Tampa Bay’s sea grass meadows need sunlight to thrive. Algae blooms block that light and can be toxic to marine life.
Joe Whalen Caulerpa/Tampa Bay Estuary Program via Unsplash
Harmful algae blooms are an increasing problem in Florida. Once nutrients are in the water to fuel them, little can be done to stop the growth, and the results can be devastating for marine life.
This autumn, embrace puddles. Even tiny pools of water can be essential for birds, trees and pets — from washing away chemicals on leaves to forcing worms to emerge.
An African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo.
Nicolas Deloche/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
A new review of the status of African elephants finds scientific grounds for dividing them into two species, and reports that both have suffered drastic population declines since 1990.
Hundreds of trees have been felled along Nairobi’s Uhuru and Waiyaki highways to make space for a new expressway.
CELINE CLERY/AFP via Getty Images
Nairobi harbours all the ingredients for zoonotic spillover to occur between animals and people, particularly in the most densely populated areas of the city.
Community scientists have been photographing animals and plants in the months after the Black Summer fires. Each observation is a story of survival against the odds, or of tragedy.
If octopuses simply started evolving a smarter brain, what stops them from ruling over humans? Why has this not happened already? An expert explains what these cephalopods might be capable of.
Paul and Becky Rogers converted 14 acres of land in Kent County, Mich. to habitat that supports pollinators, songbirds and wildlife.
USDA/Flickr
It’s possible to feed the world’s 7.8 billion people with more environmentally friendly farming practices. Here’s how.
The Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), lives in scattered populations across distant mountain ranges in Ethiopia, and its remarkable resilience suggests recovery is possible if threats like habitat loss and degradation can be kept at bay.
(Shutterstock)
Reports of global biodiversity doom hide a more complex and encouraging picture. Conservation efforts can be targeted with more nuance species population data.
Three nestlings beg for food, but the right-hand one is an imposter, an indigobird masquerading as a firefinch.
Claire N. Spottiswoode
Rather than constructing a nest, incubating eggs and feeding young, some birds deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds and trick them into doing the child rearing.
Masai giraffes in northern Tanzania.
Sonja Metzger
Debates centred on the role of recreational hunting in supporting nature conservation and local people’s livelihoods are among the most polarising in conservation today.
Avian cholera is a highly contagious disease that has produced rapid population loss in Northern common eiders.
(Shutterstock)
We can learn about the spread of diseases through populations by studying naturally occurring instances of herd immunity. Avian cholera in the Canadian Arctic provides a useful case study.
An Anatolian Shepherd Dog protecting goats in South Africa.
Rosie Wilkes/Cheetah Outreach Trust
Cats kill a staggering 1.7 billion native animals each year, and threaten at least 120 species with extinction. Five experts analyse a parliamentary report on the problem.
World-first research finds human disturbances, on average, restrict an animal’s movements by 37%, or increase it by 70%. That’s like needing to travel an extra 11 km to get to work each day.
A wild mink in Utah was the first wild animal in the U.S. found with COVID-19.
Peter Trimming via Wikipedia
COVID-19 has been found in pets, zoo animals and in a wild mink in Utah. Monitoring wildlife for COVID-19 is important for animals and humans, both of whom face risks from a jumping virus.