DNA analysis reveals a third species of flying squirrel in North America
There are now three species of flying squirrel in North America, and it turns out that the newest member of the family has actually been gliding amongst the treetops of…
Soil research aided by citizen scientists, boots and all
What lurks in the soil beneath your feet? In the soil beneath us live billions of organisms, ranging in size from one-celled bacteria to gophers. These critters aerate the soil,…
Rugged innovation: Meeting the challenges of bringing high tech DNA analysis to the field
An international team of researchers journeyed into the jungles of the seldom-traveled Kabobo Massif in March 2017 along the shores of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)…
Translating the barcode of wildlife into action
One might assume that the biggest challenge in managing an ambitious, multinational initiative like the Barcode of Wildlife Project (BWP) stems from the cross-cultural dimensions of the enterprise. But the…
Testing the water: identifying marine communities through eDNA
The Census of Marine Life (CoML), a 10-year international effort to determine the diversity of life found in Earth’s oceans, described over 1 million species, ranging from single-celled microbes to…
Scanning the barcode of wildlife
An ambitious global initiative, the Barcode of Wildlife Project unites research biologists, investigators, prosecutors, and members of law enforcement in partner countries in using DNA barcoding to combat wildlife crime.
Conservation’s best kept secret (database)
A small NGO, Species360, manages a database that stores records on thousands of species around the world, with countless potential applications.
Invasive innovations: Summit fosters technological solutions to invasive species challenge
“We can do this,” declared the big round pins on the chests of attendees at the first annual Innovation Summit on Overcoming the Invasive Species Challenge. Cohosted by the National…
Searching for sawfish following the clues of environmental DNA
What has a body like a shark’s, a saw protruding from its head and critically endangered status according to the IUCN? The largetooth sawfish is a species of ray that…
Experts hack away at portable DNA barcode scanner to fight timber and wildlife trafficking
How could we harness DNA barcode technology in a handheld device that frontline officials could use to combat timber and wildlife trafficking?
Fish-farm escapees are weakening Norwegian wild salmon genetics
armed salmon escaping from Norwegian aquaculture facilities are mating with wild salmon frequently enough to dilute their genetic stock, according to a recent paper. As a result the wild salmon…
DART-TOFMS: Finding the chemistry in wood
Earlier this summer, members of the Forest Legality Alliance (FLA) gathered in Washington, DC for their Semi-Annual Membership Meeting. As a precursor to the upcoming CITES COP17 meeting in September,…
Chew on this new way to detect disease in primates
Preoccupied with snipping a saliva-soaked plant part with a scalpel and placing it in a little tube of viral transport media, veterinary epidemiologist Tierra Smiley Evans thought she was alone,…
The ‘raven’ whale: scientists uncover new beaked whale
If humans need a reminder of our collective ignorance about the natural world than here’s a really good one: scientists believe they have discovered a new species of whale. You…
Bringing Star Trek tricorder analysis to the 21st century
Handheld, palm-sized, lightweight DNA preparation and sequencing devices are coming your way soon.
Light, long-lasting and low-cost: the technology needs of field conservationists and wildlife researchers
Results of an assessment of the technology needs of front-line conservationists and researchers that informs wildtech.mongabay.com
The tech-noses of the wildlife conservation world
A field biologist explains how conservation dogs enhance our ability to understand and protect wild species.
DNA and beyond: The challenges of identifying wood and addressing illegal timber products
In a Q&A with WildTech, Meaghan Parker-Forney of the World Resources Institute discusses the illegal timber trade, tree DNA and the barcode of life.
Stemming the tide: A new tool in wildlife crime whodunits
When Ross McEwing, technical director of the TRACE Wildlife Forensics Network, learned about a new technique for testing rhino horn DNA, he knew the tool could help bring wildlife traffickers in Vietnam to justice.
Scientists turn to DNA from Sumatran elephant dung to aid conservation
Warning: Some images below may contain graphic content. At best numbering roughly 2,800 individuals, the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is critically endangered. Yet population data has been notoriously difficult…
Scientists identify frog through DNA without leaving forest
Scientists conduct first ever in-field DNA test...and potentially discover new species Ana Rodriguez Prieto conducting a test run of the new technology in Italy. Photo courtesy of MUSE. Yesterday, a…
New study: ‘Yeti’ hairs do not point to unknown bear species
Polar bear in Alaska. Polar bears are the world's largest land carnivore. Photo by: Alan Wilson/Creative Commons 3.0. A new study casts doubt on findings from 2013 that hairs from…
Ocelots live in super densities on Barro Colorado Island
An ocelot in Colombia. Photo by: Brodie Ferguson. By comparing camera trapping findings with genetic samples taken from feces, biologists have determined that the density of ocelots on Barro Colorado…
Genetic sleuthing reveals grisly details of historic whale hunting
Past whaling may have resulted in lost cultural knowledge for world's biggest mammals Relict whaling and sealing ships at Grytviken, South Georgia. Photo by: Liam Quinn/Creative Commons 2.0. In 1904,…
New species named after the struggle for same-sex marriage
Scientists have named new species after celebrities, fictional characters, and even the corporations that threaten a species' very existence, but a new snail may be the first to be named…
Have scientists discovered a new primate in the Philippines?
Employing genetics scientists discover distinct population of big-eyed, long-fingered tarsiers Despite some media reports, scientists have not yet discovered a new species of big-eyed, nocturnal primate—known as tarsiers—in the Philippines.…
Next big idea in forest conservation? DNA fingerprinting trees to stem illegal logging
Innovation in Tropical Forest Conservation: Q&A with Dr. Chuck Cannon As a professor at Texas Tech, Dr. Chuck Cannon has been, among other things, working to create a system of…
Scientists uncover new marine mammal genus, represented by single endangered species
This is the story of three seals: the Caribbean, the Hawaiian, and the Mediterranean monk seals. Once numbering in the hundreds of thousands, the Caribbean monk seal was a hugely…
Long lost mammal photographed on camera trap in Vietnam
In 1929, two sons of Theodore Roosevelt (Teddy Junior and Kermit) led an expedition that killed a barking deer, or muntjac, in present-day Laos, which has left scientists puzzled for…
Several Amazonian tree frog species discovered, where only two existed before
We have always been intrigued by the Amazon rainforest with its abundant species richness and untraversed expanses. Despite our extended study of its wildlife, new species such as the olinguito…