topic: Interns

topic: Interns

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To end turtle hunting, an African island state embraced the hunters
- The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is home to unique species and rich marine ecosystems, including threatened sea turtles.
- In 2014, the country enacted a law banning the trade and possession of sea turtles, which, paired with local conservation programs, has significantly reduced turtle hunting and trade in the country.
- Local communities have become key players in sea turtle conservation, but while many former turtle traders have adapted to new livelihoods, some, particularly women, struggle due to lack of skills, resources and financial capital, highlighting the need for ongoing support and tailored solutions.
- Education and marketing campaigns and trust building with local leaders have helped change public attitudes toward sea turtle conservation, demonstrating that involving and understanding local communities is often crucial for long-term conservation efforts.

Institutional conflict puts successful Spix’s macaw reintroduction at risk
- A successful program to reintroduce the Spix’s macaw, a bird declared extinct in the wild, back into its native habitat has been thrown into uncertainty over a split between the two key institutions behind it.
- ICMBio, Brazil’s federal agency responsible for managing biodiversity, has refused to renew an agreement with the ACTP, the German organization running the program with birds from its captive flock.
- ICMBio alleges the ACTP has engaged in commercial transactions of Spix’s macaws by transferring some to a private zoo in India, but the ACTP insists there was no sale and it is merely relocating to better facilities in India.
- For its part, the ACTP accuses ICMBio of politicking and undermining the reintroduction program; the split has put the future of the program into doubt, given there aren’t currently enough captive birds outside the ACTP’s flock to supply the program over the long term.

For ‘extinct’ Spix’s macaw, successful comeback is overshadowed by uncertainty
- The Spix’s macaw, one of the world’s most threatened parrots, disappeared from the wild at the turn of the millennium due to the illegal pet trade and habitat degradation in its native Brazil.
- In 2022, a reintroduction program finally released the first batch of 20 Spix’s macaws, bred from captive birds, back into the wild, achieving great results, including the first hatchings of wild chicks in decades.
- A leading parrot conservationist advising on the project calls it “the most carefully planned, the most carefully executed, and the most successful reintroduction of any parrot I have ever seen anywhere.”
- In June 2024, however, the cooperation agreement between the Brazilian government and the German breeding center that holds most of the world’s Spix’s macaws ended without renewal, casting the future of the project into doubt.

Bird populations are mysteriously declining at an Amazon park in Ecuador & beyond
- The number of individual birds found at the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve has dropped by half, according to a study published earlier this year.
- Other studies have shown a similar trend in preserved rainforests, pointing to habitat deterioration and pesticides as the usual causes of widespread bird decline in the Northern Hemisphere, but this does not explain the phenomenon in tropical sites.
- Researchers point to a few possible causes for the declines, such as signs of reduction in insect abundance, but climate change is the common suspect in all cases.

Brazil takes pioneering action — and a vaccine — to rewild howler monkeys
- Brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba), endemic to the Atlantic Forest in Brazil and Argentina, became one of the 25 most threatened primate species following a yellow fever outbreak in late 2016.
- In response, Brazilian government agencies and other conservation organizations launched a nationwide population management plan, the first of its kind in the country, focused on coordinating captive facilities with experts who could relocate animals to areas where populations have vanished or declined.
- Nationwide management of howler monkeys was made possible by the adaptation of a vaccine — originally developed for humans — against the yellow fever virus.
- Howler reintroduction initiatives in Brazil have already begun showing signs of success.

Rising temperatures threaten the tiny animals responsible for groundwater quality
- A new study compared temperatures inside 12 caves around the world with their respective surfaces, showing that average annual temperatures in underground systems tend to mirror those of the surface, but with far less variation.
- The researchers also found that while some caves follow outdoor temperatures with little or no delay, others have temperatures that are very asynchronous with the surface, being at their warmest when the world outside is at its coldest, and vice versa.
- Scientists also detected the existence of daily thermal cycles in the deepest sections of some caves, suggesting that such cycles might mark the circadian rhythms of cave-adapted organisms.
- The results indicate that underground fauna — with many species ill-adapted to handle large temperature variations — might be at threat due to climate change, and that their extinction might risk the water quality of aquifers worldwide.

Not just polar bears — climate change could push African rhinos to extinction
- New research finds climate change threatens black and white African rhinos by making their current habitats hotter, drier and less hospitable.
- Rhinos, unable to sweat, rely on shade, water and food sources that are becoming scarcer due to rising temperatures and arid landscapes.
- The study reveals that hotter periods will also likely force rhinos into areas with more humans, raising the risk of conflicts and compounding threats like poaching.
- Experts say strong global climate change mitigation efforts paired with on-the-ground adaptation tactics, such as shade-tree planting, corridor creation and misting stations, would give rhinos a fighting chance.

Conflict in the canopy as human and climate factors drive liana dominance over trees
- Lianas, woody vines that rely on trees for structural support, are growing more abundant in tropical forests around the world, negatively impacting forest recovery and carbon sequestration.
- A new study shows that forest disturbance and climate change give lianas a competitive edge over trees.
- Understanding how climate change and disturbance influence liana growth can help forest managers develop management practices to aid recovering forests.

For threatened Andean condors, garbage dump offers a buffet of risks & rewards
- In a 17-year study, Chilean researchers observed that Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) use landfills as supplemental food sources when natural food is scarce.
- The researchers found that females and juveniles lower in the pecking order are more likely to scavenge in landfills than older males.
- While this food subsidy could help Andean condors when times are tight, it may also put them at an increased risk of poisoning.

Night light, habitat loss & pesticides threaten Brazil’s bioluminescent insects
- Brazil’s diverse habitats house a remarkable variety of firefly species, many of which are habitat specialists, thriving in unique ecological niches but vulnerable to environmental changes.
- A new study from the Cerrado shows a drastic decline in the diversity of fireflies and other bioluminescent beetles in areas affected by habitat loss and pesticide use over 30 years and suggests that ALAN — Artificial Light At Night — might also pose a threat to these insects in the future.
- Global research has also pointed to habitat loss, pesticide use and light pollution as the main threats to firefly populations, singling out the latter as the fastest-growing threat in southeastern Brazil.
- While protected areas offer some refuge against habitat loss and pesticide use, the subtler impacts of light pollution combined with a lack of fundamental knowledge about fireflies and other bioluminescent beetles remain ongoing obstacles to effective conservation efforts.

Seabird poop is recipe for coral recovery amid climate-driven bleaching
- Researchers have found that nutrients from seabird poop led to a doubling of coral growth rates and faster recovery after bleaching events, promoting overall resilience.
- Islands with invasive rats, which kill birds, saw half the coral growth rate of islands with healthy seabird populations, emphasizing the need for rat eradication to restore seabirds and nutrient flow.
- Individuals, organizations and governments can help coral reefs by better protecting seabirds, implementing and funding invasive predator control programs, restoring native vegetation, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Virtual fences can benefit both ranchers and wildlife
- Virtual fencing manages livestock using GPS-linked collars to train animals to stay within a set boundary, similar to an invisible dog fence.
- Coupled with the removal of existing barbed-wire fencing, it could open up whole landscapes for wildlife by removing injurious barriers for migratory herds, reducing mortality from fence strikes for numerous bird species, and protecting sensitive habitats from trampling by cattle.
- Virtual fences are easily moved with a tap on an app, and can be used to improve pasture management through rotational grazing, reduce wildfire risk, and other benefits.
- These systems are cheaper than building and maintaining physical fences, and are already in use in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Norway.

Antarctic warming alters atmosphere, ice shelves, ocean & animals
- The world’s latest record-high temperatures are increasingly putting Antarctica’s role in regulating global climate and ocean currents at risk. But so far, most signs indicate that the continent has not yet reached a point of no return. A rapid reduction in fossil fuel extraction and carbon emissions could still prevent the worst outcomes.
- Increased persistence of the Antarctic ozone hole over the past three years could be an indication of climate change, as it cools the south polar stratosphere, though high variability in this phenomenon and its complexity make causality difficult to prove.
- As global warming continues to melt Antarctica’s edges, a modeling study shows that fresh water going into the ocean could result in the next three decades in a more than 40% slowdown in the currents carrying heat and nutrients northward, essential to sustain ocean life as we know it. If ice shelves melt, allowing Antarctica’s ice sheets to flow to the sea, sea level rise will escalate.
- The latest discovery of a new colony of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) in a marginal habitat of the Antarctic is good news, but also bad news, as it further highlights the vulnerability of the species as Antarctic ice masses destabilize — volatility that threatens their survival.

In Senegal, rice intensification helps farmers grow more with less
- To fight food insecurity and climate change, Senegal is increasingly employing a relatively new strategy for growing rice, known as the “system of rice intensification” (SRI).
- Developed in Madagascar in the 1960s, this method of growing rice intentionally stresses the plants, which allows the farmer to use less water, improves soil fertility, decreases methane emissions, and, most importantly, increases yields.
- Critics of the method say it’s more a list of principles than set rules, with some farmers also turning to herbicides to deal with weeding.
- Still, the method has been scientifically shown to provide numerous benefits for growing rice in drier climates.

One left: British Columbia’s last chance on northern spotted owls
- The northern spotted owl population in British Columbia has declined precipitously since pre-colonization. Earlier this month, two captive born males, which had been released into the wild last August, died, leaving just one female still in the wild.
- The owls depend on old-growth forests, particularly for nesting habitat, but logging of these forests continues to be a threat to the species — less than 3% of BC’s big-tree old-growth forest is left — along with competition from invasive barred owls.
- The owls hold deep cultural significance to First Nations, and the Spô’zêm First Nation, on whose traditional territory the last owl is found, are among those advocating for their protection and a halt to old-growth logging.
- Recent developments include indications the federal government may enact a provision in the Species at Risk Act allowing it to overrule provincial authorities in terms of spotted owl management.

Spamming streams with hatchery salmon can disrupt ecosystems, study finds
- In a new study, researchers found that releasing hatchery-bred native masu salmon into freshwater streams in Hokkaido, Japan, destabilized the local ecosystems.
- Overall, the study found that the total number of fish, and number of different species, both declined in the long term due to greater competition for resources like food and preferred feeding spots.
- Masu salmon populations also did not increase in the long term, the research found.
- With hatchery releases increasing in many areas — and for many species — the findings add to the ongoing debate over their wider effects on wild fish populations.

Top French court orders closure of fisheries amid mass dolphin deaths
- France’s Council of State has ordered the closure of certain fisheries during specific times of the year in a bid to lower the rising number of dolphin deaths.
- A separate European Commission-ordered phaseout of non-selective fishing methods, including bottom trawling, could further help restore marine ecosystems.
- The number of dead dolphins washing ashore on France’s Atlantic coast during winter has worried environmental groups for years, finally prompting the EC to set up new marine life protection targets.
- Complaints to the French government have multiplied over time, demanding that it takes measures to minimize unwanted catches and also sparking fears within the fishing industry, which warns of impacts to food security and jobs.

CO2 in, methane out? Study highlights complexity of coastal carbon sinks
- Coastal ecosystems take in huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but researchers are still deciphering how much methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas, they put back into the system.
- Researchers studying seaweed and mixed vegetation habitats in the Baltic Sea found they emit methane equivalent to 28% and 35% respectively of the CO2 that they absorb.
- The findings highlight that more work is needed to understand methane emissions in different coastal areas to get a better accounting of the carbon balance sheet.

Three small steps for mankind, one giant leap for the climate
- A new report proposes a set of three policy interventions by governments that could help parts of the global economy rapidly decarbonize.
- The authors identified three green switches with the potential to not just lower carbon emissions in one sector but trigger further positive tipping points, resulting in faster decarbonization in other high-carbon industries.
- Among the potential policy interventions, the report says a mandate on zero-emission vehicles could cut battery costs; supporting green ammonia in fertilizers could widen hydrogen use; and purchasing alternative proteins for food served in public institutions could reduce land pressures and cut agricultural emissions.

Swinging to safety: How canopy bridges may save Costa Rica’s howlers
- New research shows that building rope bridges over roads and buildings protects howler monkeys from needless deaths in Costa Rica.
- Breaks in the tree canopy from roads, buildings and other developments pose a threat to howlers, which are often struck by moving vehicles or electrocuted on power lines while trying to cross these gaps.
- Researchers built simple rope bridges over interrupted canopy and monitored them over the course of six years, finding that the bridges have led to a decrease in howler deaths and a rebound in their population.
- Howlers monkeys are vital ecosystem engineers due to their seed dispersal and their ability to live in fragmented, disturbed habitats, so protecting them goes a long way toward protecting the ecosystem.

When nature gives them a chance to collab, jaguars aren’t so solitary after all
- A collaborative study has documented male jaguars engaging in cooperative behavior and forming multiyear partnerships in prey-rich areas in Venezuala’s Llanos and Brazil’s Pantanal.
- Though these partnerships remain rare, evidence of this and other cooperative behaviors challenges the notion that all felids, except for lions and cheetahs, are strictly solitary.
- The research reinforces the value of long-term studies using data from multiple sources to give a fuller understanding of a species’ ecology and behavior.

The dark side of light: Coastal urban lighting threatens marine life, study shows
- A new study finds that artificial lights in coastal megacities have come to outshine the moon for most of the year, putting marine species at risk.
- The researchers say that light pollution impacts on marine ecosystems are difficult to assess compared to other pollutants, as levels of light underwater are not only hard to detect with current instruments, but the spectrum and magnitude can change with tides and water clarity.
- Experts note that artificial light pollution needs to be addressed through mitigation plans aimed at cutting the use, duration and intensity of urban lighting, especially considering the popularity of LEDs, whose blue light penetrates the sea deeper than orange lights.

In world first, Chile to ban single-use food and beverage products over three years
- In May 2021, Chile announced a legislative ban on single-use products in the food and beverage industry to take effect over the next three years.
- Similar bans in other countries and cities also address the crux of the plastic pollution problem — the disposable culture — but Chile’s ban extends to other materials too, including cardboard and poly-coated paper.
- In the lobbying process, the Chilean plastics association raised some concerns about the intricacies of the ban, but said it was ultimately “satisfied with the outcome.”

