in urban settings, is good for us.
What’s hiding in your garden this summer?
Matt/Wikimedia Commons
Australia wants to kill off two million feral cats and momentum for similar plans is growing in the US. Is there a good case for killing or neutering outdoor cats to protect biodiversity?