An animal and plant census is a systematic survey method used to quantify the abundance, distribution, and composition of faunal and floral populations within a defined area and time frame. It typically involves standardized sampling protocols such as transects, quadrats, point counts, or capture–recapture techniques, with effort and spatial coverage designed to achieve statistically robust estimates. Data collected include species identity, counts or density estimates, life stage or size class, and habitat parameters. These censuses underpin population monitoring, biodiversity assessment, and ecological modeling, providing baseline metrics for detecting temporal trends, evaluating management interventions, and informing conservation and land-use planning.
Should we protect an emblematic species if it may come at the cost of another one—particularly in ecosystems that are still recovering from human impacts? This is the conservation dilemma facing Monte Leon National Park, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 4, 2026
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Almost two-thirds of Australia is privately owned. But most of our scientific understanding of how threatened species are faring comes from research done on public lands. Traditional biodiversity surveys by professional scientists ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 19, 2026
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Nepal launched on Tuesday a nationwide tiger census, a key step in conservation efforts to aid the recovery of the big cats that once faced near extinction in the Himalayan nation.
Ecology
Dec 16, 2025
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Although millions upon millions of living creatures fly, feed and reproduce in the air, this habitat has hardly been researched. Insects are under increasing pressure worldwide due to global change and human activities. However, ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 8, 2025
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DNA pulled from the dung of African forest elephants has given experts a more accurate—and higher—population estimate for the elusive animal, but the species remains critically endangered, a study showed Thursday.
Plants & Animals
Nov 27, 2025
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60
During the annual salmon run last fall, University of Washington researchers pulled salmon DNA out of thin air and used it to estimate the number of fish that passed through the adjacent river. Aden Yincheong Ip, a UW research ...
Ecology
Nov 26, 2025
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50
A 30-year "snapshot study" of birds in the Pacific Northwest is showing their surprising resilience in the face of climate change. The project started when School of Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Benjamin Freeman ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 17, 2025
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The government shutdown has not had much effect on the human visitors at the Cosumnes River Preserve, but it may have a lasting impact on sandhill cranes and other birds that pass through this fall: Federal water bird counts ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 27, 2025
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New research from Griffith University has measured individual tree heights across 3.1 million hectares in the New South Wales Northern Rivers Region, revealing a level of detail not captured before, including old growth forests ...
Ecology
Oct 2, 2025
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33
Scientists from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, as part of an international research team, have studied the land snail and slug fauna in northern Vietnam's Cuc Phuong National Park. The now-published findings document an ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 30, 2025
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