Deforestation intensifies in northern Malaysia’s most important water catchment
- The Ulu Muda rainforest is one of the last large, continuous tracts of forest in the Malay Peninsula, providing vital habitat for countless species as well as water for millions of people in northern Malaysia.
- Satellite data indicate deforestation activities are intensifying in the greater Ulu Muda landscape, including in protected areas such as Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.
- Sources say the forest loss is likely due to legal logging.
- Conservationists worry that the loss of Ulu Muda rainforest will have detrimental impacts on the region’s biodiversity and water security, as well as contribute to global climate change.

Wildlife ‘rehabbers’ wage herculean fight for a noble cause
- Rehabilitators who help injured creatures or abandoned baby animals have a role to play in conserving wildlife across the U.S.
- One estimate of the number of animals hit by vehicles on U.S. roads every year was projected to be about 300,000, but this is almost certainly a low estimate.
- A national network of 1,600 mostly volunteer “rehabbers” are at work every day to recuperate and return wild animals to their natural habitats.

Authorities and Yobin communities clash as deforestation spikes in Indian national park
- Namdapha National Park is India’s third-largest national park and is home to thousands of species, including tigers, clouded leopards and an endemic species of flying squirrel that has only been observed once by scientists.
- Satellite data show deforestation has increased in the park over the last two decades.
- Members of an Indigenous group called the Yobin have been living in portions of the park for generations, but park authorities consider Yobin settlements to be “encroachments” and the main driver of deforestation and poaching in Namdapha National Park
- In the last few months, authorities have destroyed at least eight Yobin settlements inside the park.

Noise pollution spooks whales the way predators would, study finds
- Whales appear to react to human-made noise in the ocean, such as naval sonar, in a similar way to which they respond to the sounds of their predators like killer whales, according to recent research.
- The authors of the study played the sounds of sonar and killer whales when whales from four species were present.
- The whales responded by breaking off their feeding forays, leading scientists to conclude that noise pollution in the ocean could leave them weaker and more vulnerable to predation.
- The researchers also suggest that marine mammals in the Arctic may be especially at risk as climate change alters their environment in ways that may make them more vulnerable.

Canada mining push puts major carbon sink and Indigenous lands in the crosshairs
- A massive mining project called the Ring of Fire is being proposed in Canada’s Hudson Bay lowlands, a region that houses one of the biggest peatland complexes in the world and is home to several Indigenous communities.
- According to the federal and provincial governments, this region hosts one of the “most promising mineral development opportunities,” which is expected to generate jobs and revenues in the remote region.
- Environmentalists say the proposed development threatens to degrade peatlands, which act as a massive carbon store, and could lead to an increase in emissions; First Nations communities have also voiced concerns about mining impacts on traditional lands and livelihoods.
- Many of the affected First Nations have issued moratoriums against the project or have taken the provincial government to court, citing treaty violations and lack of consultations by the governments prior to greenlighting the project and issuing mining claims.

Indigenous oyster fisheries were ‘fundamentally different’: Q&A with researcher Marco Hatch
- About 85% of oyster reefs across the world have been lost since the 19th century due to overharvesting, pollution, introduction of invasive species and habitat loss.
- According to a new study, Indigenous communities in North America and Australia sustainably managed oyster fisheries for more than 5,000 years before Europeans and commercial fisheries arrived.
- The knowledge of these traditional practices can guide sustainable fisheries management today, say the authors of the study.
- Mongabay interviewed Dr. Marco Hatch, one of the authors of the study, about traditional oyster and clam farming practices, existing threats to oysters, and Indigenous-led restoration efforts.

Yellowstone’s wolves defied extinction, but face new threats beyond park’s borders
- Since their reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park in the Mountain West of the United States in the 1990s, the North American gray wolf has recovered, once again taking up the mantle of a keystone species in its environment.
- But the wolf’s resurgence has raised the ire of ranchers and hunters, and new laws allowing expanded wolf hunts have sprung up across the region.
- Biologists contend that wolves play a critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and data suggest that the threat to overall livestock numbers is exaggerated.
- Still, an entrenched fear, perhaps dating to humans’ earliest interactions with wolves, has helped to stir up a desire for vengeance against the species.

Human disturbance is pitting wolverines against an unlikely competitor: Coyotes
- New research finds that when coyotes and wolverines come into contact, the rarer wolverines lose out.
- Human impacts, such as roads and fossil fuel infrastructure, are pushing both of these predators into closer contact, harming wolverine populations.
- Researchers suggest improving landscape management to take into account wolverines’ needs.

Lessons from panda conservation could help Asia’s other, overlooked, bears
- Asia is home to five bear species: giant pandas, Asian black bears, sun bears, sloth bears and brown bears.
- Giant pandas garner far more attention than the four other species, and this has paid off for the former: Millions of dollars are spent on its conservation every year, leading to an improvement in its conservation status in 2016.
- By contrast, the other species receive little funding, and conservation and monitoring efforts are limited even as populations dwindle.
- Experts say successful panda conservation efforts indicate that the other Asian bear species could also rebound — but that being charismatic helps.

Amid war, Ukrainians are tracking Russia’s crimes against the environment
- With civilian and political welfare as the Ukrainian government’s number one priority, environmental destruction has largely been overlooked during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- But civilians and experts alike have rallied together to record more than 100 separate instances of “crimes against the environment,” with the aim of bringing Russia to justice under international courts after the war.
- From the destruction of fuel and gas depots to the long-term effects of ecosystem services on Ukraine, known as the “breadbasket of the world,” environmental impacts can also become humanitarian crises, activists warn.

Climate crisis forecasts a fragile future for wildflowers and pollinators
- A first-of-its-kind experimental study has found that climate change reduces the abundance of wildflowers and causes them to produce less nectar and fewer and lighter seeds.
- These changes also impact pollinating insects visiting the flowers: they have to visit more flowers, more frequently, to gather the required food.
- Fewer flowers imply reduced reproductive fitness in plants, as well as fewer food resources for invertebrates that rely on these plants for food, habitat and shelter.
- Overall, climate change may disturb the composition of wildflower species and their pollinators, impacting agricultural crop yields, researchers say.

The ocean is a cacophony of fish talk, study shows. We just can’t hear it
- Advances in evolutionary understanding have given researchers a deeper appreciation of a very sonorous underwater world.
- From finding a mate to defending their territory, fish employ a variety of innovative mechanisms to produce sounds, like vibrating their swim bladders or snapping their tendons.
- Researcher Aaron Rice says fish are much more dependent on sound for communication than we realize, given that sound production has evolved independently several times.
- The findings mean marine noise pollution presents a big potential threat to the health of marine and freshwater ecosystems.

‘Studying a ghost’: In Cape Town, urban caracals give researchers lots to ponder
- Researchers have spent years trapping and tracking the elusive caracal on the edges of the South African city of Cape Town to better understand the needs of these wild cats.
- Urban caracals have adapted their behavior in a number of ways to survive on the margins of the city, including hunting more during the day.
- Although highly adaptable, urban caracals face many challenges, including ingesting rat poison.
- Researchers recommend more greenways to allow the animals to survive in these heavily modified environments.

Climate change set to upend global fishery agreements, study warns
- The warming of the world’s oceans by climate change is pushing fish away from their current habitats and toward Earth’s poles.
- By 2030, scientists predict a quarter of the global shared fish stocks could move, a new study says, with about three-quarters of countries seeing at least one fish species move out of their exclusive economic zone.
- Countries in the tropics, especially those in the Caribbean, Latin America, Oceania and South Asia, could experience the shifts earlier; and while some countries stand to benefit at the expense of others, these shared fish stock movements could upend current fisheries agreements, leading to disputes.
- To avert disputes, countries could renegotiate current catch quotas to factor in the effects of climate change-driven fish movements, the study authors say.

‘Prospect of existence’: Nameless grasshopper sparks taxonomic debate
- Researchers’ failed attempt to describe a new-to-science species of grasshopper based only on photographs has prompted a debate over established taxonomic convention.
- The grasshopper was photographed in northern Peru in 2008, and researchers from Croatia have since had their attempts to formally describe it rejected by journal after journal.
- In response to what they saw as an “arbitrary” process, the researchers wrote a paper on the challenges of describing a species from only photographs, arguing that conventions should change in an era of biodiversity loss.
- “If a living specimen is never found, it will remain a curiosity, suspended between existence and the prospect of existence,” said lead author Niko Kasalo.

New assessment finds dragonflies and damselflies in trouble worldwide
- A global assessment of more than 6,000 dragonfly and damselfly species shows that 16% are at risk of extinction.
- The main threats to these insects are the human destruction of their wetland habitats, water pollution, and climate change.
- There are more dragonfly and damselfly species than there are mammals, yet they remain so understudied that the assessment failed to come up with enough data to determine a conservation status for more than 1,700 species.
- Researchers say better protecting the world’s wetlands would not only save the thousands of dragonflies and damselflies, but innumerable other species too, and provide us with better water quality and more carbon sequestration.

A royal release: Cambodia returns 51 rare turtles to the wild
- Conservation authorities in Cambodia released 51 critically endangered southern river terrapins into the country’s Sre Ambel River last November.
- The program is part of wider efforts to bring back a species that was previously thought to be extinct in Cambodia.
- The terrapin, known locally as the royal turtle, was historically hunted as a delicacy, but is also threatened by habitat loss due to deforestation and sand dredging.
- The latest released batch of 31 females and 20 males have been tagged to keep track of their behavior in the wild.

Seeing the maligned urban rat in a new light: Q&A with Michael Parsons
- Despite tens of thousands of papers on lab rats, rat scholar Michael Parsons say we know next to nothing about their relatives that inhabit our cities: the urban, wild rat.
- Recent research shows that not only are rats clever, but they have a sense of justice and are sentient organisms.
- Parsons argues that rat issues in urban areas should be dealt with by cleaning up the city, instead of acting reactively and often cruelly.

If you think sharks are scary, blame Hollywood, new study suggests
- A study analyzing 109 shark-related films from 1958 to 2019 has found that 96% of them overtly portrayed sharks as potentially threatening to humans.
- “Finding Dory” was the only film in that list not to portray sharks in a negative light.
- The study’s co-author says this sustained negative portrayal by the media and Hollywood “makes people more likely to want potentially lethal mitigation techniques” against sharks.
- Humans slaughter more than 100 million sharks each year, and more than 30% of all shark and ray species are considered threatened.

Studies debunk ‘nature is healing’ narrative from 2020 lockdowns
- Several new studies have tried to tally up the costs and benefits to the environment as a result of lockdowns around the world last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- One study showed that emissions of indirect greenhouse gases like CO and NO2 decreased significantly, but one of its authors says this likely won’t have much of an impact over the long term.
- Another study debunks the media hype behind the “animals are reclaiming the cities” trend last year, attributing the increased sightings to the fact that people forced to stay at home finally had time to start noticing the wildlife around them.
- In India, researchers concluded there were more negatives than positives for the environment, including a surge in the use of plastic packaging and PPE, as people shopped online and masked up.

For sea snakes, underwater sex is a washout more often than not
- A sea snake’s senses of sight and smell are greatly diminished underwater, and the added challenge of trying to stay buoyant makes underwater mating no easy feat.
- A new study has identified several distinct features unique to adult male turtelheaded sea snakes thought to help improve their chances of coupling with a female underwater, most notably a high concentration of touch receptors in key spots along the body.
- A previous study found 20 of 31 male turtleheaded snakes lost contact with the female during courtship, often then attempting to mate with nearby objects such as a diver’s fin or sea cucumber.

Rising temperatures further threaten already endangered African wild dogs
- Researchers examined three populations of African wild dogs in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe to understand if high heat correlates with increased mortality.
- In two out of the three sites, there was a strong relationship between extreme temperatures and increased mortality, with intentional human killings, snare traps, road fatalities, and disease transmission from domesticated dogs responsible for 44% of the deaths.
- The researchers say high heat is pushing both wild dogs and pastoralists out of their typical grounds, creating a higher likelihood of human-wildlife conflict and mortalities for the dogs.

Building back Miami’s Biscayne Bay: Do natural solutions hold hope?
- A massive fish kill in August 2020 was a red flag that historically troubled Biscayne Bay in Miami had passed a biodiversity health tipping point.
- Years of scattered efforts and mixed results of various conservation actors working toward the bay’s recovery have begun to fade in favor of more collaborative, inclusive efforts.
- Scientists and citizens are now focusing their efforts on creative ways to restore biodiversity in Biscayne Bay.

In DRC, community ownership of forests helps guard the Grauer’s gorilla
- The Congolese government has officially recognized community ownership of a conservation area linking two national parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, giving hope for the survival of the Grauer’s gorilla, a critically endangered species.
- The gorilla, found only in DRC, faces threats from habitat loss, poaching for bushmeat, and the effects of lingering civil unrest in the region.
- The Nkuba Conservation Area is co-managed by local communities and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, with the latter providing jobs and training initiatives for women.
- The years-long effort to develop the conservation area and now to maintain it points to the importance of engaging local communities in conservation.

Naming of new ant species from Ecuador breaks with binary gender conventions
- The trap-jaw ant was named after the late artist and human rights activist Jeremy Ayers, a friend of study co-author Douglas Booher.
- When naming a species after an individual, scientific tradition has dictated ending the species name with an “i” for males or “ae” for females; Strumigenys ayersthey is the first species to break with this tradition.
- The ant is found in the Chocó region of Ecuador, a biologically rich and diverse coastal rainforest that is both understudied and under human threat due to mining, oil palm plantations, and logging.

Private investors look to high-end tourism to fund conservation in Mozambique
- Karingani Game Reserve is a 150,000-hectare (371,000-acre) private nature reserve being developed in southwestern Mozambique that intends to rehabilitate the landscape and boost wildlife populations inside its borders.
- Operators of Karingani say the reserve will finance itself by attracting high-end tourism and measures its progress through a novel set of conservation indicators.
- Attracting private capital into conservation projects has long been proposed as a way to cover shortfalls from public and philanthropic funding sources, with Karingani being a recent example of this approach.
- But local communities have complained in recent years that the land Karingani is being developed on was signed over to government officials under false pretenses, raising questions about power imbalances in the model.

From common to captive, Javan pied starlings succumb to songbird trade
- The Javan pied starling (Gracupica jalla) was once common across the Indonesian island of Java, but has now disappeared from the wild, thanks in large part to the songbird trade.
- A new study that chronicles the bird’s decline points to historically unsustainable rates of harvest of starlings from the wild, including fledglings.
- The study authors recommend captive breeding to reestablish genetic diversity in the species for eventual reintroduction of starlings into the wild.
- Keeping songbirds is a culturally ingrained pastime in Indonesia, with even the country’s president partaking, which activists say must be addressed with awareness building.

