A virtual reality simulation designed by a University of Oregon professor could help spur people to environmental action. Participants in Project Shell don a virtual reality headset and take on the body of a loggerhead sea turtle, sporting flippers instead of arms. During a 15-minute immersive experience, they journey from a hatchling to an adult turtle, dodging hazards like ships and wayward fishing gear.
Tag: Wildlife
Panthers now No. 1 predator of white-tailed deer in Southwest Florida
A new study by the University of Georgia found Florida panthers are the No. 1 cause of mortality for white-tailed deer in Southwest Florida.
After years of concern, monarch butterflies are doing just fine, thank you
Scientists have been warning for quite some time that monarch butterflies were headed for extinction. But to misquote Mark Twain, rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated. A new study found that growth in the summer population has compensated for losses during the winter.
Monarch butterfly populations are thriving in North America
For years, scientists have warned that monarch butterflies are dying off in droves because of diminishing winter colonies. But new research from the University of Georgia shows that the summer population of monarchs has remained relatively stable over the past 25 years.
Scavengers can be picky eaters
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Georgia found that when presented with a smorgasbord of options, vertebrate scavengers were selective about what or whom they ate—providing insight into how nutrients can cycle through food webs.
Snake trade in Indonesia is not sustainable enough — but it could be
Wildlife trade is a multi-million dollar industry. While some animals are traded legally, in compliance with legislation that aims to protect populations, wildlife trafficking continues to thrive in many places, threatening precious species with extinction.
Threatened South American coati found roaming in a large city
You may assume that metropolitan areas are devoid of wildlife, but that is very far from the truth.
Ecotourism is having a negative effect on primate’s behaviour
New research shows that the increase in primate ecotourism is having a negative effect on monkey’s behaviour. The study, led by the University of Portsmouth, found that this fast-growing tourism sector where tourists can conveniently reach primates via motor boats is causing stress-related behaviours in monkeys.
World’s New Stream Frog Found in Myanmar: Chula Researcher Indicates Its Ecosystem Is Intact
A biologist from the Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University working with researchers from Germany and Myanmar has discovered two of the world’s newest stream frogs in Myanmar highlighting the remaining diversity of ecosystems in Southeast Asia and cautions all those involved of the need to conserve our forests before our valuable wildlife become extinct.
Smuggling bear parts in Australia and NZ
Australia doesn’t have any native bears, yet our involvement in the illegal trade of bear parts and products is sadly a different story.
In a paper published in Pacific Conservation Biology, researchers from the University of Adelaide in collaboration with the Monitor Conservation Research Society and the Wildlife Justice Commission examined the demand for bear parts and products in Australia and New Zealand.
Study Documents Nigeria’s Staggering Role in Trafficking of Pangolins
A new study in the journal Biological Conservation has documented Nigeria’s staggering role in trafficking of wild pangolins, the anteater-like mammal whose scales are used in traditional Chinese medicines; all international commercial trade in pangolins and their parts is illegal.
Experts call for urgent roo management reforms
Wildlife scientists from research organisations across Australia, including from the University of Adelaide, have come together to call for urgent reforms to the management of Australia’s kangaroo populations.
After California’s 3rd-largest wildfire, deer returned home while trees were ‘still smoldering’
While many animals have adapted to live with wildfires of the past — which were smaller, more frequent and kept ecosystems in balance across the West — it’s unclear to scientists how animals are coping with today’s unprecedented megafires. A team of researchers tracked a population of black-tailed deer before, during and after the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire and found that most of the deer returned home within hours of the fire, while trees were still smoldering.
Carnivores may adjust schedule to avoid each other, researchers find
Just as humans may leave their home five minutes early to avoid a talkative neighbor or depart work late to avoid a rude coworker, carnivorous mammals may go out of their way to avoid other species.
First-Ever Africa-Wide Great Ape Assessment Reveals Human Activity, not Habitat Availability, is Greatest Driver of Ape Abundance
The first-ever Africa-wide assessment of great apes – gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees – finds that human factors, including roads, population density and GDP, determine abundance more than ecological factors such as forest cover.
Vampire bats may coordinate with ‘friends’ over a bite to eat
Vampire bats that form bonds in captivity and continue those “friendships” in the wild also hunt together, meeting up over a meal after independent departures from the roost, according to a new study.
Predicting bear intrusions on settlements: A 15 year Beech tree flower study
In recent years, black bears (Ursus thibetanus japonicus) encounter humans in rural and suburban areas of Japan leading to the deaths and injuries of people living near mountainous areas.
