The first tribally nominated marine sanctuary has been proposed by the Biden administration in collaboration with the Chumash tribe. The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would span 5,600 square miles off the coast of central California. The project is now undergoing a public comment period. The sanctuary would include an area off a 156-mile stretch […]
Scientists have discovered a new ecosystem beneath hydrothermal vents inside cavities of a well-explored undersea volcano. The volcano is located on the East Pacific Rise off the coast of Central America. An international team of scientists from Slovenia, Costa Rica, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States, led by Dr. Monika Bright, an ecologist […]
Representatives from the eight countries that share the Amazon river basin have signed the Belém Declaration, an agreement to work together to conserve the planet’s largest rainforest that includes a list of shared environmental measures and policies. However, the accord fell short of a consensus on ending deforestation. The countries — Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, […]
Tropical forests are the most biologically diverse land-based ecosystems on the planet, sometimes nurturing hundreds of tree species within one square mile. The concentration of diversity is astounding, even to scientists. In a new study conducted in a Panamanian forest, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) discovered that adult trees were […]
Quick Key Facts What Are ‘Wildlife Corridors’? A wildlife corridor is a strip of native habitat — either natural or human-made — connecting two or more natural habitats that have been disrupted by highways, cities or dams. Habitats of wild animals can span smaller areas like a riverbank or stretch thousands of miles across an […]
Weeks of meetings and negotiations by the 168-member International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Jamaica regarding the deep-sea mining of minerals has ended without approval of or regulations for the controversial practice. ISA member countries Palau, Vanuatu, France, Costa Rica and Chile proposed that the next meeting of the Assembly in mid-2024 discuss the protection of […]
Wild tiger numbers in Bhutan have risen from 103 tigers in the country’s first tiger survey in 2015 to 131 individuals in a recent survey. But the wild tigers still face major threats, including poaching and habitat loss, according to the survey. “This is a significant achievement and an indication of a very healthy ecosystem,” […]
Like the dry land on the surface of our planet, the ocean’s depths are made up of a variety of terrain, from plains and canyons to volcanic seamounts. Scientists believe there are as many as 10 million undiscovered marine species living on the ocean floor. Multiple new studies have found that a vast area at […]
Temperatures in the waters off the coast of southern Florida and the Florida Keys this month have been as high as 97 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Data Buoy Center. In the summer, waters in the Keys are normally reminiscent of bath water, but temperatures that high can threaten coral reefs. And it’s still […]