The secret bears of Bolivia’s lost dry forests
- Researchers have discovered a secret population of spectacled bears in a remnant, endangered forest in the highlands of Bolivia.
- The forest is one of the last surviving patches of the highly imperilled inter-Andean dry forest.
- While the spectacled bear population is small and has many threats, researchers say they hope to connect it with other populations.

Hantavirus study shows restoring forests can reduce zoonotic disease risk
- Brazilian scientists have found that transmission of hantavirus, a deadly infection, could be reduced by 45% if Brazil restores its Atlantic Forest to levels mandated by its Native Vegetation Protection Law.
- Hantavirus, spresd by contact with infected rodents, can become more prevalent across a landscape when forests are cleared and rodent populations increase.
- While the study’s simulations must be confirmed by field studies, this initial research shows that lowering zoonotic disease risk through forest restoration holds promise.

Time is running out for embattled Pacific leatherback sea turtles
- Marine biologists warn that the western Pacific leatherback could go extinct without immediate conservation measures and transnational cooperation.
- This subpopulation has decreased at a rate of 5.6% each year for an overall 80% decline over a 28-year period, according to a recent study.
- While the IUCN lists the species as a whole as vulnerable, the Pacific populations are critically endangered partly because of their long migratory routes through the high seas, where they face threats like drift gillnet fishing, ship strikes and pollution.
- The eastern Pacific subpopulation, which nests in Mexico and Central and South America, faces similar threats. Both populations are at high risk of extinction.

The U.S. reptile most at risk from rising seas is one you likely haven’t heard of
- The Florida reef gecko is the most vulnerable reptile to sea level rise in the U.S, according to biologists at the University of Miami.
- The Florida reef gecko is the only native gecko in the eastern United States and one of the few reptiles native to Florida, the state with the largest number of invasive species.
- Researchers have submitted a petition to the state of Florida to list the species as endangered or threatened, but its success may hinge on the question of whether the species is truly native to Florida.
- While climate change and habitat destruction remain imminent threats to the gecko’s Florida populations, little is known about the species as a whole, including other populations that inhabit the Caribbean.

Shark catastrophe points to failure to enact global biodiversity agreements
- A high-profile study published in Nature found a 70% decline in shark and ray populations over the last half century.
- Like many other taxonomic groups, shark and ray declines are driven by human actions — in this case, overfishing by commercial fisheries.
- Experts are calling for a retention ban by the EU to prevent the collapse of threatened shark populations.

Dying of curiosity: Why people shoot harpy eagles
- A recent study in the Journal of Raptor Research collected records of harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) persecution across Central and South America.
- They found 132 documented cases of people killing the birds in 11 of the 18 countries in the species’ range.
- Researchers say that curiosity and a desire to see the birds up close is a major reason that people shoot the birds, followed by fears that they may threaten livestock, hunting of the eagles for meat, and capturing them for the illegal wildlife trade.
- Conservationists have established programs trying to protect the birds in several countries across the harpy’s range, but these projects often suffer from a lack of funds.

In Japan, scientists look to the past to save the future of grasslands
- Ecologists in Japan recorded several rare and endangered plant species in old grasslands that are not present in younger ones, mirroring findings from other continents that highlight the rich biodiversity of these landscapes.
- Grasslands face growing threats from humans on a global scale, especially land use change like agriculture and urban growth.
- But some human interventions have had a beneficial effect on biodiversity conservation in Japan, such as the maintenance of ski runs, which provide a safe haven for many of the plant species and pollinators that keep grassland ecosystems healthy.
- The study’s lead author says declining interest in skiing among Japanese may threaten the existence of these ancient grasslands.

Here goes nothing: Male spiders found giving females silk-wrapped zilch
- Researchers describe how a South American spider species, Paradossenus longipes, uses silk-wrapped nuptial gifts in its courtship rituals.
- While other gift-wrapping spiders give potential mates edible prey or inedible leftovers, P. longipes surprised scientists by sometimes presenting females with empty gifts.
- The discovery of empty nuptial gifts in spiders raises questions about how the behavior evolved and the role it plays in sexual selection and mating success.

Wasting away: Sea urchins suffer deformities from plastic chemicals
- Chemicals found both in new plastics and those washed up on a U.K. beach caused deformities in sea urchin larvae, according to a new study in the journal Environmental Pollution.
- Sea urchin larvae raised in water tainted by chemicals found in plastics showed serious deformities; plastics that had never been chemically treated did not cause deformities.
- Chemicals are added to some plastics to enhance their properties, while plastics at sea can accumulate and concentrate chemicals already polluting the oceans.
- Researchers say more needs to be done to prevent plastics from reaching the ocean.

On a Philippine island, a tricky balancing act between development and water
- Philippine authorities are preparing to lift the protected wilderness area status of the Bantayan island group in the central Philippines.
- The status, imposed in 1981, limits the construction of buildings and infrastructure on the main island of Bantayan and 22 nearby islets, and prohibits residents from owning titles to the land.
- A long-running campaign by residents and business owners to have the protected status lifted to allow for development has culminated with authorities agreeing to open up the coastal areas for new development while retaining a core protected area inland of 540 hectares (1,334 acres).
- While most residents have welcomed the move, some say the area under protection should be expanded to safeguard the island group’s sole source of fresh water — the rain-fed aquifer on Bantayan — from contamination, saltwater intrusion, and blockage.

Threatened species caught in crossfire of ongoing land conflict in Myanmar
- Conflict over how best to protect the biodiversity of Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region may be contributing to the rapid loss of its forest cover.
- Habitats of globally threatened species, including the critically endangered Gurney’s pitta and recently discovered geckos, face destruction due to logging, agriculture and other human pressures.
- Researchers fear that entire species may be driven to extinction without ever being documented if habitats aren’t protected fast.

They outlived dinosaurs, but can glass sponge reefs survive man-made warming?
- A new study has found that warming ocean waters and increased acidification could weaken the skeletal structure of Canada’s iconic glass sponge reefs.
- The potential loss of glass sponge reefs, which were thought to have gone extinct 40 million years ago, would imperil the regionwide and distinct ecosystem, including potentially hundreds of fish species.
- Researchers say the Canadian government must take climate change more seriously or risk losing an ecosystem found nowhere else.

Keystone mammal plunges 87% in Mesoamerica
- White-lipped peccaries, the pig-like mammals that range from Mexico to Argentina, are in “precipitous decline” in their Mesoamerican range, according to a new study.
- Their numbers in this region may have dropped by as much as 90% over the past 40 years, sparking a push for a new conservation assessment.
- The main threat to the species is the destruction of its rainforest habitat, largely attributed to the expansion of agriculture and cattle pasture.
- Conservationists say the loss of peccaries will have significant ramifications for rainforest ecosystems, which the animals are important in shaping through seed dispersal, tree control, and creation of watering holes.

From New Guinea to Florida, one of these crocs is not like the others
- Scientists have described the newest crocodilian species known to science, the Hall’s New Guinea crocodile, previously considered a population of the already known New Guinea crocodile.
- The discovery was nearly 40 years in the making, sparked by the late herpetologist Philip Hall, who, in the 1980s, began questioning the differences between the southern and northern populations of crocodiles on the island of New Guinea.
- To describe the new species, named in honor of Hall, scientists studied and compared New Guinea crocodile skulls held at museums across the U.S.
- They also found some members of this new species hiding in plain sight: at an alligator farm in Florida that’s famous for having specimens of all known crocodilians.

For the Mediterranean, the Suez is a wormhole bringing in alien invaders
- An influx of Indo-Pacific species has invaded the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, changing the sea’s ecology and threatening the region’s fisheries.
- Climate change is amplifying the invasion by stressing endemic populations and creating new space for invasive species.
- Researchers say governments are not effectively managing impacts of the invasion on aquaculture, tourism, human health and endemic biodiversity. This includes Egypt, which manages the Suez Canal but is not currently acting to stem the invasion.
- Experts say what’s needed is collaboration by Mediterranean countries to develop and execute adequate management policy before the situation gets worse.

Photos of wild tiger cubs in Thailand rekindles hope for species
- A new scientific survey provides evidence of breeding tiger populations in eastern Thailand’s Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai forest complex, one of the last stands of the Indochinese population.
- The outcome is the result of a decade-long program to protect tigers in this area.
- Researchers deployed an unconventional survey design for this study, investigating the reliability of previous methods of estimating wildlife populations.

Costa Rica caterpillar decline spells trouble for ecosystems
- A new study in Scientific Reports suggests declines in caterpillar richness in a protected Costa Rican tropical rainforest, as well as in the parasite species that live off them.
- Researchers examined data from 1997 to 2018 to identify long-term patterns of extreme weather events and the impact these have on insect diversity.
- More than 40% of the 64 common caterpillar genera decreased, suggesting the decline of entire groups of caterpillars.

In Afghanistan, a new national park carries hopes for conservation and peace
- Afghanistan established its fifth national park last year, the massive Bamyan Plateau Protected Area.
- The site is home to the Persian leopard and ibex, and serves as a key breeding ground for the endemic Afghan snowfinch.
- Local inhabitants were crucial to developing the park and are set to have a voice in its management.
- In addition to conserving the landscape and its plants and wildlife, the protected area is expected to boost tourism and local livelihoods, and serve as a natural respite for a country weary of war.

Activists win reprieve, for now, for Dominican coastline eyed by developers
- A Spanish hotel developer plans to build a new resort on protected coastal land in the Dominican Republic.
- Opposition by environmentalists prompted the government to order a temporary halt to the project in February pending the outcome of an assessment due later in March.
- Environmentalists say they fear that allowing the resort development to go ahead in what was once part of Cotubanamá National Park could open the door to more developments along the pristine beachfront.
- With elections due in May, one of the presidential candidates has backed the opposition and called for the dismissal of the environment minister for permitting the project in the first place.

Study finds new population of rare deer — but in Brazil’s Arc of Deforestation
- Scientists have discovered new populations of Pampas deer in the savanna region along the southern edge of the Brazilian Amazon, hundreds of miles away from the species’ historical range.
- The findings illustrate the need for more detailed studies to assess the deer’s conservation status and that of other unrecorded species.
- While finding new populations is good news, it’s tempered by the fact that the largest of those groups is in an area known as Brazil’s Arc of Deforestation, where the land is fast being taken over for agriculture.

Scientists find never-before-seen baby of rare rabbit on WhatsApp
- Scientists got their first sight ever of a baby Sumatran striped rabbit when it was listed for sale on a WhatsApp group for wildlife traders.
- They say they fear the rabbit’s rarity could create an illegal collectors’ market for the species.
- Experts say national wildlife legislation needs to be brought up to date to combat cybercrime.
- Scientists agree that social media can also be a positive tool in the fight against illegal wildlife trafficking by raising awareness.

Sandpipers on an arduous migration now have a rest stop all their own
- The Rainforest Trust and the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand recently purchased 8 hectares (20 acres) of shoreland in the Gulf of Thailand to protect a vital stopover site for spoon-billed sandpipers (Calidris pygmaea).
- Spoon-billed sandpipers fly annually from Russia to parts of Southeast Asia and depend on sites like the salty coastal wetland of Pak Thale for survival.
- The species is critically endangered, with only about 240 to 456 adults globally.
- This stretch of shoreland along the Inner Gulf of Thailand is also an important migrating and wintering site for other waterbirds passing through Thailand.

Window tech could save billions of birds, and it’s already here
- Close to one billion birds in the United States die each year from collisions with windows on buildings.
- Last year, a 48-year study reported that the overall bird population in the U.S. has declined by roughly 30% since 1970 in the United States.
- A variety of methods to prevent bird collisions could reduce these numbers, including the use of ultraviolet signature coatings on glass.
- Combining this technology with sustainable window solutions that control interior light and heat may make it easier for building owners to adopt bird-friendly materials.

Mass tree planting along India’s Cauvery River has scientists worried
- A plan to plant 2.42 billion trees by the Isha Foundation along the Cauvery River has attracted the chagrin of some scientists.
- While scientists say the project is well-meaning, they don’t believe it will cure the Cauvery River’s ills as promised.
- The Isha Foundation has yet to announce a number of details of the project, including what tree species will be planted.
- India’s rivers are suffering from numerous issues, but researchers contend mass tree planting is too simplistic to fix them all.

‘Rediscovered’ after 100 years, Gurney’s pitta is in peril once again
- The last remaining habitat of the rare Gurney’s pitta in Myanmar is fast disappearing, a new study has found.
- Between 1999 and 2017, more than 80% of the bird’s habitat in Myanmar’s southern Tanintharyi region was lost, mostly due to clearance for oil palm plantations.
- The researchers also found no evidence of the bird’s presence in 101 of 142 local sites where it had previously been observed.
- The study calls for the IUCN to reclassify Gurney’s pitta as critically endangered.

From seeds to forests: How one man is growing Thailand’s future
- When Nopporn Nontapa couldn’t become a forestry official, he turned his passion for Thailand’s forests into a thriving online community.
- Nontapa’s community now gives away seedlings to people across the country, growing a new generation of trees in a country whose forests have been hammered by deforestation.
- Today, Nontapa teaches a course on forestry as well as continues to manage his community, nearly 40,000 strong.

Microplastics may be a macro problem for the U.S. Great Plains, too, study finds
- Though often thought of as chiefly a marine pollution issue, a new study has found microplastics in every freshwater body tested in Kansas.
- The results were published in a peer reviewed paper which was produced through an innovative collaboration between freshman students and their professor.
- As well as giving the students new insights into the issue of microplastics, writing and publishing the paper was a new perspective on the process of peer-review, one that often seems inaccessible to undergraduates.
- “When I saw my name on that fully written and polished paper, ready to get published, I was really proud to have been a part of it,” one of the undergraduate authors told Mongabay.

China’s wénwan drives a deadly mix-and-match of endangered wildlife
- A wide range of illegal wildlife products, from tiger claws to hornbill casques, are used to make baubles known as wénwan that are prized as status symbols among China’s burgeoning middle class.
- Domestic bans on the trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn have not slowed the growing and underregulated online market for wénwan products, with traders increasingly targeting other species to meet demand for exotic materials.
- Without understanding the dynamics of the wénwan trade, including the cultural aspect, government and NGO efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade risk remaining ineffective.

