biodiversity

While evening and nighttime hours are generally known as a time of rest and sleep for humans and many animals, a great number of insects actually become more active after dark. A new global study has found that insect activity increases by an average of 31.4 percent at night. In their research, scientists from The […]

Crows are highly intelligent, social birds found on every continent other than South America and Antarctica. In a new study, researchers from the Institute of Neurobiology at Germany’s University of Tübingen have found that crows are able to learn to produce a specific number of calls, showing advance planning. How many calls they will make […]

While you may get noticeable joy from feeling the soil outside on your fingers or seeing your first tomatoes pop up on the vine, even indoor gardening can bring some helpful benefits for your well-being, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Helsinki, Natural Resources Institute Finland and Tampere University have uncovered […]

A new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has found that about half of all mangrove ecosystems in the world are at risk of collapsing, meaning they are considered vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered by the organization’s Red List of Ecosystem standards. Further, about 19.6% of mangroves, nearly one in five, […]

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has found that as much as half of the natural pasture land on Earth has been degraded by the impacts of climate change and overexploitation, putting a sixth of the planet’s food supplies at risk. The new UNCCD report — Global Land Outlook Thematic Report on Rangelands […]

Elephants are highly intelligent and social, forming close family groups and showing understanding, cooperation and empathy in their relationships. Now, an international team of animal behaviorists have confirmed that elephants greet each other with a complex array of gestures and vocal cues, depending on the individuals and circumstances. “Elephants live in multi-level societies where individuals […]

Ahead of World Fish Migration Day on May 25, a new Living Planet Index report has revealed major declines in migratory freshwater fish since 1970. According to the findings, migrating freshwater fish populations have declined 81% from 1970 to 2020. The Living Planet Index Migratory Freshwater Fishes report focused on data for migrating freshwater fish, […]

A keystone species, bison once roamed the American Great Plains in the tens of millions, but were hunted to near extinction. Bison are known as ecosystem engineers because they perform many services for the habitats in which they live, like rolling around and packing down soil in wallows that collect rainwater and grazing on different […]