Anthropologist contributed a large, multi-institutional study explaining how the human-influenced mass extinction of giant carnivores and herbivores of North America fundamentally changed the biodiversity and landscape of the continent.
Read moreWilderness areas, long known for intrinsic conservation value, are far more valuable for biodiversity than previously believed, and if conserved, will cut the world's extinction risk in half, according to a new study.
Read moreScientists say bolder actions to protect the world's coral reefs will benefit all ecosystems, human livelihoods and improve food security.
Read moreWhen it comes to feeding, corals have a few tricks up their sleeve. Most of their nutrients come from microscopic algae living inside of them, but if those algae aren't creating enough sustenance, corals can use their tentacles to grab and eat tiny prey swimming nearby.
Read moreScientists have now demonstrated that the 'stress' hormone cortisol is deposited in hair of wild mongooses in Portugal and determined baselines for cortisol in these carnivores. It is now possible to investigate whether different habitats and changed living conditions, such as the return of the Iberian lynx, place a particular burden on the mongooses.
Read moreWe usually think of a species as being reproductively isolated — that is, not mating with other species in the wild. Occasionally, however, closely related species do interbreed. New research documents the existence of a previously undiscovered hybrid zone along the coasts of California and Oregon where two related bird hummingbirds are blurring species boundaries, and researchers hope that studying cases such as this one could improve their understanding of how biodiversity is created and maintained.
Read morePalorchestid marsupials, an extinct group of Australian megafauna, had strange bodies and lifestyles unlike any living species.
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