Conserving wildlife is key to tropical forests’ carbon storage, study finds
- A new study shows that a decrease in the fruit-eating animals that disperse tree seeds leads to a reduction in carbon storage in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.
- The complete defaunation, or loss of these species, from a forest can result in the area’s carbon storage capacity dropping by up to 3 percent.
- It was previously believed that the carbon deficit from defaunation in Southeast Asia’s tropical forests wouldn’t be as significant as in the Amazon or the Congo Basin, but the study suggests otherwise.
- Wildlife is being hammered in the region by overhunting and a massive snaring crisis for bushmeat, traditional medicine and the illegal pet trade, and conservationists have called for more action and enforcement to combat poaching.

Feral horses gallop to the rescue of butterflies in distress
- A new study suggests that returning feral horses to grasslands in Czech Republic could increase populations of some threatened butterfly species.
- The research shows that the horses’ grazing creates and maintains short grasslands that some butterfly species thrive in.
- The research points to the importance of considering the impacts of species introductions on the restoration of natural ecosystems.

Myanmar risks losing forests to oil palm, but there’s time to pivot
- The Myanmar government has to date handed out more than 400,000 hectares (nearly a million acres) of oil palm concessions to 44 companies, some of it overlapping with proposed national parks.
- But almost 60 percent of the concessions have not been developed, and remain either forested or occupied by non-rubber tree crops, a new study finds.
- The study’s authors say Myanmar could be headed down the same path as Indonesia and Malaysia, two other Southeast Asian countries that sacrificed large swaths of natural forest for oil palm plantations.
- Given the change from a military junta to a democratic government since the concessions were handed out, conservationists say there may an opening now for forest conservation policies.

Bouncing back: The recovery of the tenkile tree kangaroo
- The tenkile tree kangaroo population in Papua New Guinea’s Torricelli mountains has tripled since 1996 to more than 300 animals.
- The Tenkile Conservation Alliance has improved conditions for both the critically endangered species and the local communities.
- The tenkile is still imperiled by deforestation, illegal logging and climate change.

Climate change threatens some island conifers with extinction
- A quarter of 55 conifer species native to islands are likely to go extinct by 2070 due to climate change, researchers from Brown University write in a new study.
- The researchers looked at where these species are living and thriving outside their native climatic ranges, to study their climatic tolerance in a more comprehensive way.
- Island conifers are keystone species, playing a vital part in maintaining the ecosystem and ensuring the survival of other species that depend on them.
- If the conifers in an ecosystem go extinct, the entire nature and composition of species found in that place could change dramatically.

‘A green desert’: Mammals take a hit in Colombia’s oil palm plantations
- Researchers studying oil palm plantations in Colombia found that mammal diversity dropped compared to nearby savanna.
- Some mammals used plantations for hunting and foraging, but none stayed permanently.
- With the Colombian government’s pledge to drastically increase its cropland, scientists fear savannas and wetlands could be at threat.

Protected areas best conserve mammalian diversity when connected with corridors, biologged weasels show
- For protected area (PA) networks to be an effective conservation tool, they should be well-connected to allow species movement through unprotected landscapes, but questions remain on what configuration of natural features can best facilitate animal movement.
- A recent study compared three theories of animal movement (structurally intact corridors, least-cost paths, and stepping stones) by analyzing the fine-scale movements of GPS-tagged fishers, a member of the weasel family. They found the tagged fishers consistently moved along structurally intact, natural corridors across a PA network.
- With the Aichi 2020 Biodiversity Targets in mind, the authors highlight that simply increasing the number of protected areas alone may not achieve the objectives of the protected area network amidst an increasingly fragmented landscape; the conservation of natural corridors between PAs may be equally important, something for future planners to consider.

New species of giant flying squirrel brings hope to one of the world’s ‘most wanted’
- Scientists have discovered a new species of giant flying squirrel in China belonging to one of the world’s rarest and most mysterious genera.
- The first species in the genus, the Namdapha flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi), was described in 1981 and hasn’t been seen since.
- A second species, the Laotian giant flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus laoensis), was described in 2013, but also from just a single specimen.
- Researchers believe the conservation outlook for the new species, the Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus gaoligongensis), is better than for its relatives, given its greater abundance in the wild and prospects for community and government involvement to protect it.

Jumping the Shark: The Decline of the North Atlantic’s Shortfin Mako
- Conservation scientists have recommended a total fishing ban on shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) to allow the species’ population in the North Atlantic to recover from decades of overfishing.
- The shortfin mako has a slow breeding cycle, making overfishing particularly deletirious and recovery a slow process.
- A decision on whether to ban fishing of the species will be made in October by nations that are party to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), but past decision have often veered away from scientific recommendations.

‘Like spaghetti’: Worm-slurping, hopping rats discovered in the Philippines
- The highly biodiverse island of Luzon in the Philippines has yielded up two species of rats new to science.
- Both are found high up on Luzon’s mountains, where they’ve evolved to feed on the earthworms that abound in the lush, wet habitat.
- Researchers say they hope the new discoveries, the latest of dozens made here since 2000, will help shine a spotlight on the importance of conserving Luzon’s unique habitats and wildlife.

Asian elephant footprints serve as safe spaces for frog nurseries
- Researchers have discovered that Asian elephant footprints can create stable, safe breeding grounds for frogs in Myanmar.
- The scientists believe these stable foot ponds can last for more than a year, and that a series of them provides connectivity for frog populations.
- While the ecosystems services of African savanna and forest elephants have been widely studied, the scientists say more research should be spent on Asian elephants and how they impact their ecosystems.

Logging, mining companies lock eyes on a biodiverse island like no other
- Woodlark Island sits far off the coast of Papua New Guinea and is swathed in old growth forests home to animals found nowhere else on the planet. However, the island and its unique inhabitants have an uncertain future. Lured by high-value timber, a logging company is planning to clear 40 percent of Woodlark’s forests. Researchers say this could drive many species to extinction.
- The company says logging will be followed by the planting of tree and cocoa plantations, and it has submitted to the government a permit application to clear forests as an agricultural development project. However, an independent investigation found this application process “riddled with errors, inconsistencies and false information” and that the company did not properly obtain the consent of landowners who have lived on the island for generations.
- It is unclear if the application has been approved, but there are signs that the company may be moving forward with its plans.
- Meanwhile, a mining company is pushing forward with its own plans to develop an open-pit gold mine on the island. The mine is expected to result in increased road construction and discharge nearly 13 metric tons of mining waste into a nearby bay.

Secretive and colorful dryas monkey isn’t as rare as once thought
- In 2014, biologists discovered a population of critically endangered dryas monkeys (Cercopithecus dryas) living 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of their only known range in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Multi-level camera traps revealed that these stealthy monkeys are more common — and a lot weirder — than previously thought. They digest young leaves, snuggle up in impenetrable vine thickets, and sometimes boast an outrageous blue behind.
- In 2019, the IUCN downgraded their conservation status to endangered, and scientists are predicting a potentially positive future for the dryas.

Sponges supply DNA for new method of monitoring aquatic biodiversity
- Tracking environmental DNA (eDNA) is fast becoming a popular method of monitoring aquatic biodiversity, but current methods are expensive and cumbersome.
- Filter-feeding sponges can act as natural sieves to collect and concentrate eDNA from seawater.
- Using sponge samples collected from the Antarctic and the Mediterranean Sea, researchers identified 31 organisms, including fish, penguins, and seals, clearly separated by location.
- Although the method is still a proof of concept, it may lead to the development of simpler, less expensive technologies for aquatic eDNA collection.

Shift to renewable energy could have biodiversity cost, researchers caution
- Climate change has widely reported negative consequences, and innovations in renewable energy technologies are central to achieving the Paris climate treaty goals to mitigate these effects.
- A new report cautions that mining of metals used in manufacturing renewable technologies like wind turbines, solar power, and electric vehicles has costs, including for biodiversity.
- Negative effects from the mining of metals like aluminum, cobalt and rare earths could impact a range of creatures from flamingoes to gorillas, plants, and even deep sea creatures.
- Until widespread recycling and reuse of these materials becomes a feasible alternative to mining, these activities should be monitored and verified via certification schemes such as the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, researchers say.

Out on a limb: Unlikely collaboration boosts orangutans in Borneo
- Logging and hunting have decimated a population of Bornean orangutans in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park in Indonesia.
- Help has recently come from a pair of unlikely allies: an animal welfare group and a human health care nonprofit.
- Cross-disciplinary collaboration to meet the needs of ecosystems and humans is becoming an important tool for overcoming seemingly intractable obstacles in conservation.

‘You don’t find orchids; they find you’: Q&A with botanist Edicson Parra
- Edicson Parra has not only discovered more than 20 new species of orchids in his home country of Colombia, but has also used his expertise in orchid diversity to help halt development, road and mining projects that would have otherwise threatened their forest habitats.
- But studying orchids can be a dangerous challenge in Colombia, due to drug traffickers and threats to environmentalists in the country.
- Parra says orchids could be “one of the most sensitive of all Earth’s taxa.” Orchids are particularly vulnerable and fragile to deforestation, including edge effects, making protecting large tracts of forests key to their survival.

Tiny tracking tags help decode how echolocating bats navigate
- Although navigation in echolocating bats has been studied for a long time, questions remain on how bats differentiate among echoes from different objects.
- Researchers designed a small, lightweight tag that can capture movement and sound information in three dimensions to create a map of a bat’s sensory environment.
- The data helped researchers pinpoint the movements of bats during flight and while catching prey, as well as how echoes from various objects differ.
- One-third of bat species are threatened with extinction or lack basic ecological data, so such information can help scientists and wildlife managers understand bats’ foraging behavior and develop better measures for their conservation.

How climate change could throw Māori culture off-balance
- Māori culture is at risk due to predicted changes in the ranges of two culturally important native plants, kuta and kūmarahou.
- Under projected climate change models, traditional weavers will face a shortage of kuta, a grass-like sedge used for weaving, in their ancestral harvesting sites.
- Kūmarahou, a shrub used for medicinal purposes, will become more abundant, devaluing the plant as a form of cultural currency in Māori tradition.

Climate change may make hurricanes and cyclones deadlier, study finds
- New research suggests that tropical cyclones may become deadlier under climate change.
- According to simulated estimates of past storm mortality in Mexico, storm-related deaths are projected to increase under five out of six climate change models, in one case by as much as 52 percent.
- In one climate scenario, storm-related mortality may decrease if increases in storm severity are outweighed by storms becoming less frequent.
- Developing nations are especially vulnerable to cyclones exacerbated by climate change due to poverty and poor government coordination.

‘To save a forest you have to destroy a nicer one’: U.S. Marines target forest in Guam
- The U.S. Marine Corps is building a base on Guam that will destroy 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of limestone forest, habitat for numerous endangered species.
- As mitigation, the military is funding forest “enhancement” to remove invasive species from fenced zones and restore seed dispersal by native birds.
- The fence’s success depends on maintenance into perpetuity, but biologists on Guam question how long funding will really last.

‘Landscape of fearlessness’: bushbuck emboldened following top-predator decline in Mozambique
- Bushbuck in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park have become increasingly fearless in their foraging habits, changing from foraging exclusively in woodland areas to braving open floodplains.
- Following years of civil war, populations of large herbivores and carnivores in Gorongosa declined by over 90 percent, with some top predators completely extirpated.
- Researchers from Princeton University conducted experiments using state-of-the-art equipment to establish whether the bushbucks’ use of floodplains for foraging was due to the decline in predation threat.
- Following experimentally simulated predation events, bushbuck significantly increased their use of tree cover, indicating that the reintroduction of top predators would restore a ‘landscape of fear’.

All you need is human feces: The strange world of dung beetle sampling
- Dung beetles have emerged as one of the most intensively studied animal groups in tropical rainforests.
- They are very easy and cheap to survey and are strong indicators of the health of rainforests and the presence of diverse mammal communities.
- Dung beetles also carry out critical roles and functions in rainforests, including spreading seeds and nutrients, but some of these are unraveling as humans drive species to extinction.

Deforested habitats leave migratory birds ill-prepared for journey north
- Migratory birds are experiencing precipitous population declines due to land-use change in Central and South America.
- These birds rely on forested areas in their southern overwintering grounds for sustenance, but these have been widely replaced by less hospitable agricultural landscapes.
- Some vulnerable migratory birds use tropical hardwood plantations at the same rate as forests, making these for-profit agricultural lands an attractive prospect for conservation, especially in contrast with poorer habitats like cattle pasture.
- Agroforestry solutions, such as the retention of tall trees, can also provide habitat for at-risk species like the golden-winged warbler while providing ecosystem services to farmers.

Solving the mystery of the UK’s vanishing hen harriers
- The numbers of breeding hen harriers, one of England’s rarest birds and a protected species, dropped sharply in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
- To better understand why hen harriers were vanishing, researchers tracked the movements of 58 birds using satellite-based tags in conjunction with remote sensing land management data.
- Birds with tags that stopped transmitting spent their last week of life predominantly on moors where hunters shoot grouse and were 10 times more likely to disappear or die when grouse moors dominated their ranges, suggesting they were killed.
- The findings indicated that 72 percent of the tagged harriers were either confirmed or considered very likely to have been illegally killed.

Dust and blood: Climate-induced conflict fuels migration, study finds
- The Arab Spring, was largely political in nature, and fueled an exodus of migrants from across the swath of affected countries into Europe. Now, a study published in Global Environmental Change finds evidence that a changing climate was also a factor.
- The researchers hypothesized that abnormal and extreme climate events worsen conflicts, which in turn lead to migration.
- They say their results add evidence to the intensely debated narrative that links drought, at least in part, to the political unrest of the Arab Spring and subsequent Syrian civil war.

Fishery on the brink: The fight to save the Nassau grouper
- The Nassau grouper, a commercially valuable reef fish found in the Caribbean, is now listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.
- Nassau groupers migrate yearly to breed at massive gatherings known as spawning aggregations, where they are an easy target for fishers.
- Fisheries management officials say they often lack the resources to enforce fishing regulations, leaving the Nassau grouper’s spawning aggregations vulnerable to illegal harvest in Belize and throughout the region.

