biodiversity

A new study of the British Isles’ coastal ecosystems has revealed that nitrogen enrichment is significantly reducing the abundance and variety of marine life.

The numbers came back wrong. Researchers at the University of New Mexico had been methodically working through preserved brain tissue, running the usual analyses on samples drawn from a cohort of donors spanning 2016 to 2024. What they found was not a trace signal or a statistical whisper. The human brain, it turned out, carries microplastic concentrations seven to thirty times higher than matche…

Tugboat tows carcass of ‘leviathan proportions’ 20km from Era beach to Bellambi boat ramp, attracting sharks, says councillor demanding inquiry Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Fishers, surfers and divers say they should have been warned about the towing of a huge whale carcass along a 20km stretch of coast south o…

A conversation with an ecologist and a national security expert about the underappreciated risks posed by ecological disruption The post Nature’s Overlooked Role in National Security appeared first on Nautilus .

Climate change is likely to drive rodent-borne arenaviruses into parts of South America that have never faced these diseases, putting new communities of people at risk, finds a study from the University of California, Davis.

A research project in Hawaii is turning recycled plastic waste into asphalt, aiming to reduce the environmental impact of marine debris and improve the state’s infrastructure. The program, called Nets-to-Roads, is run by Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research (CMDR).  The CMDR pulls approximately 200 tons of plastic from the ocean each year,… The post Hawaiian researchers t…

Over the last few decades, wildfires, farmers, and cattle ranchers have razed millions of acres of tropical forests across the planet. Much of that deforestation has occurred in three countries: Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia. But in the last few years, another, smaller nation has risen in the ranks of nations with […]

Research points to alarming species decline, habitat degradation, and deeper ecological stress in India’s Western Ghats

Elisa Pizarro Carbonell of Aprisco participated in the roundtable discussion on the topic “Biodiversity Management in Agroecosystems: Keys to Climate Resilience” as part of the Conference on Agroecology organized by the SEAE in Pamplona from April 22 to 25. Elisa Pizarro’s presentation, delivered alongside Christian Schöb and titled “BiodivRURAL: A Thousand and One Ways to […]

The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating 'sacrifice zones' that harm water and health of world's poor.

The Stillaguamish Tribe in Washington state has been buying land in its traditional territory and removing levees. The goal is to turn farmland into wetlands with the hopes of restoring Chinook salmon.

Cheshire villagers are letting lawns grow wild to improve diversity and reconnect with nature on their doorstep Ian Waddington was crouched in his garden last summer, inspecting loose paving, when he lifted a slab and spotted something extraordinary: a tiny field mouse nestled in a hollow, feeding four babies – each half the size of his little finger. “It was astonishing. Like life in miniature,”…

Arayaman Sharma, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University ABSTRACT Since the oceans make up more than 70% of the planet's surface and provide vital nutrients for human survival, they constitute an integral part of the ecosystem. Rich biodiversity and priceless resources can be found in the oceans or high seas outside of any nation's territorial waters. Because of overfishing, pollution, clima…

Exclusive: A grazier has released emails that reveal the state’s environment and water department prioritised harvesting of winter cereal crops over wetlands Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here The New South Wales government has routinely delayed environmental flows to critical wetlands in the state’s north-west in favour of farming, despite adm…

Lawns and wooded areas dominate urban green spaces (UGSs) and are known to store substantial amounts of carbon in soils, yet the role of lawn trees in litter decomposition dynamics remains poorly understood. This study assessed how trees influence litter decomposition through (i) microclimatic (temperature and moisture) and (ii) soil properties effects. Decomposition rates of 8 tree and shrub lit…

Scientific Data, Published online: 02 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41597-026-07329-6 Time series of environment and plankton during Raphidiopsis raciborskii blooms in two subtropical Chinese reservoirs

Tropical forest loss declined significantly last year, falling 36% after reaching a record level in 2024.

Nature Water, Published online: 01 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00640-x Water environments are pivotal in the spread of antimicrobial resistance, acting as conduits for antibiotics and resistance genes. Here, the authors explore the dual role of inactivating antibiotic resistance genes, highlighting their ecological benefits and risks, and propose strategies to enhance ecosystem resilience wh…

Nature Water, Published online: 01 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00638-5 Urbanization is reshaping microbial ecology within wastewater treatment systems. This study reveals that urbanization drives microbial homogenization and that reduced diversity is linked to poorer wastewater treatment performance and stability.

UChicago researchers show how arsenic leaves its mark on human DNA, offering a potential new tool for exposure assessment.