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New research shows that many wildlife species in the U.S., like the endangered giant kangaroo rat, will face much more frequent and severe droughts in the future. By 2050-2080, year-long droughts could happen almost five times as often, and three-year droughts almost seven times as often compared to past decades. These changes will require animals to adapt significantly. Scientists have identified areas with high biodiversity and high risk that can help managers focus attention for conservation efforts. The southwestern U.S. is a critical area where many species will be more affected by increased droughts.View the full article

The distribution of traditional wild food sources in the Republic of Sakha could change significantly, affecting the diets and incomes of Indigenous rural communities who depend on them.View the full article

A new analysis reveals that overfishing has caused populations of chondrichthyan fishes -- sharks, rays, and chimaeras -- to decline by more than 50 per cent since 1970. To determine the consequences, a team of researchers developed an aquatic Red List Index (RLI) which shows that the risk of extinction for chondrichthyan has increased by 19 per cent. The study also highlights that the overfishing of the largest species in nearshore and pelagic habitats could eliminate up to 22 per cent of ecological functions. Chondrichthyans are an ancient and ecologically diverse group of over 1,199 fishes that are increasingly threatened by human activities. Overexploitation by target fisheries and incidental capture (bycatch), compounded by habitat degradation, climate change and pollution, has resulted in over one-third of chondrichthyans facing extinction.View the full article

Scientists have today announced the discovery of a species of lipstick vine completely new to science, from the depths of the Philippine rainforest. The team of botanists made the discovery during an expedition to the remote Barangay Balbalasang rainforest on the island of Luzon in 2022. This almost impenetrable wilderness takes days to reach and has to be hacked through by a machete. The team stayed with the Banao Tribe, an indigenous community who protect their local forest.View the full article

A new study estimates that more than 9000 insects and other native invertebrates have become extinct in Australia since European arrival in 1788 and between 1-3 additional species become extinct every week.View the full article

While good dogs never mean harm, they are often directed to remain on-lead in nature reserves to protect wildlife. Research has found that whether dog owners follow this rule is mostly driven by social factors.View the full article

Fast-growing and small-seeded tree species are dominating Brazilian forests in regions with high levels of deforestation and degradation, a new study shows. This has potential implications for the ecosystem services these forests provide, including the ability of these 'disturbed' forests to absorb and store carbon. This is because these 'winning' species grow fast but die young, as their stems and branches are far less dense than the slow growing tree species they replace. Wildlife species adapted to consuming and dispersing the large seeds of tree species that are being lost in human-modified landscapes may also be affected by these shifts.View the full article

New research has revealed less than a quarter of the remaining tropical rainforests around the globe can safeguard thousands of threatened species from extinction.View the full article

Non-native species introduced by humans are among the main causes of global species decline -- they were partly responsible for 60 percent of the species that have become extinct worldwide in recent decades. In Central Europe, non-native mammals include species such as the Norway rat, the mouflon and the mink. Now a study shows that some of these species introduced by humans are themselves endangered in their native range.View the full article

Spotted lanternflies -- invasive insects that first landed in the United States a decade ago -- are emerging earlier and staying active later each year, according to an analysis of citizen-science data by researchers. This longer life cycle and shift in activity may be driven in part by cities and their warmer climates.View the full article

Coconut palms are king throughout the tropics, serving as the foundation for human lives and cultures across the Pacific Ocean for centuries. However, 200 years of planting by colonial interests transformed the palm from the revered 'Tree of Life' to a cash crop monoculture grown on Pacific atolls for a singular purpose -- production of coconut oil (copra) for export around the world.View the full article

A research team has investigated the importance of limestone quarries for wild bee conservation. Diverse landscapes with good connectivity between quarries and calcareous grasslands proved to be particularly valuable. Calcareous grasslands -- meaning grasslands on chalk or limestone soils -- are exceptionally rich in plant and animal species, making them valuable ecosystems. Quarries with a lot of shrub encroachment, on the other hand, had a lower species diversity. Endangered bee species were more common in large quarries.View the full article

Plant species can fulfill different functions within an ecosystem, even if they are closely related to each other. This surprising conclusion was reached by a global analysis of around 1.7 million datasets on plant communities. The findings overturn previous assumptions in ecology.View the full article

Newly discovered insect fossils are so small they can barely be seen by the human eye but have been preserved in an 'extraordinary' way.View the full article

A groundbreaking international study shows how chemical fingerprints left by 'underappreciated' aquatic organisms could help scientists monitor global environmental change.View the full article

'Specialist' lifeforms that live under Arctic sea ice are at risk as the ice retreats, new research shows.View the full article

A new mapping project puts 427 crayfish taxa and over 100,000 observation records on the first searchable global atlas: World of Crayfish. The resource will help protect vulnerable crayfish species and manage invasive ones worldwide.View the full article

Deforestation has remained a significant issue globally, with primary forests contributing to 16 per cent of the total tree cover loss in the last two decades, driven by climate change and intensive human activity. This threatens natural resources, biodiversity, and people's quality of life. To protect forests, scientists have developed Forest 4.0, an intelligent forest data processing model integrating blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. The system enables real-time monitoring of forest conditions, sustainable resource accounting, and a more transparent forest governance model.View the full article

Scientists have developed a pioneering tool that can pinpoint where invasive species have been, aiding eradication efforts.View the full article

Forests with few tree species pose considerably higher risk of being damaged and especially vulnerable is the introduced lodgepole pine.View the full article

Southeast Asia's tropical forests are renowned for their biodiversity, but at the same time face significant threats from the expansion of oil palm plantations. With global demand for palm oil rising, the urgency for effective restoration strategies in these landscapes has become critical. A long-running experiment has investigated how ecological restoration promotes biodiversity recovery in oil palm plantations in Sumatra. Their findings reveal that establishing islands of trees within large oil palm monocultures can promote the recovery of native tree diversity through natural regeneration.View the full article

Forests provide biodiversity, ecosystem functions, income and much more. How can these diverse and seemingly diverging demands be met? An international research team addressed this question by analyzing the effects of enriching beech forests in Germany with commercially valuable native (to mountainous regions of Europe) and non-native conifer species, in this case, the Norway spruce and Douglas fir, respectively.View the full article

Fifty years of change on iconic limestone pavements has revealed mixed fortunes for one of the most distinctive landscapes in the UK. The findings, which reveal large changes since the 1970s, are from the first national assessment in half a century of plants and vegetation in Britain's rare and iconic limestone pavements.View the full article

Thanks to the consistent and focused efforts of researchers and conservationists to save, then reintroduce, mountain yellow-legged frogs to lakes in Yosemite National Park, their populations are again thriving.View the full article

Sometimes plants are so similar to each other that the methods developed by 18th century scientist Carl Linnaeus for identifying species are not enough. Completely new species of daisies have been discovered when analyzed using modern DNA technology.View the full article