Ascension, the Atlantic ‘Galápagos,’ to get massive marine reserve
- The British government has announced the creation of a fully protected “no-take” marine protected area (MPA) in the waters around Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
- The MPA will cover 443,000 square kilometers (171,000 square miles), making it one of the largest MPAs in the Atlantic.
- The British government has joined calls for the protection of 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030.

Tear down the dams: New coalition strives to enshrine rights of orcas
- A new coalition of scientists, indigenous peoples, community groups and lawyers is pushing for legal recognition of the rights of an endangered orca population living in the Salish Sea.
- The population, known as the Southern Resident Killer Whales, numbers just 75 individuals, down from 98 in 1995.
- The orcas are imperiled by noise and chemical pollution, the impending construction of Canada’s Trans-Mountain pipeline, and, most of all, severe salmon shortages caused by the damming of the rivers that feed into the sea.

Genetic test reveals Baltic flounder migration routes and a new species
- Look-alike flounders in the Gulf of Finland are not one but two different species, and the predominant species about thirty years ago has now almost completely disappeared from there.
- Using flounder inner ear samples collected over the last 40 years, researchers used a genetic test to map the distribution of the two species over time.
- The disappearance of one species in the early ‘90s coincided with environmental change in the central Baltic Sea, the spawning grounds from where larvae or juveniles are thought to migrate to more northern waters off the Finnish coast.
- Real-time monitoring of catch data using the genetic test may help target individual conservation efforts for the two species.

Something smells fishy: Scientists uncover illegal fishing using shark tracking devices
- Sharks become unlikely detectives as marine ecologists discover a link between their acoustic telemetry data and the presence of illegal fishing vessels.
- Researchers acoustically tagged 95 silvertip and grey reef sharks to assess whether the creation of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Marine Protected Area was helping to protect these species.
- Detailed in a recently released paper, the almost simultaneous loss of 15 acoustic tags coincided with the capture of two illegal fishing vessels, arrested for having 359 sharks on board.
- While helping to map sharks’ movements around the reef, scientists expect that they will be able to use data collected from the acoustic tags to predict the presence of illegal fishing vessels.

New map shows every forest matters in helping save the Javan leopard
- A new study outlines where Javan leopards live – and where suitable habitat remains on the densely inhabited island.
- National parks remain the most stable habitat for the critically endangered species, but the study finds that half its potential habitat is in unprotected areas.
- Partnering with companies and local people is necessary to keep Java’s last big cat from going extinct.

Grasshoppers: They come, they eat, they … pollinate?
- A new paper describes 41 species of orthopterans — grasshoppers, crickets and katydids — visiting flowers, making them potential pollinators.
- More research is needed to understand what role these insects, often viewed as crop destroyers, play in pollination.
- Insects worldwide are in crisis due to pesticide use, loss of habitat and climate change.

Tool innovation shows cultural evolution at work among chimpanzees
- Chimpanzees in the wild have long been known to use a balled-up wad of leaves as a sponge to soak up water to drink.
- In 2011, researchers in Uganda observed chimps using a fistful of moss instead of leaves — and noted that the practice of “moss-sponging” was spreading throughout the chimp community.
- The sudden emergence and then rapid spread of this new tool leads researchers to believe that chimpanzees are capable of cultural evolution.
- Deforestation and hunting threaten chimpanzees with extinction, and may make it more difficult for cultural innovations to spread.

For conservationists, crowdfunding sites raise both funds and awareness
- A new study analyzes the use of online crowdfunding platforms for conservation efforts across the globe.
- Low-income countries are benefiting from supplementary funds for the conservation of biodiversity as a result of crowdfunding efforts thousands of miles away.
- As with traditional sources of conservation funding, however, much of the capital raised through crowdfunding goes toward a handful of “charismatic” species, including elephants and wolves.

‘Ecosystem guardians’ remain passionate despite dicey conditions
- A recent investigation conducted by several conservation groups has found that working conditions for wildlife rangers in Central America are difficult and in some cases dangerous.
- Most of the rangers surveyed reported facing life-threatening situations during the course of their duties.
- However, these ‘ecosystem guardians’ also remain passionate about their role in protecting Central America’s natural treasures.

‘No one is helping us’: Venezuelan conservation crippled by crisis
- Many conservationists have fled Venezuela since an economic crisis began in 2014.
- Those who have chosen to remain behind complain of a lack of funding and resources, and say they feel abandoned by the international community.
- Despite incredible difficulties, some conservationists are still able to take action, including rediscovering a long-lost bird.

Are deep sea reefs really a lifeboat for our vanishing corals?
- Mesophotic reefs are little-known ecosystems that range from 30 to 150 meters (100 to 500 feet) below the ocean’s surface.
- A new study has cast doubt on the extent to which mesophotic reefs may be a refuge for shallower species hit by overfishing, warming waters and extreme weather.
- It finds that mesophotic reefs are just as vulnerable as shallower reefs to warming seas and ocean acidification — both impacts of climate change — and storm damage.
- Climate change remains the gravest threat to coral ecosystems, both shallow and mesophotic.

Can we buy our way out of the sixth extinction?
- A new study finds that conservation spending has lessened the environmental impacts of ongoing development around the world.
- The researchers developed a model that any policymaker can use to see how much money is required to offset the environmental damage done by development, population growth and economic growth.
- However, some researchers believe the relentless focus on economic expansion could hurt our efforts to achieve sustainability in the long term.

Loss of forest elephant may make Earth ‘less inhabitable for humans’
- A new review paper finds that the loss of Africa’s forest elephants has broad impacts on their ecosystems, including hitting several tall tree species, which play a key role in sequestering carbon dioxide.
- Forest elephants disperse large seeds, keep the forest canopy open, and spread rare nutrients across the forest, benefiting numerous species across the African tropics.
- While the IUCN currently defines African elephants as a single species, scientists believe it long past time to split them into two distinct species, savanna and forest, to bolster protection for both from the ivory trade.

The secret life of the southern naked-tailed armadillo
- The southern naked-tailed armadillo spends 99.25 percent of its time underground. If by chance you locate one above ground, it can dig away in a matter of seconds.
- The air of mystery surrounding this species led Desbiez and his team to seek out any information they could about its day-to-day activities and its natural history in Brazil’s Pantanal region.
- Unlike other species that Desbiez studies, such as the giant armadillo and the giant anteater, the southern naked-tailed armadillo is rated as being of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Madagascar: Where young whale sharks party
- Whale sharks don’t need help being spectacular. The world’s biggest fish is impressive in nearly every aspect, growing as long as 12 meters (40 feet) and weighing up to 21 tons.
- A new study in the journal Endangered Species Research used photo-identification techniques based on the sharks’ distinctive spots to discover a new hotspot for juvenile whale sharks around the tiny island of Nosy Be, in northwest Madagascar.
- This is a rare bit of good news for a species that, like many other sharks, is struggling to survive in oceans increasingly subject to the negative impacts of human activity.

‘Not doing anything is no longer acceptable’: Q&A with Alice Thomas, climate refugee expert
- Mongabay spoke with Alice Thomas, an expert on climate refugees, about the growing impact of climate change on the refugee crisis worldwide.
- To date, no one has been able to claim asylum due to climate change because the official definition of a refugee does not allow for climate-induced migration.
- One of the least-understood aspects of climate migration, however, is that most migrants won’t be leaving their country, but will be moving within their national borders.
- Smarter, better policies could not only mitigate such migrations, but allow communities to adapt to ongoing changes due to climate change, Thomas says.

Madagascar’s native fauna defenseless against toxic invasive toads
- Toxic Asian common toads (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) have spread rapidly around the port city of Toamasina on Madagascar’s east coast, raising concerns that the invasive amphibians could take a severe toll on the island’s unique wildlife species.
- A recent paper vindicates those concerns: through a genetic analysis of 77 endemic species, scientists found that just one demonstrated clear resistance to toad toxins.
- A separate estimate published last month suggests there are now over 7 million Asian common toads in Madagascar. Reports suggest they arrived accidentally with mine construction equipment prior to 2010.

The plastic crisis sinks to a new low in the deep sea
- Plastic water bottles and snack-food packaging can be found in the deepest parts of the oceans, a new study has found.
- By poring over the three decades of deep-sea videos, researchers have found that fragments of plastic made up one-third of the debris, of which, 89 percent were single-use items such as plastic bags and water bottles.
- However, how all that plastic reaches the deep sea and affects deep sea creatures is still unclear.

Citigroup limits financing for mines that dump tailings at sea
- Following pressure from advocates, Citigroup said last month that it will not fund any future mining projects over $50 million that dispose of mine waste in the oceans.
- Tailings, a fine-grained, often toxic slurry left over after the processing of mined ore, are still disposed of in oceans, lakes and rivers in several countries.
- Mines in Papua New Guinea, Norway and Chile are proposing to dispose of tailings in the ocean.
- Local communities are often most affected by pollution from mines and have vocally opposed tailings disposal in the ocean in Norway and Papua New Guinea.

‘I’m only going to eat animals I kill myself’: Q&A with Louise Gray, author of ‘The Ethical Carnivore’
- Mongabay recently talked with Gray about her unusual year, the paradox of being a hunter who cares about animal welfare, and her new adventures in service to the humble vegetable.
- Can we be sure that as we wipe the plate after seared scallops we are not wiping the ocean floor of its plants and corals? What sleight of hand really distinguishes humane from cruel? And how much deforested land does it take to make a steak?
- These are some of the questions that Louise Gray set out to answer in her 2016 book “The Ethical Carnivore: My Year Killing to Eat.”

Rangers face a ‘toxic mix’ of mental strain and lack of support
- Wildlife rangers are facing numerous psychological pressures leading to potentially serious mental health implications.
- Rangers tackling wildlife crime and defending natural habitats in parts of Africa and Asia are frequently subjected to violent confrontations inside and outside their work.
- Many rangers see their families as little as once a year, causing immense stress to personal relationships.
- There is currently very little awareness of the mental strain placed on rangers, and a dearth of research into the potential mental health issues they face.

African vultures under the gun as lead ammunition takes a toll
- Fragments of lead ammunition in abandoned animal carcasses may be poisoning Africa’s vultures, a new study has found.
- Researchers found elevated blood lead levels among vultures in hunting areas and during hunting season in Botswana.
- This study adds to the growing evidence from around the world that identifies lead ammunition as a problem for a number of bird species.
- South African hunters are sympathetic to vultures but oppose a total ban on lead ammunition, citing the cost and availability of lead-free alternatives.

India’s foxes and monkeys are dumpster diving and eating food scraps
- In Spiti Valley in northern India, red foxes can be seen rummaging through kitchen waste. Such dumpster diving could potentially bring wild animals in close proximity to humans and increase conflict, researchers say.
- Increasing reliance of wild animals on food waste could affect other ecological processes.
- In the state of West Bengal, for example, some troops of rhesus macaques spend most of their time “begging or chasing” tourists for food. These troops, unlike the forest-dwelling ones, contribute very little to the dispersal of seeds, researchers have found.

Better than bottled: How a Dutch company uses bison to maintain pure drinking water
- Water companies in the Netherlands have introduced bison and other large grazers to the dunelands from which they draw water to serve more than 4 million customers.
- The grazers keep tree and shrub growth in check and allow the dune ecosystem, home to 50 percent of the country’s biodiversity, to reach optimal ecological health.
- The reintroduction of the bison, which has been extinct in the Netherlands for thousands of years, also gives conservationists new insights into the management of the iconic species outside of forests.

In the Canary Islands, a good seed disperser is hard to find
- Researchers have found that the bigger lizards of the Canary Islands are better seed dispersers than smaller ones.
- But habitat loss and invasive species have threatened the islands’ lizards, with large specimens increasingly hard to come by.
- Successive generations of lizards are getting smaller in size, making scientists fear for native plants’ survival.

India: This draft national forest policy too gives short shrift to grasslands
- The Draft National Forest Policy 2018, which is open for public comments till April 14, has initiated discussions and debates across the country.
- If this draft becomes policy, it will replace the National Forest Policy of 1988. Both the versions give importance to increasing forest and tree cover in the country.
- Experts rue that this draft also misses the opportunity to give importance to grasslands that are home to much biological diversity and support important ecosystem services.

Keeping carbon in the ground can cut emissions and boost food security, study finds
- A new paper finds that a carbon tax meant to shift agricultural policies could raise food prices and threaten food security.
- However, improvements in storing carbon in the world’s soils could lessen the potential for worsening food security.
- The researchers suggest a globally coordinated effort on climate-friendly agriculture and land use would likely result in the best outcome for all.

For climate action to take hold, activists need more than just polar bears
- A new study finds that people who do not have “biospheric concerns” are unconvinced by climate change arguments that hinge on such avatars as polar bears, coral reefs and pikas.
- Researchers suggest policymakers, activists and the media must choose stories that hit closer to home, by focusing on the more personal impacts of climate change.
- Scientists would also like to see more research on how to convince people who are largely concerned with their own narrow interests that climate change, and nature in general, matters.

Climate change imperils tiny animal in the world’s most extreme continent
- Soil researchers have found that a microscopic nematode is vanishing from Antarctica’s Dry Valleys — and they believe it’s because of climate change.
- Scottnema lindsayae thrives in super-arid landscapes where little else can make it, but melting ice makes for a wetter environment that’s unsuitable for this soil dweller and allows its competitors to flourish.
- Researchers are also concerned that as Antarctica warms, it will become increasingly vulnerable to invasive species.

Easter Island votes for world’s newest marine reserve
- The Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area encompasses 740,000 square kilometers (286,000 square miles) of Pacific Ocean surrounding Easter Island, or Rapa Nui. The reserve was approved by a 73 percent majority in a September 2017 referendum of islanders.
- The MPA is intended to eliminate the pressures of commercial fishing and mining on the unique and isolated ecosystem of Rapa Nui. Supporters of the project cite public support and participation as an encouraging sign of the reserve’s long-term potential.
- The Rapa Nui people and government of Chile are currently planning how the reserve will be enforced and monitored, prior to the official signing ceremony on February 27. Many in and outside Rapa Nui believe the reserve will aid relations between the island and the mainland, although there is lingering distrust among some islanders toward Chile.

Queen conch dying out in the Bahamas despite marine parks
- There has been a major decline in the population of protected queen conchs in the Bahamas’ Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park over the last 20 years.
- The most recent survey found predominantly older queen conchs, with a shortage of juveniles to replace them.
- Researchers believe overfishing in upstream areas has depleted the park’s larval supply. Increased predator density within the park may also be a problem for juveniles.
- Queen conch fisheries outside protected areas in the Bahamas are experiencing intense fishing pressure and are near collapse.

