Biodiversity

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) declared 21 species extinct Monday, including 10 birds and two freshwater fish."

"As leaves begin to blanket yards across the country this fall, many might be tempted to clear away the crunchy foliage. Not so fast, experts say." "Fallen leaves can provide critical wildlife habitat and benefit soil health".

"An unlikely group of New Yorkers is winning small victories in the battle to protect butterfly habitats."

"In our Pyrocene age, enormous wildfires aren’t merely damaging ecosystems but transforming them."

"When it comes to packing on the pounds to survive an Alaska winter, this year’s undisputed champ is Grazer."

"Changes in the climate and land use are combining to dramatically shrink the numbers of insects pollinating key tropical crops. As those problems interwine and intensify, it likely will hit coffee lovers right in the mug, according to a new study."

"Two newly created national wildlife refuges in Tennessee and Wyoming will help protect habitats for threatened and endangered species such as toads, bats, shrimp and salamanders, federal officials say."

"The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s “State of the World’s Plants and Fungi” report assesses our current knowledge of plants and fungal diversity, the threats they face and how to protect them. The report warns that many plant and fungal species, 45% of documented flowering plants and half of all analyzed fungi risk extinction (though less than 0.4% of identified fungi have been assessed for extinction to date)."

"A £5m project is helping more than 100 historic churches deal with the damage caused by bat colonies".

"A team of scientists loaded into a gray minivan in this capital city earlier this year and drove for hundreds of miles west through the Kazakh steppe — a vast region marked by endless open plains of grass, abandoned farms and flower-filled meadows."