High tide keeps getting higher on the islands of the Republic of Kiribati – 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean that rest only a few feet above sea level.…
In marine fisheries, the infamous “race to fish” has long been known to shorten fishing seasons and deplete fish populations. In an archetypal display of the tragedy of the commons…
On May 1, forestry officials in the Indian state of Uttarakhand discovered a tiger cub, abandoned and injured. They attempted to rescue the animal, but had arrived too late –…
During the 2016 fishing season, 71 whales were entangled off the coast of Washington, Oregon, and California, the highest number ever recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).…
Drifting down the moonlit Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) River in Myanmar, gangs of fishermen drop car batteries into the water. Electrocution, or “shock,” fishing is punishable by hefty fines and years in…
It’s crowded in the tropics. Take the plant world: 1,000 tree species can coexist in a small equatorial area of only a quarter kilometer squared, according to one forest ecologist,…
Coral reefs may be underwater, but they are also under fire: overfishing is dramatically altering these underwater treasures. While most people never get to see these ecosystems up close, they…
It started out as an interest in lacertids – a family of small lizards native to Asia, Europe, and Africa – an itch to “understand what was going on with…
The largest member of the grouse family, the capercaillie, is losing ground in the Carpathian Mountains. A recent study published in the journal of Landscape Ecology found that suitable habitat…
While some leaders in Washington are barely getting their toes wet to address global climate change, researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have dived in head-first.…
Picture the blue whale, the largest known animal ever to have lived. This endangered mammal can grow up to 30 metres (about 98 feet) and weigh 173 tonnes; it has…
Somewhere in the swampy forests of the southeastern United States, a cypress tree is felled. Its lifelong work of absorbing and storing carbon is over. It will no longer hold…
It has no smell, but it’s a product of decay. You can’t see it with the naked eye, but it’s in increasingly high-demand. It’s methane: a gas that arises from…
In the village of Tramataia, Brazil crab-pickers, or caranguejeiros, walk to the shoreline at night with an offering of tobacco to Father Mangrove. They ask for a bountiful hunt and…
Farmers in the Terai region of Nepal face jumbo threats on a day-to-day basis, resulting in damage to crop yields, destruction of their homes, and, in some cases, even a…
Beef has never been a favored meat in most of Asia. Cows are harder to raise than chickens and pigs, which take up less space and can be fed scraps.…
Life beneath the waters of the Amazon is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the world’s largest rainforest. All of the bright, primary…
It’s difficult to formulate a description of someone like Kristine Tompkins. A pioneer in the outdoor industry during her time as CEO of Patagonia and one of the preeminent conservationists…
When environmental activist Erlan Sleur heard that four sand mining barges had been spotted at Braamspunt beach, he dropped everything. Construction work on his house could wait. “I wanted to…
One of the most iconic primate species on the planet is quickly disappearing. Once widely distributed across Madagascar, only 2,000-2,400 ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) now remain in the wild, according…
In April 2016 at the Recherche Archipelago, just south of Western Australia’s coast, the ruby seadragon’s time as a science fugitive was about to end. There, Greg Rouse, a professor…
In three short months during monsoon season, India historically receives 75 percent of their annual precipitation. Imagine awaiting this promised, bountiful rainfall and receiving 14 percent less than average. This…
In a video posted on YouTube on February 6, 2017, a woman fishes a juvenile shark out of the waters of the Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago-cum-national park off Brazil's…
The cloud forest ecoregion of the Colombian Andes is arguably the most biodiverse in the world. A moist climate, varying altitudes, and high rates of endemism create idyllic conditions for…
Just as urban planners want to know how changes in a city impacts residents, biologists like Dr. John Marzluff want to know how landscapes help or hinder birds on their…
Amphibians around the world are in a state of crisis. Over 40 percent are threatened with extinction. Chytrid fungus, a disease fatal to most amphibians, is decimating populations already threatened…
Islands possess many unique gifts from evolution. Their isolation from the mainland give them an identity all their own: these small pieces of land are often filled with species that…
Laden with carefully thought-out food supplies, Greta Dargie carried her heavy pack as she waded through the mud. Getting to field sites in the swampy forests of the Cuvette Centrale…
The eight year tenure of Barack Obama has come to a close, and as you reflect on his time in the White House you may think of his efforts to…
Within the seemingly boundless Mysore Plateau of southern India, the newly-discovered Bangalore geckoella (Cyrtodactylus srilekhae) and Rishi Valley geckoella (Cyrtodactylus rishivalleyensis) pace – centred, unhurried, and only prone to flurries…