Bringing you the latest articles, opinion and analysis in the conservation world
The Fraser River Estuary in British Columbia is home to 102 species at risk of extinction – species who are relied upon by many people who live in or near the ecosystem for their livelihoods. A new study brings hope that it’s not to late to save them all.
Surveys along the length of the River Ganges, alongside interviews with local fishermen, have revealed that waste fishing gear is posing a serious threat to many species. A system that would provide fishermen to recycle their nets could be effective at preventing entanglement.
The Australian icon, the koala, is facing extinction due to bushfires and habitat loss. However, impacts of these stressors over the long-term has not been known. A recent study has shown that this species is facing a significant impact of human population growth and that conservation action must be taken.
Populations numbers of the North Chinese leopard are on the rise. Clearing of habitat and poaching has reduced numbers in the past, but forest on the Loess Plateau has been restored which has caused prey to return, and likewise the big cats.
European wildcats have recolonised part of their former territory in the Jura mountains of Switzerland. However, models of interactions between them and domestic cats show that hybridisation will result in the true wildcat species being lost in just a few hundred years.
Rising temperatures and longer dry spells caused by climate change have already caused two species of plant to go extinct in the bogs of the Black Forest in Germany. Should conditions remain unchanged, scientists believe that ten more species will disappear by 2045.
Two decades of surveys of marbled murrelets on the west coast of the United States shows that these elusive seabirds are impacted by changing ocean conditions and the loss of old forest. Conservation actions must, therefore, take into account factors that influence both marine food resources and terrestrial nesting habitat.
New research from the Caribbean shows that pressures on seagrass meadows, such as clearance for tourism development, will leave coastlines more prone to erosion and flooding. The rich marine life that live in these meadows will also be lost, so urgent conservation action is required to save them.
International research has discovered that approximately one quarter of the world’s carnivorous plants may be at risk of extinction. The causes behind the losses include climate change, poaching and habitat loss, and this could have detrimental impacts in many ecosystems.
Scientists are warning that coral reefs in the Aleutian Islands’ kelp forests are on the verge of collapse. This is due to climate change exacerbating the impact of sea urchins, and the loss of the urchins’ natural predator, the sea otter.