Study reveals gophers’ biofluorescence
Researcher discovers that the underground species has a secret glow
Roads have far-reaching impact on chimpanzees
Roads have a negative impact on chimpanzee populations that can extend for more than 17 km, new research shows.
Conservation Leadership Programme Awardees Help Establish New Management Plan for Brazil’s Largest Coastal Marine Protected Area
A team of conservationists in Brazil funded by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP), of which WCS is a partner, has assisted in the creation and recent publication of a new government-executed management plan to conserve threatened coral reefs in Brazil’s largest federal coastal marine conservation unit, the Costa dos Corais.
Watch this slow but deadly tortoise hunt a baby bird
A predator doesn’t need to have the quickest speed or reflexes to catch a bird. In a paper publishing August 23 in the journal Current Biology, researchers report the first documented evidence of a tortoise going in for the kill: biting the head of, killing, and eating a tern chick.
Southeast’s gray foxes may be struggling for survival
A new study published by researchers from the University of Georgia suggests competition for food from coyotes—a relative newcomer to the Southeast—may be putting pressure on foxes, particularly the gray fox.
Harmful Algal Blooms Jeopardize Health of Reptiles, Songbirds
Toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes region cause mixed reactions in wildlife, from higher stress levels to weaker immune systems.
Using snakes to monitor Fukushima radiation
Ten years after one of the largest nuclear accidents in history spewed radioactive contamination over the landscape in Fukushima, Japan, a University of Georgia study has shown that radioactive contamination in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone can be measured through its resident snakes.
BEYOND “JAWS”: Five Things You Didn’t Know about Shark Conservation
“Shark Week” kicked off on July 11th, and just in time, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has released five facts you probably did not know about shark conservation to raise awareness about this imperiled group of fishes and what’s being done to protect them.
How a Large Cat Deity Helps People Share Space with Leopards in India
A new study led by WCS-India documents how a big cat deity worshipped by Indigenous Peoples facilitates coexistence between humans and leopards.
Hunting, hidden deaths led to estimated 30% reduction in Wisconsin’s wolf population
About 100 additional wolves died over the winter in Wisconsin as a result of the delisting of grey wolves under the Endangered Species Act, alongside the 218 wolves killed by licensed hunters during Wisconsin’s first public wolf hunt, according to new research. A majority of these additional, uncounted deaths are due to “cryptic poaching,” where poachers hide evidence of illegal killings.
Conservation concern as alien aphid detected on Kangaroo Island
An invasive species of aphid could put some threatened plant species on Kangaroo Island at risk as researchers from the University of South Australia confirm Australia’s first sighting of Aphis lugentis on the Island’s Dudley Peninsula.
Antelope’s fate shrouded by social, political forces
The story of efforts to conserve the endangered oribi in South Africa represent a diaspora of issues as varied as the people who live there.
New Study offers Hope for Critically Endangered Gorillas in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
A new study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has updated the global population estimate for the Critically Endangered Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) – the world’s largest gorilla subspecies– to 6,800 individuals from a previous global estimate of 3,800 individuals.
Hepatic lipid signatures of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) at early stages of white-nose syndrome
Abstract White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent wildlife fungal disease of cave-dwelling, hibernating bats that has led to unprecedented mortalities throughout North America. A primary factor in WNS-associated bat mortality includes increased arousals from torpor and premature fat depletion during…
African great apes predicted to suffer massive range declines in the next 30 years, with the greatest loss in unprotected areas
A new study published in the journal Diversity and Distributions predicts massive range declines of Africa’s great apes – gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos – due to the impacts of climate change, land-use changes and human population growth.
Gift to establish K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Center for Conservation Bioacoustics will begin a new era of innovation thanks to a major gift from the philanthropist and Lab Advisory Board member K. Lisa Yang.
Polar vortex, winter heat may change bird populations
Researchers set out to learn how extreme winter cold and heat affected 41 common bird species in eastern North America. They found that individual bird species respond differently to these weather events, and extreme winter heat may lead to longer-term changes in bird populations.
Video platforms normalise exotic pets
Researchers at the University of Adelaide are concerned video sharing platforms such as YouTube could be contributing to the normalisation of exotic pets and encouraging the exotic pet trade.
