Mexico could see record temperatures in the next two weeks, as extreme heat driven partially by El Niño blankets the country. A lack of sufficient rainfall has left 70 percent of Mexico suffering from drought conditions, with a third experiencing severe drought, the national water commission said, as Reuters reported. “In the next 10 to […]
Long known to be the peaceful close relative of humans, scientists have discovered that the endangered bonobo is more complicated than previously believed. A new study has observed male bonobos acting aggressive more often than male chimpanzees within their own communities. The researchers also found that more aggressive males of both species had more mating […]
Quick Key Facts Benefits of Native Plants A butterfly feeds on a native coneflower in a pollinator garden of the East Decatur Greenway in Decatur, Georgia. Thomas Cizauskas / Flickr Native plants are indigenous plant species that evolve naturally on land or in the water, and are an integral piece of thriving ecosystems, providing critical […]
Biologists have observed a Sumatran male orangutan using the sap and chewed leaves of a medicinal plant to treat an open wound on his face. While there has been previous evidence of self-medication behaviors in animals, it is the first known incident of an animal in the wild treating a wound with a “biologically active […]
The Biden administration announced plans to expand two national monuments in California: the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. The move, announced on May 2, will add protections to nearly 120,000 acres of land in the state. The expansion contributes to President Joe Biden’s target of conserving and restoring […]
A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has found that Tyson Foods dumped hundreds of millions of pounds of pollutants into U.S. waterways from 2018 to 2022. The pollutants came from company facilities including slaughterhouses and processing plants. UCS analyzed publicly available data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and found […]
A first-of-its-kind study that analyzed hundreds of conservation actions around the world has confirmed that efforts toward preserving wildlife are resulting in measurable achievements. The international study, published in the journal Science, sought to assess whether conservation efforts were having any positive impacts on biodiversity. Researchers analyzed 186 studies, including 665 trials, and measured changes […]
Adam Welz’s The End of Eden is an extraordinary document of a planet under stress. Taking a deep dive into the scientific history of our planet, Welz brings the research into the moment by exploring how species around the world are being forever altered or eliminated, in ways that few people are aware. “Humans have […]
Quick Key Facts What Are ‘Grasslands’? Grasslands — also known as savannas, prairies, steppes and pampas — are ecosystems found in parts of the world that do not get sufficient consistent rainfall to support forest growth, but get enough to avoid the landscape turning into desert. Often, grasslands are a transition ecosystem between deserts and […]