Biodiversity News
September 1, 2025
Top Headlines
Aug. 23, 2025 — A new study reveals that the majority of Earth’s species stem from a few evolutionary explosions, where new traits or habitats sparked rapid diversification. From flowers to birds, these bursts explain most of the planet’s ...
Aug. 21, 2025 — Industrial forests, packed with evenly spaced trees, face nearly 50% higher odds of megafires than public lands. A lidar-powered study of California’s Sierra Nevada reveals how dense plantations feed fire severity, but also shows that proactive ...
Aug. 21, 2025 — Planting more trees can help cool the planet and reduce fire risk—but where they are planted matters. According to UC Riverside researchers, tropical regions provide the most powerful climate benefits because trees there grow year-round, absorb ...
Aug. 16, 2025 — Mediterranean bryozoans, including the “false coral,” are showing alarming changes in structure and microbiomes under acidification and warming. Field studies at volcanic CO₂ vents reveal that these stressors combined sharply reduce survival, ...
Aug. 9, 2025 — Over 300 million years ago, Illinois teemed with life in tropical swamps and seas, now preserved at the famous Mazon Creek fossil site. Researchers from the University of Missouri and geologist ...
Aug. 4, 2025 — An intriguing new study reveals that over 80% of parasites found in the ancient poo of New Zealand’s endangered kākāpō have vanished, even though the bird itself is still hanging on. Researchers discovered this dramatic parasite decline by ...
Aug. 2, 2025 — Between 2003 and 2021, Earth saw a net boost in photosynthesis, mainly thanks to land plants thriving in warming, wetter conditions—especially in temperate and high-latitude regions. Meanwhile, ocean algae struggled in increasingly stratified and ...
July 29, 2025 — A team at the University of Florida used drones and smart modeling to accurately count over 41,000 endangered turtles nesting along the Amazon’s Guaporé River—revealing the world’s largest known turtle nesting site. Their innovative ...
July 21, 2025 — Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. Scientists propose a visionary framework that merges ...
July 17, 2025 — Dogs trained by everyday pet owners are proving to be surprisingly powerful allies in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly. In a groundbreaking study, citizen scientists taught their ...
July 16, 2025 — After devastating wildfires scorched the Brazilian Pantanal, an unexpected phenomenon unfolded—more jaguars began arriving at a remote wetland already known for having the densest jaguar population on Earth. Scientists discovered that not only did ...
July 10, 2025 — People can intuitively sense how biodiverse a forest is just by looking at photos or listening to sounds, and their gut feelings surprisingly line up with what scientists ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56pm EDT
July 7, 2025 — Feral honey bees, once celebrated for their agricultural value, are now threatening native ecosystems in Southern California by monopolizing pollen sources and overwhelming native pollinators. A new ...
July 6, 2025 — Kenyan fig trees can literally turn parts of themselves to stone, using microbes to convert internal crystals into limestone-like deposits that lock away carbon, sweeten surrounding soils, and still ...
July 3, 2025 — Tropical trees are dying faster than ever, and it's not just heat or drought to blame. Scientists have uncovered a surprising culprit: ordinary thunderstorms. These quick, fierce storms, powered by ...
July 3, 2025 — When Siberian volcanoes kicked off the Great Dying, the real climate villain turned out to be the rainforests themselves: once they collapsed, ...
June 26, 2025 — South Australia’s tiny pygmy bluetongue skink is baking in a warming, drying homeland, so Flinders University scientists have tried a bold ...
June 19, 2025 — During Earth's ancient Snowball periods, when the entire planet was wrapped in ice, life may have endured in tiny meltwater ponds on the surface of ...
June 15, 2025 — Underground fungi may be one of Earth s most powerful and overlooked allies in the fight against climate change, yet most of them remain unknown to science. Known only by DNA, these "dark taxa" make ...
June 15, 2025 — A University of Queensland-led project has developed a tool to standardise genetic testing of koala populations, providing a significant boost to ...
June 15, 2025 — Ten thousand years after mastodons disappeared, scientists have unearthed powerful fossil evidence proving these elephant cousins were vital seed ...
June 6, 2025 — Frogs, salamanders, and other amphibians are not just battling habitat loss and pollution they're now also contending with increasingly brutal heat waves and droughts. A sweeping 40-year study shows ...
Earlier Headlines
June 3, 2025 — Australia can reach net-zero emissions and still protect its natural treasures but only if everyone works together. New research from Princeton and The University of Queensland shows that the country ...
May 29, 2025 — Anthropologists have examined the societal consequences of global glacier loss. This article appears alongside new research that estimates that more than three-quarters of the world's glacier ...
May 29, 2025 — Replanting forests can help cool the planet even more than some scientists once believed, especially in the tropics. But even if every tree lost since the mid-19th century is replanted, the total ...