Webs under water: The really bizarre lives of intertidal spiders
- Scientists have discovered a 15th species of intertidal spider, a family of unusual arachnids that live in coastal habitats that are submerged during high tides.
- The newest species, named after singer Bob Marley, was discovered living on brain coral off the Australian coast.
- Scientists know that some species create air pockets with their hairs, while others build waterproof webs, but little is known about most of these fascinating spiders.
- Intertidal spiders face a number of threats, including rising sea levels due to climate change, and pollution.

Demand for sand leads to global ecological crisis
- Demand for sand has risen rapidly in recent decades, leading to overexploitation in some areas. The resource is particularly vulnerable to illegal mining given its seeming abundance.
- Extraction of sand can make local communities more vulnerable to storm surges, destroy wildlife habitat and agricultural land, and lead to a loss of groundwater resources.
- Scientists recommend developing a global sand budget and enforcing local laws to protect people and ecosystems from overexploitation of this resource.

A tale of two otters: settling in Singapore, suffering in China
- New research shows a massive decline in China’s otter populations, including the possible local extinction of the smooth-coated otter.
- But otters have recolonized Singapore, even appearing near the city center due to the island-nation’s campaign to clean up its rivers.
- If China can successfully tackle fur trading and rampant river pollution, could otters one day make a comeback there?

Meet the winners of Mongabay’s best intern articles awards
- Hosting over 50 interns to date, Mongabay’s Environmental Journalism Internship program has gained and nurtured many talented writers from around the world.
- To highlight and reward our interns’ outstanding work, we have offered another end-of-the-year article award.
- Mongabay will start accepting applications for the upcoming six-month summer term in April 2018.

Do catch and release-induced abortions harm shark and ray populations?
- Female sharks and rays are more susceptible to aborting their young after being captured than previously realized, according to a recent review of scientific literature.
- The review found that 88 species that bear live young were susceptible. Among a subset of those species for which adequate data was available, researchers estimated that an average of 24 percent of pregnant females abort their offspring when captured.
- The authors argue that the phenomenon may be responsible for lost generations of threatened species.
- However, outside researchers consulted for this story say that the killing of adult sharks poses a much bigger threat to species survival.

No more elephants? Poaching crisis takes its toll in the Central African Republic
- An aerial survey last year found that elephants might be locally extinct in northern Central African Republic.
- The survey also showed that the poaching crisis had taken a considerable toll on many other large mammals, including giraffe, African buffalo and the giant eland.
- A park in eastern CAR shows that threats to wildlife can be tackled, but security is required first and foremost.

eBay is outselling the darknet in the illegal wildlife trade, fret researchers
- Repeated searches of markets on the dark web have found negligible trace of illegal wildlife products.
- This news is troubling, conservationists say, because it suggests that traders are content to sell wildlife products on mainstream websites like eBay, where they rely on the sheer volume of transactions and lack of regulation to mask their activity.
- Regulating the wildlife trade on sites like eBay can be complex because the legality of sales is difficult to establish.
- Machine learning — developing computer systems capable of monitoring and policing online transactions — holds promise for enforcement on the surface web, but is currently hampered by online market operators’ failure to engage with the issue.

Acidifying oceans a bad trip for marine ecosystems
- A new study is one of the few to investigate what ocean acidification might do to fish communities, by studying CO2-producing vents as proxies for elevated carbon environments.
- Researchers found that common fish benefited from acidified environments while rarer fish disappeared.
- The research has long-reaching implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functionality as the oceans acidify from absorbing the CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere.

Farming and forest loss: study exposes malaria’s best friends
- The study compared the rates of forest loss and malaria prevalence across 67 countries, revealing a positive association between deforestation and malaria transmission.
- Researchers also considered the socio-economic context behind the environmental trends, highlighting that poverty and poor public health promoted malaria vulnerability while deforestation was driven by large rural populations.
- Researchers recommend focusing measures to prevent malaria in areas where deforestation is severe, practicing more tree-friendly agriculture.

Is Bangladesh’s expanded sanctuary a brave step or a paper tiger?
- The government’s decision increases the proportion of the Bangladesh Sundarbans that is off-limits to people from 23 to 52 percent, although pollution from a proposed coal power plant nearby would be an ongoing risk.
- Locals living near the forest have minimized the number of tigers killed in conflict with humans by forming response teams that ward tigers away from villages.
- Policy tailored to addressing the myriad reasons for tiger killing would have even more success in reversing the decline of the Bengal tiger, research suggests.

Curiosity saves the cat: Tourism helps reinvent the jaguar
- Retaliatory killings of jaguar by cattle ranchers currently threaten the recovery of the species and the long-term viability of tour operators dependent on their presence.
- A recent study found that the value of jaguars to tourism (US$6,827,392) was far in excess of the cost to ranchers from depredation of their cattle (US$121,500).
- Tourists were overwhelmingly receptive to the idea of donating to a compensation fund for ranchers that live harmoniously with jaguars.

Keeping lions at bay to keep them going
- Conflict between local pastoralists and lions remains a tricky problem in lion conservation, but reinforcing traditional fencing structures called “bomas” may provide a cost-effective solution.
- A study found adding chain-link fences to bomas cut livestock losses to top predators by 75 percent, according to the research.
- When looking at cost, partially reinforced bomas – as opposed to fully reinforced – was actually a more cost-effective solution to the persistent problem of livestock loss in Kenya.

A global view from a mountain town: how conservation became ingrained in Monteverde
- Beginning with Quakers arriving in the 1950s, Monteverde has become a distinct community in Central America.
- In 1972, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve was established, securing a home for many rare species.
- Today, many locals take conservation as a way of life, from organic farming to scientific endeavors to mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Massive highway planned for Philippines’ Palawan Island
- A plan to enlarge a two-lane highway into six prompts skepticism among locals.
- Experts say highway plans would endanger Palawan’s fragile forests, coral reefs and unique species.
- Observers believe corruption, not necessity, is behind the plan.

The “dolphin who became man”: will the boto survive the catfish trade?
- Fernando Trujillo has spent more than 30 years studying the Amazon’s elusive river dolphin, under threat by the fishing trade.
- Twelve years ago, locals started killing river dolphins to attract a lucrative fish to the carcasses, causing the animals to become endangered.
- A new film, A River Below, explores the story of the river dolphin and how it relates to the larger tale of the millions of people who call the Amazon home.

How effective are wildlife corridors like Singapore’s Eco-Link?
- Man-made wildlife corridors are becoming a popular policy tool to create connectivity between natural areas for animals – but how well are they working?
- Early data suggests the Eco-Link@BKE has helped some species, including the critically endangered Sunda pangolin.
- More research is needed to understand which species benefit from eco corridors and why.

Mothers vs. loggers: the destruction of Białowieża Forest splits Poland
- A bark beetle outbreak has led Polish officials to begin large-scale logging across old-growth Białowieża Forest, home to bison, wolves and a rich cultural history.
- The logging is opposed by everyone from scientists to the UN to the European Commission to a group of mothers concerned about the world their children will inherit.
- The European Commission has recently declared that all logging should cease.

Empowering communities fighting new mines: an interview with filmmaker Jessie Landerman
- Local communities often suffer from environmental degradation and human rights abuses when mining companies move into their territories.
- A new series of videos shows local communities that they are not alone by sharing stories of how other communities have combatted, with some success, mining giants.
- The organization is screening the films for various impacted communities worldwide.

Fighting climate change with compassion, one letter at a time
- DearTomorrow cofounders hope to inspire climate action today by having people write letters their children will open in 2050.
- The initiative seeks to make climate change more pressing by imagining what the world will be like in three decades.
- Anyone can write a letter – and Kubit and Shrum have made sure their program accepts people with different political, religious or cultural beliefs.

Kiribati confronts climate upheaval by preparing for ‘migration with dignity’
- Climate change impacts and overpopulation are pushing Kiribati citizens to plan for a potential future migration en-masse.
- Still, many I-Kiribati fear losing cultural identity in the projected exodus of their people to higher land.
- To make the transition easier, some Kiribati citizens are receiving vocational training to qualify them for employment abroad.

Protecting fish and fishers: Economists say catch shares work
- New research points to the efficacy of catch share programs in the U.S. by halting the ‘race to fish’.
- According to the study, catch share programs extend fishing seasons significantly, benefitting fish populations and species impacted by bycatch.
- However catch shares remain controversial at the policy level because they can lead to consolidation of the fishing industry, though some programs are working on mitigating this by barring corporations from participating.

A dangerous path: New highway could jeopardize tigers in India
- Conservationists have witnessed several unsettling deaths of tigers in Corbett National Park recently, one of India’s most important tiger parks.
- The state government of Uttarakhand, however, is moving forward on a plan to upgrade a road through the park into a full, public highway leading to alarm among tiger conservationists.
- Officials are currently discussing turning portions of the highway into a flyover, allowing wildlife to pass underneath, but even this would only mitigate the impact.

Whale entanglements skyrocket off the U.S. West Coast
- Whale entanglements are rising, leading to concerns that current regulations are inadequate.
- The most commonly entangled whale is the humpback.
- California’s Dungeness crab fishery is responsible for a third of last year’s whale entanglements.

‘The ones we named are all dead now’: dolphins and fishers struggle to survive in Myanmar
- Irrawaddy dolphins and traditional fishermen hunt cooperatively along the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar.
- Electro-fishermen are threatening this tradition by illegally overfishing the river.
- The government of Myanmar and the Wildlife Conservation Society have responded by working together to implement ecotourism programs and conservation policies.

Why not both? Rainforest diversity stems from two seemingly irreconcilable processes
- Scientists have long been puzzled by the immense diversity of tropical rainforests, but a new study finds that both light and height are key to plant diversity.
- Diversity in the tropics isn’t just about light-loving species versus shade-tolerant ones, but also about how tall plants are when they hit maturity.
- Research supports both niche theory and unified neutral theory, but with some twists.

Reef Market Economy: Energetics key to keeping fish in the sea and the store
- Many coral reefs have lost their top predators due to overfishing, changing the structure of their food chains.
- Researchers have found that when top predators are overfished, medium-sized predators benefit, but to the overall detriment of the ecosystem.
- Local communities worldwide depend on coral reef fisheries for income and easily accessible protein, but better management is needed for these fisheries to last.

Lizard DNA reveals India’s grasslands are likely pre-human – and need protection
- Researchers have described 5 species of lacertid lizards in the genus Ophisops in India’s tropical grasslands, but recent genetic research shows there may be at least 30 species.
- Tropical grasslands have been largely ignored by the Indian government, according to researchers, and are hugely threatened by conversion to agriculture.
- Recognizing tropical grasslands as pre-human, natural ecosystems with rich biodiversity and endemic species may be the first step to better protection.

‘Who wants to go for holiday to see large clear-cuts?’: Slovakia turns against its national parks
- Conservationists slam the Slovakian government for mismanaging its most known national park, Tatra National Park, home to capercaillie and a number of other charismatic species.
- The IUCN is currently mulling downgrading Tatra National Park’s status due to logging, hunting, and overdevelopment without environmental safeguards.
- If that downgrade passes, it could have an impact on tourism to Tatra National Park – as its wildlife populations decline and its forests vanish.

Government action needed on climate resiliency and food security in West Africa
- Increased extreme weather due to climate change and rising population could imperil West Africa’s food sources.
- Short-term planning and actions by non-state actors would do the least to combat hunger and climate impacts in the region.
- Burkina Faso and Ghana are already employing the study’s findings in their policies.

Microalgae genes help them adapt to harsh oceans, other species less lucky
- Researchers have long wondered how microalgae manage to survive in polar seas, where conditions are extreme and change rapidly.
- New research looking at the DNA of a diatom finds that the species likely evolved with the ability to quickly change which genes are expressed making it ready for anything.
- This research hints that diatoms may be able to adapt to climate change – but that doesn’t mean other vital species, such as krill, have the capacity to do the same.

Burning wood: Can the EU see the forest for the trees?
- A new report argues that forests need more protection from the biomass industry in the EU, which is deforesting the American south to produce energy abroad.
- EU policy considers burning woody biomass as carbon neutral, even though other countries and many scientists say that doesn’t add up.
- Demand for wood pellets in the EU is growing: last year, the UK imported 8 million tons. This demand is leading to high quality wood – not waste – being burned.

Methane mystery: fossil fuels spewing less methane, but gas continues to accumulate
- Methane levels are on the rise again after a decade-long slowdown, but scientists still don’t know why.
- New research provides a ‘top down’ estimate of methane emissions due to fossil fuels, yielding a more rigorous look at how much methane the industry is responsible for.
- Improved monitoring technology can be used to get a more accurate reading of each nation’s methane emissions – and may be able to solve the mystery of the missing methane.

Crabbing gone commercial: Brazilian mangroves threatened by shift in local traditions
- A new method of crabbing is bringing indigenous people a larger catch, but requires cutting mangroves and killing crabs indiscriminately.
- Crabbers’ dependence on intermediaries is complicating the crabbing business by shackling them to informal loans and pressuring them to achieve greater harvests.
- A researcher recommends further research to gauge the sustainability of new crabbing techniques for the mangroves and the local’s livelihoods.

As forests disappear, human-elephant conflict escalates in Nepal
- Asian elephants are responsible for destroying crops, buildings, and even injuring or killing local people in Nepal.
- A new study argues that Nepal’s government has not done enough to help villages in elephant areas.
- Researchers measured the willingness-to-pay of villagers in offsetting elephant damage.

The meat hook: satiating Asia’s demand for beef
- Traditionally, beef was never a favored meat across much of Asia, but rising incomes and changing cultures are dramatically increasing beef demand on the continent.
- Increased beef demand in China is bumping up imports from Brazil, leading to a new boom in local beef production.
- Given the massive climate impact of beef production, some Asian nations are trying to dissuade beef consumption but the results, if any, remain to be seen.

Murky future for freshwater fish in the Amazon floodplains
- An extreme drought in 2005 decreased many freshwater fish species abundance in areas like Lago Catalão, and many haven’t recovered yet.
- Drought overturned the ecology of the lake over time – big fish populations declined while little fish boomed.
- The shift has direct impacts on diets in the region since many local people depend on fish for protein, meaning that climate change is already influencing food reserves here.

