biodiversity

Warmest Sea Surface Temperatures in 400 Years Present ‘Existential Threat’ to Great Barrier Reef, Study Finds

Warmest Sea Surface Temperatures in 400 Years Present ‘Existential Threat’ to Great Barrier Reef, Study Finds

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — the world’s largest coral reef system — has been under critical pressure in recent years, with warming sea surface temperatures leading to mass coral bleaching that threatens its unique biodiversity, ecology and stunning beauty. Temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef have reached the hottest in more than 400 years, new […]

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    Scientists Discover ‘Dark Oxygen’ on Seafloor, Challenging Ideas on the Origin of Life

    Scientists Discover ‘Dark Oxygen’ on Seafloor, Challenging Ideas on the Origin of Life

    Scientists have discovered “dark oxygen” being created on the ocean seafloor by “polymetallic nodules” that potentially support life, new research in the journal Nature Geoscience shows. Andrew Sweetman, the study’s lead author and member of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), believes the nodules create oxygen because they behave like natural batteries. “If you […]

    South Africa Passes Its First Climate Change Act

    South Africa Passes Its First Climate Change Act

    South Africa has passed its first Climate Change Act, a sweeping law that will set limits for big greenhouse gas emitters and require that every town and city publish an adaptation plan with the objective of meeting the country’s carbon emissions reduction commitments in accordance with the Paris Agreement. South Africa is a member of […]

    Koalas Can Predict the Hottest Summer Days and Lower Their Body Temperatures Accordingly, Study Finds

    Koalas Can Predict the Hottest Summer Days and Lower Their Body Temperatures Accordingly, Study Finds

    A new study by researchers in Australia has found that iconic and endangered koalas have the ability to regulate their body temperatures more than previously thought. For the first time, scientists have observed free-ranging, wild koalas drastically lowering their core body temperatures during cool mornings in preparation for the most sweltering summer days. “This strongly […]

    Fruit Bats Have Cognitive Abilities Previously Believed to Be Exclusive to Humans, Research Finds

    Fruit Bats Have Cognitive Abilities Previously Believed to Be Exclusive to Humans, Research Finds

    Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have studied free-ranging fruit bats in a colony in Egypt to answer the long-standing question of whether animals have complex cognitive abilities previously thought to exist only in humans. The study focused specifically on mental time travel, episodic memory, delayed gratification and planning ahead, a press release from TAU […]

    Wilderness Hiking 101: Everything You Need to Know

    Wilderness Hiking 101: Everything You Need to Know

    Quick Key Facts What Is ‘Wilderness Hiking’? Wilderness hiking is an escape from developed areas into the healing vastness of nature. On a trek through the forest you can expect to experience peace, wonder and awe — all of which are great for the body and mind. Taking a backpack and venturing into the woods […]