Bringing you the latest articles, opinion and analysis in the conservation world
The creation of corridors between restored patches of declining longleaf pine habitats in South Carolina has resulted in an increase in number of plant species within the fragments and a drop in number of species disappearing from them.
DNA samples from museum specimens have again proved useful in discovering what conservation actions can help endangered species. For the critically endangered regent honeyeater, the answer is to protect its Australian habitat.
An international team of researchers has documented the decline of insects in Germany, in many areas it is by one third. The decline is mainly in grasslands near to farmland, but is also in forests and protected areas.
Scientists trying to save endangered species are finding help in museum collections. It has been shown that using DNA specimens from old specimens to understand evolution and threats to their survival.
White-tailed sea eagles in Germany were tested for the stress hormone corticosterone, levels of which were particularly high in birds nesting close to roads and paths. This has implications for tourist use in areas of high eagle density.
It may seem obvious but it has now been scientifically proven that green turtles eat plastic that closely resembles sea grass, their preferred food. This research is important, as it shows what kind of plastic pollution is a particular problem.
Over the past 300 years, 79 plants have been confirmed extinct from three of the world’s biodiversity hotspots located in South Africa – the Cape Floristic Region, the Succulent Karoo, and the Maputuland-Pondoland-Albany corridor.
A study of large freshwater animals between 1970 to 2012 has revealed that populations throughout the globe have fallen by 88%, with large fish species being particularly affected. Conservation action for freshwater biodiversity is urgently required.
A groundbreaking procedure has been successfully conducted with a view to saving the northern white rhino from extinction. Eggs have been harvested from the last two individuals left, and artificially inseminated.
New research has found that habitat loss is a major concern for hundreds of Australian bird species, threatened as well as non-threatened, and south-eastern Australia has been the worst affected.