An adult male yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) in northeastern Peru. Photo credit: Sam Shanee. Community conservation projects — initiatives that actively involve local people in conservation efforts — have…
Desert elephants in Namibia. Photo by: Rhett Butler. HEC, otherwise known as "human elephant conflict," is a centuries-old problem responsible for the deaths of untold numbers of elephants. This…
A thunderhead builds over a lush agricultural mosaic in a coffee growing region of Ethiopia. Photo credit: Evan Buechley. The next time you order that "wake up" cup of Joe…
A teak tree in flower. Photo by: Challiyan. Teak (Tectona grandis) is one of the most valued tropical hardwoods for its beauty, durability, and versatility. Teak trees naturally occur in…
Oceans not only provide important ecosystem services, including climate regulation and nutrient cycling, but they also serve as a major contributor to food and jobs. Yet human actions in the…
Worms come in all different sizes, shapes, textures, colors, and flavors. Some attack human digestive systems, some surface after a rainstorm, and some come in plastic wrappers, covered in sour…
When I was ten, I acquired my first dog. Rani was a Doberman Pinscher—tall, lean, and a huge pushover. She was wonderfully friendly, but sadly misunderstood her whole life, regularly…
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Tanzanian government have launched an ambitious new initiative to protect East Africa's largest population of elephants (Loxodonta Africana). With funds from USAID, the…
An interview with George Angehr Photograph of newly built Biomuseo biodiversity museum in Panama City, Panama. Photo by: Fernando Aldo, September, 2014. Biomuseo, designed by internationally renowned architect, Frank Gehry,…
Africa's Serengeti conjures up romantic images of millions of migrating wildebeest and zebras, prides of lions feasting on their prey, and hyenas prowling in the background. But not everyone is…
Runoff from Hurricane Isabel floods the Potomac River at Great Falls, Va., carrying sediment eroded from farm fields upstream. Photo by: Paul Bierman. Experts have long linked deforestation and intensive…
Deforestation, habitat destruction, climate change, and other man-made forces are threatening species around the world. But, often overlooked, overhunting is a rising peril to many animals. On the other hand,…
Swing gates help decrease human-wildlife conflict in South Africa As a hunter searches for prey, heat radiates off the sun stroked horizon distorting the landscape. At the snap of a…
Plastic and other threats in the oceans: Turning data into action The devastating tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 washed away millions of tons of plastic debris into the…
Frog species used in the study (clockwise from top-right): Scinax hayii, Proceratophrys boiei, Hylodes phyllodes, Brachycephalus pitanga, Hypsiboas bandeirantes. Photo credit: Gui Becker Biodiversity level changes can have consequences for…
Tropical forests provide countless goods and services that help sustain human life. Given the rapid conversion of forests to agricultural lands, scientists say it is critical that we prioritize conservation…
These charming bivalves of tropical reefs have myriad purposes, but just how many and to what extent are now more easily knowable The world’s biggest bivalves are the aptly named…
As atmospheric CO2 levels rise, so too do those in the sea, leading to ocean acidification that outpaces that of any other time in tens of millions of years. Some…
Seabirds, aerial ocean predators, are known to amass harmful contaminants over their lifespan. Scientists believe this exposure to pollutants, such as blood mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and persistent organic pollutants…
Photograph of newly described frog (Limnonectes larvaepartus) (male, left, and female) from the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is the only frog known that gives direct birth to tadpoles.…
The Sunda gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) looks like "just an odd crocodile" according to Robert Stuebing. He would know. Stuebing and his team have recently published an article in the International…
In 1970 researchers uncovered the Tandayapa Andean toad (Andinophryne olallai), previously unknown to science, in the Pichincha Province of Ecuador. Given that only a single individual was discovered, even after…
Photograph of Grey snapper (Lutjanus griseus) in a school of adults on the reef. Photo by: E. D’Alessandro. For the first time, marine biologists in Florida have recorded evidence of…
A hawksbill sea turtle hatchling heads towards the sea. This year over 35,000 hatchlings were born in the Pearl Cays: Photo credit: WCS. Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricate), a reptile…
Scientists call for a 'non-prejudiced' judgment on nuclear power Nuclear power at times faces antagonism from the environmental community, with opponents arguing that it produces harmful radioactive waste, leads to…
Emergency research finds devastating impacts of oil spill in the world's largest mangrove forest A crocodile wades into oil-tainted waters in the Sundarbans. Photo by: Arati Kumar-Rao. Last month, an…
Sorting fish on an Malaysian fishing boat. Photo by Rhett A. Butler / mongabay.com Climate change is already having a severe impact on the atmosphere and oceans around the world.…
An interview with Mrinalini Watsa: new organization gives first time students a research and education opportunity in the Peruvian Amazon While conducting doctoral research on tamarin reproductive biology in the…
The Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris) may get a bad rap in Brazil, where referring to someone as a "tapir" essentially equates to calling them an "ass," but history has shown…
Although only a nuisance in your home, on an isolated island chain (archipelago) off the northeastern coast of Brazil, rats pose a threat to the red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus).…