Signs of the Times Article 07.08.2021 Despite their perceived abundance, the periodical cicadas that emerged across the eastern United States this summer point to a growing set of threats facing both the insects themselves and the ecosystems they help support.
Antarctica’s Upside Down World Article 05.12.2021 Clinging to the underside of ice hundreds of meters thick, strange communities of sea life eke out a living in perpetual darkness. Now, researchers are racing to find and study these creatures before they—and their ice sheets—disappear.
Life, Death, and Renewal in the Campo Rupestre Photo Essay 04.22.2021 In a little-known region of Brazil that calls to mind Tolkien’s Middle-earth, unique lifeforms have evolved to endure innumerable environmental challenges. Can they survive the country’s latest era of deregulation?
Home on the Range Article 03.23.2021 Once thought to be extinct, tule elk have returned to roam across California’s Point Reyes National Seashore, but the park—which also supports beef and dairy cattle—is getting crowded.
Saving Slovenia’s “Human Fish” Article 12.15.2020 Scientists in this Central European country are leading the charge to understand and protect a charismatic, cave-dwelling salamander—and the subterranean habitats that supply much of the region’s drinking water.
Mother Load Spotlight 12.11.2020 Multitasking bat moms carry their nursing pups underwing all while navigating a growing array of threats in the Australian forests they call home.
Chennai Ran Out of Water — But That’s Only Half the Story Article 10.30.2020 To reduce flooding and bridge droughts, India’s southern coastal metropolis is using ancient knowledge, community action, and wetlands restoration to harness its monsoon rains.
Saving Mexico’s Lost World Article 02.18.2020 Microbes have lived in Cuatro Ciénegas for 500 million years. They’ve survived countless cataclysms and extinctions. But can they survive us?
Records of Change Video 01.17.2020 Thanks to foresight and meticulous records collected nearly a century ago, scientists are reconstructing a picture of some of Mexico’s most important ecosystems before they were transformed.
Refilling the Carbon Sink Photo Essay 11.12.2019 Long seen as wastelands, Scotland’s bogs are now the scene of an intense restoration effort in which millions of exotic trees are being felled to fight climate change.
Layers of Life Spotlight 11.12.2019 On a crowded coral reef, species often make their homes on top of one another (literally), living lives that are tightly intertwined both biologically and evolutionarily.
The Secret Garden Photo Essay 09.11.2019 The crystalline rivers of the Serra da Bodoquena offer a window into Brazil’s freshwater biodiversity. But with deforestation on the rise, that window is becoming cloudier.
A Precarious Perch Article 08.27.2019 Swallow-tailed kites have lost much of their habitat in the southeastern United States, but thanks to an unlikely ally, their numbers are beginning to climb.
The Lobster Wars Article 05.29.2019 In one coastal Mexican town, a sustainable fishery anchors the community. So why has Florida outlawed the same fishing methods?
Spirit of the Sahara Photo Essay 05.13.2019 For the residents of the world’s most iconic desert, including tiny fennec foxes, it will take grit and perseverance to weather a challenging suite of threats. Fortunately, those are two traits the desert dwellers have in abundance.
Free-Flowing, For Now Photo Essay 04.09.2019 Hundreds of new dams are currently planned for Central American rivers, posing a threat to Indigenous peoples and wildlife alike. Preserving the integrity of these corridors between the mountains and the sea will help them both.
Protected by Prawns Video 03.17.2019 Restoring native crustaceans along West Africa’s Senegal River may be a critical step in controlling one of the world’s deadliest tropical diseases.
The Unsung Reef Photo Essay 01.25.2019 Australia’s corals may get all the headlines, but the country’s kelp-dominated temperate reefs are at least as important and imperiled. Now they’re finally getting the restoration focus they deserve.
Where the Rainforest Meets the Road Article 01.08.2019 Community-led conservation has taken root in a remote corner of Papua New Guinea. Now the plan’s architects must ensure that ecological protection and economic prosperity can coexist.
The Wreckers Spotlight 12.12.2018 The lionfish that haunt one of the world’s most famous shipwrecks are now laying claim to new battlegrounds.
