A whale shark basking in the Maldivian shallows.
Melody Sky
Why do whale sharks come together at just 20 locations around the globe?
The Canada 150 Sequencing Initiative will sequence the genomes of 150 organisms important to Canadians, publishing the results in public databases.
(Shutterstock)
By sequencing the genomes of other species, we can better understand our place in natural history.
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London should be one giant pigeon cemetery, but you rarely see the bodies.
A life reconstruction of Brindabellaspis stensioi , an unusual placoderm fish from the 400-million-year old Burrinjuck reef in New South Wales, Australia.
Jason Art, Shenzhen
Brindabellaspis had eyes on the top of the head, facing upwards, and a skull stretched into a long and broad snout. Although around 400 million years old, it was clearly a specialised fish.
Copepod with eggs (blue). Copepods are typically just a few millimeters long, but are important food sources for small fish.
NOAA
DNA sequencing is making it possible for scientists to identify thousands of species of zooplankton – drifting animals that are key links in ocean food webs.
Mala, also known as rufous hare-wallabies, will be protected behind an enormous cat-proof fence.
Donald Hobern/Flickr
Conservation fences create a few hundred square kilometres of safety for vulnerable native animals surrounded by 7.6 million lethal square kilometres.
The “hammerhead” of Diversibipalium multilineatum . This species can reach 40 centimeters (16 inches) in length.
Pierre Gros
Several giant terrestrial Plathelminth species have invaded France and its overseas territories, threatening biodiversity. Thanks to participatory science, the invasion is finally recognized.
Nature offers many benefits to people.
(Shutterstock)
Governments around the world have vowed to halt the loss of global biodiversity by 2020, but without more investment, we’ll miss some of the targets.
jokki/Shutterstock
Many sacred sites such as temples, and churchyards are havens for biodiversity.
The bearded boar, one of the most emblematic animals of the Malay archipelago.
Rufus46/Wikipedia
The bearded boar is rarely honoured, yet its role in the forest of this island in the Malay archipelago is as crucial as it is emblematic.
Several studies have shown that spending time in nature is good for health. Now new research has looked specifically at asthma and found that living in green neighbourhoods protects children from developing the condition.
from www.shutterstock.com
New research shows that children who live in greener neighbourhoods are less likely to develop asthma, and that the more diverse the plant life is, the more they are protected.
Young southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus obesulus), an endangered marsupial species living in outer Melbourne.
Sarah Maclagan
Endangered bandicoots have been found in the outskirts of Melbourne.
Some farmers are starting to incorporate organic practices into their operations.
(Pexels)
Some conventional vegetable farms in Canada are starting to use organic methods in their operations.
A massive wildfire on the Garden Route fuelled by invasive alien trees.
Henry Cunningham
Invasive alien species that costs South Africa’s economy billions can be eliminated.
Plant remains, preserved in lake sediments like in the Republic of Congo help give accurate deforestation information.
Carla Staver
Tropical deforestation can release a huge amount of carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
Pastoralist communities, like the Maasai, and their animals live in “bomas” which protect them from wild animals.
Shutterstock/Papa Bravo
Kenya’s wildlife task force promises stakeholder participation needed for sustainable conservation.
A giant swallowtail butterfly feeds from the flower of an alternate-leaved dogwood.
(Nina Zitani)
We’re in the middle of an Insectageddon. But a garden of native plants can help insects, as well as birds and other wildlife.
The thorny devil, one of Australia’s many remarkable and unique animals.
Euan Ritchie
March 15, 2018
Euan Ritchie , Deakin University ; Bek Christensen , Queensland University of Technology ; Bill Bateman , Curtin University ; Dale Nimmo , Charles Sturt University ; Don Driscoll , Deakin University ; Grant Wardell-Johnson , Curtin University ; Noel D. Preece , James Cook University , and Sarah Luxton , Curtin University
Most of Australia’s plants and animals are found nowhere else on Earth. This remarkable biodiversity requires a bolder, brighter conservation vision.
Yellow-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis platurus ).
Coleman M. Sheehy III, Florida Museum of Natural History
Sea snakes spend their lives in the water, giving birth to live young at sea, so why are they only found in some of the world’s oceans? The answer lies in a combination of climate and geography.
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.