May 29, 2025 — A new study shows that wildlife underpass tunnels dramatically reduce deaths of frog, salamanders, and other amphibians migrating across ...
May 29, 2025 — Forest-based agroforestry can restore forests, promote livelihoods, and combat climate change, but emerging agroforestry initiatives focusing only on tree planting is leading to missed opportunities ...
May 28, 2025 — A new species of velvet worm, Peripatopsis barnardi, represents the first ever species from the arid Karoo, which indicates that the area was likely historically more forested than at present. In the ...
May 28, 2025 — Many bat species native to Germany, such as the Leisler's bat, are forest specialists. However, as it is becoming increasingly hard for them to find tree hollows in forest plantations, so they ...
May 27, 2025 — Researchers conducted a systematic review of 99 scientific publications that compared the flora or fauna of old-growth forests, managed forests and clearcut sites in boreal Europe. The reviewed ...
May 23, 2025 — New international research demonstrates global-scale patterns in how El Ni o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences mangrove growth and degradation. Previously, impacts had only been documented at ...
May 23, 2025 — A new study shows that monitoring and managing select bird species can provide benefits for other species within specific ...
May 22, 2025 — New research shows how rapidly proliferating turf algae are waging 'chemical warfare' to inhibit the recovery of kelp forests along Maine's warming ...
May 22, 2025 — An analysis of 900 species over a 20-year period showed that biodiversity enhances ecosystem stability and helps safeguard natural communities in a changing ...
May 22, 2025 — New research examining 11,700 years of bowhead whale persistence throughout the Arctic projects that sea ice loss due to climate change will cause their habitat to severely contract by up to 75 per ...
May 21, 2025 — SeaSplat is an image-analysis tool that cuts through the ocean's optical effects to generate images of underwater environments reveal an ocean scene's true colors. Researchers paired the ...
May 21, 2025 — How do organisms adapt to climate change? A new study reveals the complex interplay between genetic diversity and temperature tolerance ...
May 21, 2025 — Songbirds who make the arduous flight from their nesting sites in northern boreal forests to warm, southern climates in the winter may be rewarded for their journey with greater genetic ...
May 20, 2025 — Worldwide, coastal areas are squeezed between a rising sea level on one end and human structures on the other. The distance between a sandy coastline and the first human structures averages less than ...
May 20, 2025 — After invasive American bullfrogs 'croak,' native turtles return to Yosemite, finds a new ...
May 20, 2025 — Humpback whales are not always born in tropical waters, new research has shown -- challenging long-held assumptions about their breeding and migration behaviors, while raising new questions for ...
May 19, 2025 — A new report identifies the top 12 emerging threats that could accelerate pollinator losses within the next 5-15 years, according to ten of the world's leading ...
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Thursday, May 29, 2025
- Anthropologists Spotlight Human Toll of Glacier Loss
- Does Planting Trees Really Help Cool the Planet?
- Amphibian Road Mortality Drops by Over 80% With Wildlife Underpasses, Study Shows
- Agriculture in Forests Can Provide Climate and Economic Dividends
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
- New Velvet Worm Species a First for the Arid Karoo
- When the Forest Is No Longer a Home -- Forest Bats Seek Refuge in Settlements
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Friday, May 23, 2025
- El Niño and La Niña Climate Swings Threaten Mangroves Worldwide
- Managing Surrogate Species, Providing a Conservation Umbrella for More Species
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- New Study Reveals How Competition Between Algae Is Transforming the Gulf of Maine
- Diversity Is Key to Ecosystem Stability
- Climate Change Poses Severe Threat to Bowhead Whale Habitat
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- Imaging Technique Removes the Effect of Water in Underwater Scenes
- Yeast Reveals How Species Adapt to a Warmer Climate
- Songbirds' Great Risk Results in Great Genetic Reward
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- Coastal Squeeze Is Bad for Biodiversity, and for Us, Experts Say
- Native Turtles Return to Yosemite After Removal of Invasive Bullfrogs
- Surprise Baby Whale Sightings Reveal There's Still Much to Learn About Humpbacks
Monday, May 19, 2025
Friday, May 16, 2025
- Heat-Tolerant Symbionts a Critical Key to Protecting Florida's Elkhorn Coral from Bleaching During Marine Heatwaves
- Rising Temperatures Lead to Unexpectedly Rapid Carbon Release from Soils
- Language a Barrier in Biodiversity Work
Thursday, May 15, 2025
- Amazon Could Survive Long-Term Drought but at a High Cost
- Dual Associations With Two Fungi Improve Tree Fitness
- Human Activity Reduces Plant Diversity Hundreds of Kilometers Away
- Scientists Use Fossils to Assess the Health of Florida's Largest Remaining Seagrass Bed: Surprisingly, It's Doing Well!
