Biodiversity

"Over a decade, scientists compared the genomes of 240 mammals to see how humans are the same — and different."

"To preserve habitat for fish and benefits for humans, some scientists suggest we need to explore the need for assisted migration."

"A record number of river barriers, including dams and weirs, were removed across Europe in 2022, with at least 325 taken down in 16 countries, allowing rivers to flow freely and migratory fish to reach breeding areas."

"The hellbenders’ alarming change in behavior may be linked to deforestation, a new study found."

"The hellbender salamander has been called a lot of things. Snot otter. Mud devil. Old lasagna sides.

And now, perhaps: baby-eating cannibal, according to new research into the parental habits of these giant amphibians.

An eight-year study of hellbenders living in the cold, rocky rivers of southwestern Virginia has found that male salamanders are increasingly consuming their own young in areas near decimated forests.

"The US Environmental Protection Agency has in effect ignored a 2020 federal court order prohibiting the use of Monsanto and other producers’ toxic dicamba-based herbicides that are destroying millions of acres of cropland, harming endangered species and increasing cancer risks for farmers, new fillings in the lawsuit charge."

"The U.S. government is launching a new program to combat the scourge of abandoned crab and lobster traps, which can dilute harvests and kill other fish in coastal waters from Maine to Alaska."

"Climate change and development projects have put many of America's rivers at risk, but some face greater danger than others, according to a new ranking."

"The House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to override President Joe Biden’s veto of a resolution to overturn an Environmental Protection Agency water rule."

"When North Atlantic right whales went missing from waters in the Gulf of Maine, it was a red flag. With only about 340 animals left, the species is at risk of extinction. ... Now, scientists are linking that to deeper shifts in the ocean, brought on by climate change."

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, determined to untangle housing, mines, and other development from time-consuming environmental reviews, asked the Trump administration in its closing months to let the state take over permits for building on federal wetlands from the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers."