Island Conservation
Further research on Ascension Island’s human-engineered ecosystem could generate insight into current environmental challenges. The challenge on Ascension Island is to maintain a balance of the new and the old. A novel ecosystem is an ecosystem engineered by humans. Over the last 150 years, non-native plant species were planted on the remote Island in the Atlantic […]
Drones enlisted to monitor global climate change and support conservation efforts. As global temperatures continue to rise, the consequences of climate change are becoming more apparent. Scientists can collect data on the rates at which ecosystems are changing to gain insight into the effects of climate change, and then apply their findings to infer what ecosystems […]
A new scientific study reports that the spread of invasive species around the globe has increased in the past 200 years, indicating a need for enhanced biosecurity. Which came first: the transportation of species around the globe or regulations on transportation of species around the globe? You guessed it–the former. Humans have been traveling with animal […]
Sequencing the genome of the Endangered Pink Pigeon may help protect the rare bird from a human introduced pathogen. The Pink Pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) is an Endangered species on the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. The existence of the species is somewhat of a miracle considering that in the 1990’s its population fell to an alarming 10 […]
Mice as Conservationists? Scientific American features research that could change the way conservationists prevent extinctions of island species. By: Heath Packard What if releasing mice on an island could result in the safe, humane, and efficient removal of damaging invasive rodents introduced to that island 100’s of years ago? “Mice as Conservationists” is not a […]
New beetle species discovered in Paris museum is already extinct, but leaves us with some important messages. Tucked away among the shelves of a museum in Paris for 140 years was a new discovery waiting to happen. To the untrained eye, it would appear to be just another beetle in a diverse collection. But in fact, there […]
Study shows bat biodiversity in the Caribbean will take 8 million years to recover. Once biodiversity is lost, can it be recovered? A paper published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, “Recent Extinctions Disturb Path to Equilibrium Diversity in Caribbean Bats,” by Luis Valente, Rampal S. Etienne, and Liliana M. Dávalos offers helpful new insight into this complex question. The […]
New research explores the connection between geographical distribution and the colors of bird feathers. Birds have reasons for looking the way they do–and we have modest understandings of these. Blending in can offer protection, while standing out can promote reproduction. Gloger’s rule states that birds living in humid climates tend to have darker pigmentation. Darker feathers […]
Long-term study of Azores arthropods proves rich for research and practical for conservation. The Azores make up an archipelago about 800 miles off the coast of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean. Of all the things you might notice about the Azores, the presence of arthropods is probably not the first. But, for researchers conducting a […]
Research finds important ecological linkages between the terrestrial and marine environments of the Line Islands. The Line Islands are positioned approximately 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, which also serves as the nearest land mass. With notable contrast to the surrounding barren open ocean, the modest sprinkling of isolated atolls is bursting with life. Though remote, the islands and […]