Biodiversity Stories
In this new epoch, human influence is ubiquitous in the natural world. Coverage of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems in Anthropocene magazine takes a critical look at humans’ changing relationship with the natural world—and ways to promote biodiversity in the novel ecosystems we’ve created.
As glaciers vanish, what should we do with the land that’s revealed?
Enough untouched terrain to cover all of Finland could be uncovered as glaciers retreat, scientists found. Much of it is unprotected.
Could the fate of an ecosystem hinge on a single keystone gene?
In the 1960s, a scientist revolutionized ecology with the idea of keystone species that have an outsized effect on entire ecosystems. Now scientists say they have found a keystone gene.
For some birds, a “taxi” helps recalibrate out-of-sync migrations
Pied flycatchers in the Netherlands were arriving late as climate change pushed spring earlier. Scientists drove them north to Sweden, and then they thrived.
As deciduous trees take over boreal forests, they could reverse carbon losses from massive fires
Researchers found that stands that had shifted to deciduous dominance had a net increase in carbon storage by a factor of five over the disturbance cycle
The insect apocalypse is more nuanced than it first appears
New work suggests that the countryside can support a lot of insects, but a small variety. Meanwhile, cities have less vegetation, but a bigger variety of habitats.
A drastic revolution in the way we eat and farm could limit habitat lost to agriculture to a mere 1%
Alternatively, researchers found, if we don’t change our food systems, habitat losses will affect tens of thousands of species by 2050
Nanosilver may cut down on odor, but does it make clothing “green”?
Less frequent laundering may not offset the additional environmental impacts of using antimicrobial silver nanoparticles in textiles.
Using supercomputers, scientists bring climate measurements down to eye-level for critters
With data from over 1,000 sensors across Europe—and running as much as half a quadrillion calculations per second—the team has created exquisitely detailed maps pinpointing cool habitat oases in a warming planet
German researchers press for unorthodox butterfly conservation: mining and grazing
As grasslands vanish in parts of Europe, butterflies are finding refuge in unusual places, including industrial wastelands.
Researchers used Covid lockdown to show how tourism can protect vulnerable seabirds
After a Sweden company shut down tourist traffic to a bird watching island, an influx of eagles wreaked havoc on the murre breeding season