From CEO to Conservation Legend: An Interview with Kristine Tompkins
- In addition to protecting habitat, Tompkins and her team are reintroducing megafauna – from giant anteaters to jaguars – back into Iberá National Park.
- Tompkins calls climate change a ‘disaster’ and ‘horrifying,’ says the signs are obvious in South America.
- She continues to preserve land in Chile and Argentina after losing her husband and conservation partner, Doug Tompkins, in 2015.

Sand mining ban lifted on beach in Suriname, causing public backlash
- Sand mining could decrease the ability of Braamspunt beach to protect Suriname’s capital city from rising sea levels and storms surges.
- Conservationists also fear for sea turtles nesting on the beach, which may be disturbed by the bright lights and loud noises of the industrial activity.
- Sand mining in coastal environments has become a global industry, threatening biodiversity and natural defenses against climate change.

Will Madagascar lose its most iconic primate?
- Ring-tailed lemurs have suffered a drastic population decline in the last 15 years due to habitat destruction, hunting and live capture for the pet trade.
- The ring-tailed lemur is a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for Madagascar’s other lemur species, providing an urgent need for increased conservation capacity on the island.
- Ring-tailed lemurs could recover quickly if threats were removed, given their well-known adaptability.

Catching up to the Ruby Seadragon: new species raises new questions
- The ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea) avoided scientific detection for so long due to its deepwater habitat and the fact that bodies changed color after they perished.
- The discovery has raised new questions about the evolution of seadragons.
- Researchers don’t know how threatened the ruby seadragon is, but have petitioned the government for proactive protections.

Climate change key suspect in the case of India’s vanishing groundwater
- Since the Green Revolution, Indian farmers have depended on groundwater to grow enough crops to feed the country’s 1.3 billion people, but groundwater is vanishing in many parts of the country.
- The combination of overpumping and climate change – resulting in weaker monsoons – has resulted in social disruption in many parts of India, including violent protests and suicides.
- India won’t be able to solve the problem with just water legislation: the country also needs to take a look at climate change as well.

Stepping on their paws: study explores recreation’s unfun impacts on wildlife
- In a meta study of 274 papers, researchers found that 59% of the time impacts on wildlife were negative.
- Reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates appear especially vulnerable to tourist impacts.
- More research is needed, especially in the developing world.

13,000 acres of cloud forest now protected in Colombia
- Cacica Noría Regional Protected Area safeguards one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.
- The reserve will be managed by CorAntioquia, the Anorí Environmental Working Group and Proaves.
- Despite protection, the new park remains threatened by climate change.

Keeping up with the Juncos: How birds thrive or die in the suburbs
- New study finds that some bird species, the adapters, thrive in the suburbs while others, the avoiders, don’t.
- Avoider species require specific ecological components for survival, ones that are rarely found in developed areas.
- The implications for tropical birds may be large. Researchers believe there are more ‘avoider’ species in the tropics.

Nearly half of Mount Oku frogs are in danger of croaking, study finds
- Survey work discovers at least 50 amphibian species living on Mount Oku, a dormant volcano in Cameroon.
- Mount Oku’s puddle frogs are vanishing – and no one knows why. Some species may already be extinct.
- Researchers say survey work is often overlooked for ‘sexier’ science, but this could hamper saving species.

A Christmas Miracle? Perhaps someday
- In the 1990s most of Christmas Island’s lizard species began plummeting. The cause remains a mystery.
- Scientists began a captive breeding program in 2009 – saving two species – but one species had already gone extinct and another is extirpated from the island, but can still be found elsewhere.
- Researchers will not be able to reintroduce the captive species until the cause of the decline is uncovered.

Discovering the Congo carbon sink
- Cuvette Centrale, as it is known, stores as much carbon as has been emitted by the U.S. over the last 20 years.
- The peatland ecosystem is home to wetland birds, forest elephants, and western lowland gorillas.
- Threats to the vast carbon sink include climate change and conversion to agriculture.

Need a Trump break? Meet Obama’s fish
- Researcher names new species of deep coral fish after the 44th President of the U.S.
- Scientists don’t know if the new species is threatened, but it is found in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
- Discovery hints at how many species still await names.

What the geckos are telling us: new species point to conservation needs
- Ishan Agarwal describes the Bangalore geckoella and the Rishi Valley geckoella.
- Discovery expands the C. collegalensis complex from 3 to 5 species.
- Geckos are found in small areas, including forest reserves which provide little protection.

A golden jackal settles down just outside of Prague
- With complete disregard for political boundaries, the golden jackal (Canis aureus) settles down in shrub-land near Prague.
- An individual golden jackal repeatedly modeled for the cameras as researchers documented its unprecedented move into the Czech Republic.
- The jackal’s arrival in the Czech Republic, however, raises questions about its legal status in the country and across the EU.

Feral cats now dominate the Australian landscape
- Feral cats occupy 99.8 percent of the Australian continent.
- Cats, brought by European explorers on ships, are blamed for the extinction and endangerment of numerous mammal species found nowhere else.
- The government plans to cull two million feral cats, but researchers say a more pointed approach – focusing on breeding ground – could be more effective in the long-term.

How acoustic monitoring gave us a last chance to save the vaquita
- Monitoring the vaquita’s vocalizations has allowed scientists to closely and accurately monitor the species’ unfortunate decline.
- Illegal fishing for totoaba is the biggest threat to the vaquita. They are killed as bycatch, drowning in nets meant for the fish.
- Conservationists say the next step is to capture vaquitas for captivity, a highly controversial plan with major risks.

Mountain streams in the U.S. show surprising resilience to climate change
- A newly published study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that certain ecosystems may be more resistant to warming temperatures than previously thought.
- The study focused on how rates of temperature change in mountain streams, which the researchers call “stream climate velocities,” may affect cold-water species that have been deemed vulnerable or threatened according to IUCN criteria.
- The study concludes that the results give “hope that many native species dependent on cold water can persist this century and mountain landscapes will play an important role in that preservation.”

Trees share carbon: new discovery may be key to saving trees in a warming world
- A five-year experiment, the first of its kind, shows that tall healthy trees share resources, specifically carbon, with trees of different species.
- Mycorrhizal networks — the underground filaments of fungi and fine plant roots that have grown together — allow for the exchange of nutrients, water, and carbon with and between plants. However, neither of these underground transportation highways have ever been shown to transfer carbon among trees of different species — until recently.
- Researchers believe this resource sharing may play a significant role in the survival of forests as they increasingly come under stress from climate change.

What is a jaguarundi?
- The jaguarundi is a wild cat that occupies a broad range of habitat in the Americas from the scrublands of the borderlands between the U.S, and Mexico through every major ecoregion of Brazil and into southcentral Argentina.
- The jaguarundi is not very well-known due to their small size and lack of spots or stripes which put a target on the larger more charismatic wild cats.
- The International Union of Conservation for Nature (IUCN) currently classifies the jaguarundi globally as Least Concern, but scientists don’t know whether the population is stable or declining.

How do we keep the oceans from becoming the world’s plastic trash can?
- Experts believe that 5-14 million tons of plastic enter the oceans every year.
- According to a report published in Science, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, China and Indonesia account for up to 60 percent of global waste leakage annually.
- A recent report from the Ocean Conservancy offers some comprehensive solutions to reduce net plastics disposal in these five biggest sources of ocean plastic pollution.

The results are in: Winners of the Mongabay internship awards
- Mongabay published nearly 100 articles written by journalists participating in its internship program in 2015.
- A competition was held among interns for their most compelling contributions to Mongabay’s conservation news site.
- Four awards, accompanied by monetary prizes, were given out to the winners.

Exceptional beauty, exceptional risk: New study reveals extinction dangers for parrots
- According to a recent study, 28%, or 111 out of the 398 extant parrot species, are classified as Threatened under IUCN criteria.
- Researchers concluded that large body size and specialized habitats such as islands or specific types of forested areas are biological factors that most significantly affect the extinction risk of parrots.
- Conservationists warn that if scientists fail to implement new conservation strategies, parrot populations face the risk of continued population decrease.

Bat mortality no longer sustainable, global review finds
- The authors of a recent study observed a dramatic shift in bat mortality at the turn of the 21st century to deaths by wind turbine collisions and white-nose syndrome.
- Though human travel between North America and Europe is believed to be responsible for the introduction of white-nose syndrome to North America, the study did not attribute death by this fungal infection to human activity.
- Close and frequent contact between bats and people or other animals can lead to spillover events, in which disease is transmitted from the reservoir species to the species it comes in contact with.

A sex change phenomenon in fish suggests there is something in the water
- A new study published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety finds that male fish are turning into females – a phenomenon known as intersex – due to chemical pollution, specifically estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals or EEDCs.
- Researchers have found evidence of intersex in 85 percent of smallmouth bass and 27 percent of largemouth bass tested on 19 National Wildlife Refuges from Maine to Virginia.
- The varied and numerous sources of EEDCs make them difficult to track. Single-point sources, such as large buildings with obvious effluent pipes like waste water treatment plants and paper pulp mills, are of major concern.

Video series aims to help indigenous groups defend against land grabbing
- • Demand for raw materials, food, and fuel is causing a rush for land, with consequences for indigenous people who live there.
- • The Scottish NGO LifeMosaic has produced a series of 10 videos that share stories of communities who have experienced conflict over their land.
- • The video series aims to bring indigenous communities together and enable them to protect the land on which they depend.

Rare video: young orangutan and gibbon play together in the Borneo jungle
- Researchers recently captured rare footage of a young orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and a gibbon (Hylobates sp.) playing together in Sabangau Forest.
- The video was captured as part of a long-term research and conservation project run by the Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project (OuTrop).
- The video offers “an amazing insight into how these young apes play and how different their development is,” said Susan Cheyne, OuTrop’s director of gibbon research.

Study answers question: how do boa constrictors kill their prey?
- Until now, it was widely believed that boa constrictors killed their prey by squeezing the air out of its victim’s lungs.
- Scientists recently found that when a snake squeezes its prey, it is actually restricting the flow of blood and oxygen to the animal’s vital organs.
- Lead researcher, Dr. Scott Boback, said he felt compelled to conduct this research because, “It’s one of those questions that has sort of always just been left unanswered in the herpetological world.”

Scientist makes painful discovery: a frog able to inject toxic venom
- A frog species with a toxic venom injection defense mechanism has been described in the semi-arid northeastern region of Brazil.
- Carlos Jared, a Brazilian scientist at the Butantan Institute made the discovery by chance after having his hand head-butted by a tree frog.
- One distinctive and interesting feature of the morphology of the Greening’s frog is the similarity of its skull to that of a spiny cactus plant.

Scientists try hair traps to track tropical carnivores
- Since 1990, the use of hair traps has been rapidly expanding in wildlife biology, but mainly in cooler climates.
- By collecting hair samples, scientists can non-invasively collect DNA samples of wild animal populations to learn about genetic diversity and determine their habitat ranges.
- Three past studies successfully used hair traps in the tropics. Two monitored several species of carnivores in Mexico, and one, as yet unpublished, monitored dingoes in Australia.

New study identifies acoustic sanctuaries for marine mammals
- A new study has identified some of acoustic sanctuaries off the coast of British Columbia in the hope that they may be protected.
- Researchers emphasize that these opportunity sites can be protected with little change to current shipping patterns, which makes them a relatively easy target for conservation.
- Seizing the opportunity to protect acoustic sanctuaries now, is invaluable to the longevity of protected marine mammals.

Court cancels 30-year federal permits letting wind companies kill eagles
- Wind energy companies have renewable permits issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that exempt them from laws making it illegal to kill protected bald eagles and golden eagles.
- The U.S. District Court of Northern California has ruled that the FWS violated federal law by extending the duration of the so-called “eagle take permit” from five to 30 years without first investigating the impact it would have on eagle populations.
- At this time 5-year permits remain available to wind energy companies.

The inadequate global zoo response to the amphibian extinction crisis
- Amphibians have experienced massive declines worldwide.
- The 6.2% of globally threatened amphibians held by zoos compares poorly with global totals for birds (15.9%), mammals (23%), and reptiles (38%).
- There is a feeling of disappointment in the conservation community regarding the response of zoos to the amphibian crisis.

Industry wields too much influence over U.S. pesticide regulation, says study
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers too much influence to industry over its risk-assessment process for pesticides, allowing manufacturers to design, fund, and conduct toxicity studies, according to a paper.
- In the case of the herbicide atrazine, the EPA accepted only one industry-funded study for review in its 2007 and 2012 risk assessments.
- A series of simple steps can improve the EPA process but they will likely require legislative action to implement, according to the paper’s authors.

Camera traps suggest wild animals anticipated major earthquake weeks before it struck
- Historically, scientists have dismissed accounts of animals acting strangely before earthquakes, mostly due to the anecdotal nature of the accounts and a lack of reliable sources.
- By examining camera-trap photos, researchers were able to observe changes in animal behavior in the time leading up to a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Yanachaga National Park.
- The present study appears to validate a longstanding belief that animals can sense earthquakes coming and that they react more as the earthquakes approach.

New rat species find sheds light on Philippine mammalian diversity
- New rat species find sheds light on Philippine mammalian diversity
- This discovery brings the number of cloud rat species to eighteen, twelve of which occur on Luzon Island, the largest island in the Philippines.
- Mt. Isarog supports the largest remaining area of high-elevation forest in southern Luzon, making it crucial for conservation of biological diversity.

Wolves of the microscopic world: new Dracula ant species found in Madagascar
- Researchers have discovered and described six new species of ants belonging to the genus Prionopelta.
- Commonly, known as ‘Dracula Ants’ for their unique feeding behavior, these new members of Prionopelta have been found to be tiny, ferocious social predators living in Madagascar.
- The research conducted on these ants is part of an ongoing effort to further understand, and educate others about, Malagasy biodiversity.

The miraculous Moringa tree: potential solution for world malnutrition
- A growing population and the effects of climate change are threatening and destroying agricultural lands vital to feed the 7.3 billion people now inhabiting the planet.
- Dr. Mark Earl Olson of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México proposes in-depth research into the cultivation of the humble Moringa tree as a solution to the growing nutritional crisis.
- Known for its spicy taste, high protein, iron, and vitamins A and C content, the Moringa’s leaves offer a potential solution to global famine and malnutrition.

