Biodiversity – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Trees are rooted to the ground — but they move into new areas as the wind carries their seeds or seedlings are planted. (Shutterstock)

May 3, 2023

How to move without legs or wings: Helping trees migrate to new regions

Claudio Mura, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC); Patricia Raymond, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), and Sergio Rossi, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)

The rapidly changing climate presents many challenges for the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Assisting the migration of trees is a tool to address these challenges.

May 1, 2023

Wild-caught seafood is often untraceable – and some industry players don’t want that to change. Here’s why

Benjamin Thompson, Monash University

When you buy seafood, you can’t be sure it is what it says it is – and Australian wholesalers are resistant to new traceability technologies.

The greater the diversity of plant and animal species in a wildlife-friendly garden, the more healthy and resilient it is. (Shutterstock)

May 1, 2023

How greenwashing can lead us astray in the pursuit of wildlife-friendly gardens

Paul Manning, Dalhousie University

Instead of focusing their limited time, energy and finances in effective interventions in their gardens, many individual gardeners are falling prey to greenwashing.

April 27, 2023

Restoring forests often falls to landholders. Here’s how to do it cheaply and well

Penny van Oosterzee, James Cook University and Noel D. Preece, James Cook University

Australia has half as much forest as it did before colonisation. Restoring it can be hugely expensive. But new approaches can help

A bison herd on the America Prairie reserve in Montana. Amy Toensing/Getty Images

April 26, 2023

In protecting land for wildlife, size matters – here’s what it takes to conserve very large areas

David Jachowski, Clemson University

Governments and wildlife advocates are working to protect 30% of Earth’s lands and waters for nature by 2030. An ecologist explains why creating large protected areas should be a top priority.

April 20, 2023

Victoria’s plans for engineered wetlands on the Murray are environmentally dubious. Here’s a better option

Jamie Pittock, Australian National University and Matthew Colloff, Australian National University

Victoria is planning to engineer wetlands so more water can go to agriculture. It’s not a good plan.

A plate-billed toucan, native to the humid mountain forests of the Andes in South America. Dagmara Ksandrova/Shutterstock

April 19, 2023

2030 nature targets agreed in December may already be slipping out of reach

Richard Cornford, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA); Fiona Spooner, University of Oxford, and Robin Freeman, Zoological Society of London

Wildlife can take years or decades to respond to environmental changes made by humans.

Soil was key to making the Earth habitable. EyeEm / Alamy Stock Photo

April 17, 2023

How soils changed life on Earth

Sandy Hetherington, The University of Edinburgh

What fossil records tell us about when the Earth was first covered by plants.

April 13, 2023

Connecting to culture: here’s what happened when elders gifted totemic species to school kids

Natasha Ward, RMIT University; Bradley J. Moggridge, University of Canberra; Georgia Garrard, The University of Melbourne, and Sarah Bekessy, RMIT University

The 10-week pilot program Totemic Species in Schools shows how Indigenous science can be woven into the existing curriculum. Students, teachers and parents provided positive feedback.

Australia’s rarest butterfly, the Australian fritillary. Garry Sankowsky

April 10, 2023

Nature is in crisis. Here are 10 easy ways you can make a difference

Matthew Selinske, RMIT University; Georgia Garrard, The University of Melbourne; Jaana Dielenberg, Charles Darwin University, and Sarah Bekessy, RMIT University

Australia’s threatened species keep declining. But there are concrete ways to help, from wildlife friendly gardens to leashing your dog.

Sargassum seaweed started washing up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in mid-March 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

April 7, 2023

The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is carrying a massive bloom of brown seaweed toward Florida and the Caribbean

Stephen P. Leatherman, Florida International University

Scientists are predicting a record sargassum bloom in 2023. It’s already starting to wash up on beaches in Florida and the Caribbean and cause a stink.

Gathering at a scientific field station for a Water Ceremony led by the Women’s Council of Grand Council Treaty #3. (IISD-Experimental Lakes Area)

April 6, 2023

Weaving Indigenous and western ways of knowing can help Canada achieve its biodiversity goals

Lydia Johnson, Queen's University, Ontario and Diane Orihel, Queen's University, Ontario

Canada’s commitment to halt biodiversity loss can only be realized by weaving together Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge.

March 30, 2023

Whether you’re a snorkeller or CEO, you can help save our vital kelp forests

Aaron Eger, UNSW Sydney and Adriana Vergés, UNSW Sydney

When we stopped whaling, the whales recovered. But our vital kelp forests won’t return without our help

Planting native plant seeds on sand dunes at Westward Beach in Malibu, Calif., to stabilize the dunes. Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

March 28, 2023

A shortage of native seeds is slowing land restoration across the US, which is crucial for tackling climate change and extinctions

Julia Kuzovkina, University of Connecticut and John Campanelli, University of Connecticut

Native plants help damaged landscapes by stabilizing soil, fighting invasive species and sheltering pollinators. Two horticulture experts explain what they’re doing to help develop new seed sources.

March 27, 2023

2022 was a good year for nature in Australia – but three nasty problems remain

Albert Van Dijk, Australian National University; Geoffrey Heard, The University of Queensland; Mark Grant, The University of Queensland, and Shoshana Rapley, Australian National University

Last year was great for plant growth and river flows. But Australia is still on the brink of losing a slew of plant and animal species.

Roads require de-icing strategies in northern regions, but this practice has negative effects on aquatic biodiversity.

March 22, 2023

Freshwater ecosystems are becoming increasingly salty. Here’s why this is a concern

Alison Derry, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM); Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles, Universitat de Barcelona, and Stephanie J Melles, Toronto Metropolitan University

Although it has been considerably less studied than other environmental problems, salinization presents major challenges for biodiversity in freshwater and coastal areas.

Once abundant, woylies – or brush-tailed bettongs – are now critically endangered. John Gould

March 21, 2023

Species don’t live in isolation: what changing threats to 4 marsupials tell us about the future

William Geary, Deakin University; Adrian Wayne, The University of Western Australia; Euan Ritchie, Deakin University, and Tim Doherty, University of Sydney

To give native species their best chance of survival, we have to embrace ecosystem-based conservation – rather than trying to rescue individual species in isolation.

An old-growth tree that was cut in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

March 9, 2023

The Biden administration has called for protecting mature US forests to slow climate change, but it’s still allowing them to be logged

Beverly Law, Oregon State University and William Moomaw, Tufts University

Protecting old and mature trees is the simplest and least expensive way to pull carbon out of the atmosphere – but proposed logging projects threaten mature stands across the US.

In order for corporate sustainability approaches to actually work, they need to be genuine and authentic. (Shutterstock)

March 6, 2023

A new UN report offers businesses a template for achieving true sustainability

Sofiane Baba, Université de Sherbrooke

Recent advancements in the ways organizations measure sustainability performance could lead to a truly authentic approach to sustainability in the business sector.