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Monday, May 12, 2025
- Invasive Salmon, Clams and Seaweed Are Next Threats to Biodiversity in Britain
- Helping Birds and Floating Solar Energy Coexist
Friday, May 9, 2025
- First Fossil Evidence of Endangered Tropical Tree Discovered
- Heat and Land Use: Bees Suffer in Particular
Thursday, May 8, 2025
- Red Alert for Our Closest Relatives
- Researchers Find New Defense Against Hard-to-Treat Plant Diseases
- Database Reveals Vital Ocean Links to Aid Conservation
- Eco-Friendly Aquatic Robot Is Made from Fish Food
- Just 30 Species of Tree Dominate World's Most Diverse Savanna
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
- Pioneering Research Reveals Tree-Mendous Potential of Inexpensive Drones to Help Community Forests Flourish and Unlock Restoration Funding
- Fewer Parasites in the Indian River Lagoon Signal Big Ecosystem Problems
- Climate Change: Future of Today's Young People
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
- Replanted Rainforests May Benefit from Termite Transplants
- AI Has Untapped Potential to Advance Biodiversity Conservation
- Two New Crocodile Species Discovered
Monday, May 5, 2025
- Halo Patterns Around Coral Reefs May Signal Resilience
- A Fully Automated Tool for Species Tree Inference
- Ancient Poems Tell the Story of Charismatic River Porpoise's Decline Over the Past 1,400 Years
Friday, May 2, 2025
Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Study Shows How Millions of Bird Sightings Unlock Precision Conservation
- Intensifying Farmland Can Sometimes Degrade Biodiversity More Than Expansion
- Invasive Rats and Rainforest Mammals Are Sharing Gut Microbes as Urban Areas Grow
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- International Experts Lead Calls to Embed Nature in City Infrastructure for Better Health and Climate Resilience
- Deciphering the Migratory Behavior and Connectivity of Mediterranean and Atlantic Cory's Shearwaters
- When Sea Stars Fall, Sea Otters Rise: Sea Otters Benefit from Prey Boom Triggered by Loss of Ochre Sea Stars
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
- Forest in Sync: Spruce Trees May Communicate During a Solar Eclipse
- Missed School Is an Overlooked Consequence of Tropical Cyclones, Warming Planet
- Rainfall Triggers Extreme Humid Heat in Tropics and Subtropics
Monday, April 28, 2025
- New Pests and Diseases Will Cut UK Tree Growth
- Elephant Instead of Wild Boar? What Could Have Been in Europe
- Want to Understand Grasslands? Look at the Bigger Picture
- Chip-Shop Fish Among Key Seabed Engineers
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
- Paying Fishers to Release Endangered Catches Can Aid Conservation, but Only If Done Right
- Hotter Temps Trigger Wetlands to Emit More Methane as Microbes Struggle to Keep Up
- Nature Accounting in Colombia Makes Sound Economic Case for Protecting Native Ecosystems
- Newborns Living Near Trees Tend to Be Healthier: New Data Suggests It's Not Because Healthier People Reside Near Parks
- World on Course to Trigger Multiple Climate 'tipping Points' Unless Action Accelerates
Monday, April 21, 2025
- What If Mother Earth Could Sue for Mistreatment?
- Introduced Trees Are Becoming More Common in the Eastern United States, While Native Diversity Declines
Thursday, April 17, 2025
- Land-Use Drives Energy Dynamics of Boreal Lake Food Webs
- Curious Isolation: New Butterfly Species Discovered
- A New Record for California's Highest Tree
- Nutrients Strengthen Link Between Precipitation and Plant Growth, Study Finds
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
- Foraging on the Wing: How Can Ecologically Similar Birds Live Together?
- Colombia's Peatlands Could Be a Crucial Tool to Fight Climate Change: But First We Have to Find Them
Friday, April 11, 2025
Thursday, April 10, 2025
- Drug Pollution Alters Salmon Migration
- Caspian Sea Decline Threatens Endangered Seals, Coastal Communities and Industry
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Monday, April 7, 2025
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Monday, March 31, 2025
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
- Coral Diseases and Water Quality Play a Key Role for Coral Restoration and Survival Efforts
- How Elephants Plan Their Journeys: New Study Reveals Energy-Saving Strategies
- If Native Plants Are Going to Survive Climate Change, They Need Our Help to Move -- Here's How to Do It Safely
- Getting Hit by Lightning Is Good for Some Tropical Trees
- How Changing L.A.'s Tree Rules Could Cool More Neighborhoods
- The Devastating Human Impact on Biodiversity
- Researchers' Breakthrough Method Reveals Clouds Amplify Global Warming Far More Than Previously Understood
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Monday, March 24, 2025
- 5,700-Year Storm Archive Shows Rise in Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in the Caribbean
- How Extreme Weather Threatens Nature's Essential Services
- Introduced Pacific Oysters Provide Biodiversity Benefits in Port River