A Dubai lawyer who has spent four decades studying plants and animals native to the Emirates has had a species of gecko named after him. Scientists have named it Feulner’s semaphore gecko (Pristurus feulneri) after Gary Feulner. The name is a reference to how it communicates using its tail and body. The gecko is commonly found across […]
A new study sheds light on the power of keystone species, which could help ecologists in other environments. A sea otter floating above ribbons of kelp is undoubtedly one of nature’s cutest scenes. It’s well known that the marine mammals help make these sea surface ‘pillows’ more abundant, by eating the sea urchins that nibble […]
Talks in Colombia in October yielded some significant outcomes but ended in confusion. An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work on Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda. That is, how to spend what’s been pledged so far – and […]
Humanity can farm more food from the seas to help feed the planet while shrinking mariculture’s negative impacts on biodiversity, according to new research led by the University of Michigan. There is a catch, though: We need to be strategic about it. “We can achieve this sustainable mariculture development,” said Deqiang Ma, who led the […]
Our cities are polluted and overcrowded – but planting trees in urban spaces create future wildlife habitats. Between busy streets, parks and shopping centres, a green transformation is quietly underway, bringing nature back to the urban sprawl of cities. Micro-forests, small areas of densely planted woodland trees, are being planted everywhere from London to Los […]
A new study shows that increasing plant diversity in agriculture can be used to improve the carbon sequestration potential of agricultural soils. As the agricultural sector strives to reduce its carbon footprint, promoting biodiversity in agricultural practices could be the key to more sustainable and climate-friendly food production systems. As agricultural expansion and intensive farming […]
Earth will only remain able to provide even a basic standard of living for everyone in the future if economic systems and technologies are dramatically transformed and critical resources are more fairly used, managed and shared, according to an international research team including scientists from The Australian National University (ANU). The report, published in The Lancet […]
Natural England study suggests Agri-Environment Schemes are boosting biodiversity – but warns ‘finite land’ under pressure to deliver on multiple fronts England’s bird, butterfly, bee, and bat populations are among the beneficiaries of nature-friendly farming practices introduced under Natural England’s Agri-Environment Schemes (AES), new government research has claimed. According to an annual report published by the […]
Marine Protected Areas boost fishing and tourism, with profits sometimes in the billions, according to the most comprehensive global assessment of its kind to date. MPAs, or national parks at sea, are found in many of the world’s oceans, with past research showing fully protected areas can help restore fish populations by 500 per cent on average, […]
More than 150 species of wildlife around the world, ranging from belugas to butterflies, are at risk due to contamination from chemicals used in flame-retardant materials, a study said. Research carried out by the Green Science Policy Institute found that these chemicals have reached wildlife across every continent, affecting species on land and in the oceans, such as killer whales, red […]