Study Confirms Origin of Vervet Monkeys Living Near an Urban Airport for Decades
Scientists have confirmed the species and origin of a colony of wild African vervet monkeys that landed in Dania Beach more than 70 years ago. They escaped from the Dania Chimpanzee Farm in 1948 and settled in a thick mangrove forest near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in South Florida. The facility acted as a zoo and also provided primates imported from Africa as research subjects in the development of the polio vaccine and other medical research.
Health Status of Vulnerable Gopher Tortoises Revealed in Southeastern Florida
In previously unstudied gopher tortoise aggregations, researchers found that overall, 42.9 percent had circulating antibodies to an infectious bacterium that causes upper respiratory tract disease. Physical examination showed that 19.8 percent had clinical signs consistent with upper respiratory tract disease and 13.2 percent had some form of physical abnormality. None of the tortoises tested positive for Ranavirus or Herpesvirus, which represents important baseline data, since these viruses are thought to be emerging pathogens of other tortoise and turtle species.
Headwaters to Baywaters: A Future of Urban Resilience Launches
The goal of the Headwaters to Baywaters initiative is to ensure healthy lands, healthy waters, and healthy communities for the greater Houston region. The Headwaters to Baywaters initiative was launched by five partner organizations: Bayou Land Conservancy (BLC), Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP), Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF), Houston Audubon Society (HAS), and Katy Prairie Conservancy (KPC).
Genome sequencing delivers hope and warning for the survival of the Sumatran rhinoceros
A study led by researchers at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm shows that the last remaining populations of the Sumatran rhinoceros display surprisingly low levels of inbreeding. The researchers sequenced the genomes from 21 modern and historical rhinoceros’ specimens, which enabled them to investigate the genetic health in rhinos living today as well as a population that recently became extinct. These findings are published today in the journal Nature Communications.
Keeping Social Distance (From Wildlife)
Six feet of social distance may be the new norm between people, but a new WCS report says if you don’t want to disturb wildlife, you need to keep waaaaaaay back.
Blow flies may be the answer to monitoring the environment non-invasively
A study led by researchers at IUPUI shows that tracking the diet of blow fly using isotope analysis is an effective way to monitor changes in the environment without disturbing local wildlife.
BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES NEW CONSULTING DIVISION: BRI ENVIRONMENTAL
Biodiversity Research Institute announces the formation of its new environmental consulting services division—BRI Environmental offering a full suite of services for evaluating and permitting renewable energy development projects, infrastructure projects, marine installations, as well as residential and commercial development.
Study: Female Monkeys Use Males as “Hired Guns” for Defense Against Predators
Researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Congo Program and the Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation found that female putty-nosed monkeys (Cercopithecus nictitans) use males as “hired guns” to defend from predators such as leopards.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss How to Build a Native Plant Garden
New Brunswick, N.J. (March 18, 2021) – With spring on the horizon, Rutgers master gardener coordinator Angela Monaghan is available for interviews on how to build a native plant garden. “Everyone can encourage native plant communities in their backyards and…
STUDY: Using Conservation Criminology to Understand the Role of Restaurants in the Urban Wild Meat Trade
A new study in the journal Conservation Science and Practice finds that restaurants in urban areas in Central Africa play a key role in whether protected wildlife winds up on the menu.
“Ghost Forests” Expanding Along Northeast U.S. Coast
Why are “ghost forests” filled with dead trees expanding along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast? Higher groundwater levels linked to sea-level rise and increased flooding from storm surges and very high tides are likely the most important factors, according to a Rutgers study on the impacts of climate change that suggests how to enhance land-use planning.
10 years after Fukushima, animals reclaim the landscape
In the decade since a tsunami washed over the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, triggering the second-largest nuclear disaster in history, the surrounding towns have struggled to return to normal. But that’s not the case for the wildlife living in the area.
Weakened protections led to more disappearances of endangered Mexican wolves
Mexican wolves in the American Southwest disappeared more quickly during periods of relaxed legal protections, almost certainly succumbing to poaching, according to new research published Wednesday.
Rutgers Wildlife Experts Can Discuss Coyotes in New Jersey
New Brunswick, N.J. (March 2, 2021) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick wildlife experts Kathleen Kerwin and Chris Crosby are available for interviews on coyote ecology and behavior, how and when coyotes got to New Jersey and how to avoid human-coyote conflict. “The…
Don’t focus on genetic diversity to save our species
Scientists at the University of Adelaide have challenged the common assumption that genetic diversity of a species is a key indicator of extinction risk.