Bringing you the latest articles, opinion and analysis in the conservation world
A recently developed global roads database has been used to calculate the impact of existing and planned road networks on habitat crucial for tiger survival. Scientists conclude that both tigers and their prey will be seriously affected.
Rising temperatures caused by climate change have resulted in a shift in population sizes of marine species – in general, populations are growing at the poles and declining at the equator.
Thanks to long-term data sets, scientists have been able to document the fact that a snake community plummeted following the wipe out of frogs in Panama due to an invasive fungal pathogen.
Two new studies have set out the ideal conditions for giraffes to be translocated to new areas for conservation purposes. Groups should contain at least 30 females and at least 3 males to ensure long-term survival, and on-going monitoring and management is vital.
An innovative new technique has been developed to survey for animal species. Scientists have used environmental DNA shed by animals in water to provide a snapshot of the local mammal community.
An alternative method for monitoring Asiatic lions using whisker patterns and body markings to identify individual lions has been demonstrated. This could lead to improved population estimates and help inform conservation policy.
Scientists have used innovative ways to track female loggerhead turtles. The data reveals that return to the same nesting beaches to lay eggs year after year, therefore, these key locations should be a focus for conservation efforts.
Natural habitats are being converted to agriculture or urban landscapes all too rapidly. A ground-breaking study has shown that it will be small invertebrate predators that will be most affected by this.
In 2017, Hurricane Irma offered scientists the chance to study the impact of a severe weather event on white-tailed deer. They discovered that the deer changed their movement rate and their habitat selection, thus are able to alter their behaviour in order to survive.
Using the most comprehensive dataset on the ‘human footprint,’ which maps the accumulated impact of human activities on the land’s surface, researchers have documented intense human pressures across the range of a staggering 20,529 terrestrial vertebrate species.