Farmed and legally exported Colombian poison frogs take on the illegal pet trade
- Considered the “holy grail” by frog enthusiasts worldwide, Lehmann’s poison frog used to be so common that it littered the ground in its native habitat.
- A 2013 documentary that aimed to find a red morph of Lehmann’s poison frog could only find a single one in a remote part of its range.
- The dire situation faced by this and other endangered poison frogs in Colombia prompted an animal scientist to start Tesoros de Colombia, an organization with the objective of ending illegal frog smuggling.

Scientists launch global shark and ray census
- Scientists estimate that each year, up to 73 million sharks have their fins sliced off to make shark fin soup — a Chinese delicacy.
- A growing appetite for shark fins and meat is considered the leading cause of sharply declining shark populations.
- An international initiative that will assess the health of populations of sharks and rays in 400 different locations over a period of three years has been launched.

How can a bat survive deforestation? Be small, mobile, and vegetarian
- Bats are under great pressure as the landscape changes around them and their homes become more and more fragmented.
- A recent study looked into how important functional traits are in enabling bats in the Amazon to survive in a human-modified landscape.
- Researchers found that not all bat species cope with habitat fragmentation equally and that bats that are small, mobile, and vegetarian adapt better to fragmentation.

A surprising threat to Monarch butterfly survival — tropical milkweed
- Scientists believe that increased plantings of Asclepias curassavica, commonly known as ‘tropical milkweed’, in the U.S. South has prompted a population of formerly migrating Monarchs to overwinter.
- These overwintering populations of Monarchs unexpectedly suffer from higher rates of disease and parasitic infection, as well as altering infectious disease dynamics among still-migrating Monarchs.
- For now, Southeasterners wishing to support Monarchs should be sure to only plant native milkweeds, avoiding the tropical varieties.

New study re-assesses conservation status of Peruvian amphibians
- The conservation status of 38 amphibian species that had been previously determined to possibly meet IUCN criteria for being listed as Threatened species was re-assessed.
- Researchers found that the status of 14 of the 38 species should be changed.
- The major threat to the re-assessed amphibians is habitat loss due to logging and agriculture, with significant dangers presented by disease, pollution, and illegal harvesting for consumption and the pet trade.

The wild side of Peru gets an imaging makeover
- An exclusive Mongabay interview with University of Washington researcher Samantha Zwicker.
- Zwicker’s game camera research is documenting the responses of Peruvian cats and other mammals to road network expansion, selective timber logging, and the clearing of forests for cacao plantations.
- Such baseline research can offer important data to better understand wildlife dispersal and gene flow throughout the region, and for delineating future protected areas and wildlife corridors, along with other conservation goals.

Study finds local people do forest monitoring as well as scientists
- A recent study found that trained and motivated local people can accurately monitor their local environment just as effectively as trained scientists.
- The use of community volunteers is most effective when it highlights community benefits, data accuracy, and fosters wide community support.
- The study authors urge government and scientific agencies to implement training and programming in local communities as a cost effective alternative to expensive scientific surveys.

Scientists turn to DNA from Sumatran elephant dung to aid conservation
- With only roughly 2,800 individuals, the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is critically endangered.
- Population data for Sumatran elephants has been notoriously difficult to gather due to the rarity of sightings and the small size and isolation of the areas in which the elephants live, complicating conservation efforts.
- A new study based on an unusual technique of analyzing DNA in elephant dung provides an assessment of the largest known elephant population in central Sumatra, Indonesia.

Zebrafish may hold key to heart regeneration
- Zebrafish have a thin layer of tissue that covers the heart called the epicardium which allows them to regrow damaged cardiac tissue.
- New research has shown that the epicardium is able to heal not only the heart, but also itself when damaged.
- This discovery could eventually help researchers find ways to regrow human heart tissue, which would aid in the recovery of heart attack victims, among other cardiac patients.

Identifying and counting the wild orangutans of Borneo
- In a recent study, game camera traps were used to identify and estimate the numbers of orangutans in the Wehea Forest of East Kalimantan, Borneo.
- Prior to the study, the most reliable method for estimating orangutan population numbers was to count the number of orangutan nests in a certain area.
- Given the current dire conservation situation for orangutans, the study team believes that camera trapping is an important step toward obtaining a more accurate understanding of the number of orangutans that still exist.

Rare spotted leopards sighted on Malaysian Peninsula
- Previous research determined that only melanistic black leopards likely lived in the forested regions of Southeast Asia.
- The discovery of two spotted leopards may have shed some doubt on the previous hypothesis that the forested regions of Southeast Asia was the only place in the world where an entire population of animals is almost completely composed of the melanistic form.
- This new discovery points to the need for the conservation of the Ulu Muda Forest where these regionally rare spotted leopards were found, especially in light of the area’s escalating environmental pressures.

Regrown rainforests degrade after farm-fallow cycles take hold
- Secondary-growth forests are becoming more common, particularly in the tropics where old-growth forest is often cleared to make way for agriculture.
- A recent study shows that without careful management of farming practices, SFs that regrow on agricultural land in the Brazilian Amazon become less resilient and healthy over time.
- A growing human population places an increasing pressure on the tropics to produce enough food, tropical farmland will need to be carefully managed to ensure long-term productivity.

Seabird numbers down 70 percent since 1950
- A recent study shows that marine systems are apparently becoming gradually less able to support seabirds.
- The study focused on populations that scientists had monitored at least five times between 1950 and 2010, which accounted for 19 percent of the world’s seabird population, encompassing 162 species.
- Despite many threats, there are a number of conservation measures that can be taken to protect seabird colonies.

Saving the Barbary Macaque: An interview with Dr. Sian Waters
- The Barbary macaque is North Africa’s only primate; threatened by tourism, animal trafficking, cannabis cultivation and hunting.
- Dr. Sian Waters was amazed to learn that this primate, so close to Europe, was unstudied and lacked any effort to conserve it.
- She has developed a highly effective conservation program built on gaining the trust and support of the local community.

Traders of “red ivory” from rare birds are arrested in Indonesia
- Two traders of beaks from the helmeted hornbill were arrested in Sumatra, Indonesia.
- In recent years, the price of hornbill casques have increased sharply, they now cost up to 5 times more than elephant ivory.
- The increase in demand comes from China, where it is used in traditional medicines or fashioned into valuable souvenirs.

Snail scent repels starfish; may protect coral and Great Barrier Reef
- The Crown-of-thorns starfish is responsible for depletion of 40 percent of the coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef over the last 30 years
- Currently the Crown-of-thorns starfish can only be controlled by the labor intensive use of an expensive lethal injection, administered by divers
- Researchers have discovered a chemical compound produced by the giant Triton snail, that repels the starfish and could help protect the Great Barrier Reef

13 ‘keystone’ corporations hold sway over sustainability of global fisheries

a small number of corporations resemble tiger sharks in the fishing industry. These corporations could potentially have a seismic effect on the entire fishing industry and hold the power to conserve or collapse fisheries worldwide.
How do Sumatra’s wild cats coexist?

At least six species of wild cats live, and seem to do so harmoniously, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is critically endangered and several of the other cat species on the island are threatened, according to the IUCN. But with the exception of the Sumatran tiger, little is […]
Microplastic pollution a possible threat to Great Barrier Reef coral
- The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of northeastern Australia is currently under threat from a floating layer of microplastic particles.
- Plastic debris floats easily and spreads throughout the seas, gradually fragmenting into smaller and smaller particles, making them tiny enough to be ingested by ocean organisms, including seagulls, mussels and coral.
- Microplastics have penetrated down the food chain into plankton – a major food source for coral and many other species throughout the world’s oceans.

Antibiotics revolution? iChip promises resistance-free antibiotics
- In 2014, the United Nations declared the declining effectiveness of antibiotics a “serious threat” to global health.
- A team of scientists have discovered a resistance-proof antibiotic.
- The ichip, a new device, may be the key to discovering potential new antibiotics.

Rich forest diversity found in new Yunnan, China preserve

Lowland Forest profile characteristic of southern Yunnan Province’s threatened rainforests. Image Credit: Hua Zhu, 2008, Tropical Conservation Science. China’s southern Yunnan Province straddles the Myanmar border where the Mekong River flows, and the lowland tropics meet montane forests. This region is valued not only for its high biodiversity, but also its ability to support multiple […]
Lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs dwindle in West and Central African protected areas

Africa is famous for its lions and other large carnivores, but populations are dwindling and even vanishing all over the continent. A new study published in mongabay.com’s open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science quantifies the disappearance of the lion (Panthera leo), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), and wild dog (Lycaon pictus) from 41 protected areas in West and […]
Reintroduced scarlet macaws adapt to the local food scene in Palenque, Mexico

When attempts to protect and restore endangered species in their natural habitats prove futile, an alternate strategy for conservationists is to breed the species in captivity and reintroduce them to the wild. A recent paper published in Mongabay’s open-access journal, Tropical Conservation Science, found that reintroduced scarlet macaws were able to adapt to local food […]
Moratoria beat certification to reduce deforestation for soy, palm oil, cattle

Oil palm plantation in Papua, Indonesia. The country lost 1 million hectares of forest cover in 2013, according to one estimate. Photo credit: Agus Andrianto/ CIFOR. Eighteen million hectares of forest were lost globally in 2013. Such an unprecedented rate of deforestation is a significant driver of climate change, accounting for approximately 12 to 15 […]
Scientists call for more protection for red-listed tree species in Vietnam

Conservation areas, such as national parks and nature reserves, are a key component of tropical forest conservation, safeguarding natural ecosystem processes and threatened species. However, many designated conservation areas include human settlements and other disturbance, which in some cases leads to conflicts between socio-economic and conservation objectives. A case in point can be found in […]
Sustainable conservation in the Ibity Massif: a new protected area in Madagascar

The rate of deforestation and species extinction are increasing worldwide, and substantial efforts are being made to establish new protected areas (NPAs), build local environmental organizations and improve management of new preserves. A recent study published in mongabay.com’s open-access journal, Tropical Conservation Science, discusses how sustainable conservation management strategies are being carefully planned for a […]
Seed dispersal by fruit-eating bats essential to tropical reforestation

The world’s tropical forests are threatened by deforestation due to agricultural, industrial and urban expansion; as well as by drought, fire, and disease, all worsened by climate change. Human reforestation efforts are limited by budget and capacity, so the restoration of degraded habitats by means of animal seed dispersal is essential to the future of […]
Tanzanian study says education, better signing could reduce animal vehicle collisions

Animal vehicle collisions (AVCs) take an incredible toll on wildlife worldwide. In the United States, for example, as many as 1.5 million deer, moose, and other ungulates are annually involved in vehicle crashes, with all yearly U.S. wildlife collisions costing $1 billion and causing 29,000 human injuries. Still, drivers and the media tend to downplay […]
Invasion of Poisonous Asian toad in Madagascar is a greater threat to biodiversity than previously thought

Invasive species are among the greatest threats to the world’s biodiversity, and amphibians rank among the most devastating vertebrate invaders. That’s why the discovery of the Asian toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) in Madagascar’s second largest city and main port of Toamasina in March 2014 so alarmed conservationists. Should the newly introduced toad spread across the island […]
Satellite-based forest mapping platform hits its stride

Global Forest Watch, a young online forest monitoring and alert system, provides free, near real-time data on deforestation and tree-cover loss around the world. It allows users to create customized interactive maps detailing forest change, concession areas for natural resource extraction and agricultural production, conservation areas, and community land boundaries. The system acts as a […]
On the fence about wildlife fencing: new paper outlines research needed to resolve debate

Fencing is used to protect wildlife against poaching and human encroachment, and also to protect people and livestock from wildlife. As a conservation strategy, it has proponents as well as detractors. A recent paper by a team of 45 international researchers in the Journal of Applied Ecology questions the wisdom of erecting wildlife fencing in […]
Top canned tuna brands rank worst in destructive fishing practices

Starkist, Bumblebee, and the kitchily named Chicken of the Sea are among the most familiar brands of canned tuna on grocery store shelves. They also rank the worst in terms of the sustainability and transparency of their fishing and labor practices, according to the environmental non-profit Greenpeace USA. The group’s recently released Tuna Shopping Guide […]
Scientists find surprising climate change refuge for reef-building corals: beneath mangroves

Coral reefs are the gardens of the ocean. Covering just a tiny fraction of the vast sea floor, they are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. However, global warming and ocean acidification increasingly threaten them. Now scientists have discovered that corals could potentially survive global warming by numbering among the Earth’s first climate […]
Satellite images provide new view of uncontacted Amazonian communities

A laundry list of dangers threaten Amazonia’s few remaining uncontacted indigenous communities. Colonists and industry workers often grab tribal land for mining, logging, drug trafficking, or hydrocarbon extraction, which damage the groups’ environment and bring them into conflict with armed settlers. Careless encroachment by outsiders can also bring diseases to which uncontacted groups have no […]
Butterflies stand out as useful bioindicators in Malaysia

A butterfly in Malaysia. Photo credit: Bernard DUPONT. In choosing sites to target for protection, conservationists typically look for healthy ecosystems with high biodiversity — places with a great number and variety of species. Inventorying all the species living in a given locale is usually impossible, so instead, scientists often turn to what they call […]
Community conservation increases endangered monkey population in Peru

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 gained increasing attention in recent years. Yet few studies have examined their success in protecting natural resources. A recent study published in Tropical Conservation Science, […]
Drone Herders: Tanzanian rangers and researchers use UAVs to protect elephants and crops

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 ongoing battle between African farmers trying to grow crops and hungry elephants foraging for a meal, has motivated conservationists to find solutions for protecting the […]
Consumer choice: Shade-grown coffee and cocoa good for the birds, farmers, ecosystems

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 or reach for a sweet treat, you may want to consider whether those coffee or cocoa beans were grown in the shade or open sun. […]
New genetic analysis aims to guide restoration of overharvested Myanmar teak forests

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 the Indo-Pacific region, where a long history of exploitation, along with deforestation, has led to declines in the species. A recent study published in mongabay.com’s […]
Bottom trawling reduces size of commercially important flatfish

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 oceans are having a major impact on species, sometimes in unexpected ways. Indeed, a recent study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B finds […]
New wormy amphibians discovered in Southeast Asia

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 sugar, at the local grocery store. Despite their similar features and anatomies, many of the real worms (not the sugar kind) demonstrate convergent evolution, meaning […]

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