Anthropogenic effects, as a biological process, encompass the direct and indirect impacts of human activities on biological systems, altering organismal physiology, behavior, population dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem function. These effects arise from mechanisms such as habitat modification, pollution, overexploitation, introduction of invasive species, and climate forcing via greenhouse gas emissions. At the biological level, anthropogenic effects drive phenotypic plasticity, rapid evolutionary change, altered life-history strategies, and disrupted species interactions (e.g., predation, competition, mutualism). They also modify biogeochemical cycles, primary productivity, and trophic networks, frequently resulting in biodiversity loss, shifts in species ranges, and changes in ecosystem resilience and stability.
Despite decades of scientists' warnings about climate and ecological breakdown, record-breaking heat and escalating environmental disasters have become commonplace. Science has been attacked, dismissed and politicized, and ...
Environment
Aug 18, 2025
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Every human being leaves traces behind, and has done so for thousands of years. In a new study, a team led by lead author Dr. Yanming Ruan from MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen shows ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 14, 2025
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144
The presence of humans and human infrastructure in U.S. national parks has lasting effects on the behaviors of the large animals that call them home, according to a new study.
Plants & Animals
Jul 29, 2025
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What does masculinity have to do with the climate? A surprising amount.
Environment
Jul 29, 2025
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Biodiversity is critical to humanity's sustainable future, but global species extinction is accelerating due to environmental changes and human activities. The Yarlung Tsangpo River, which originates in the Himalayas, flows ...
Ecology
Jul 17, 2025
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People often consider evolution to be a process that occurs in nature in the background of human society. But evolution is not separate from human beings. In fact, human cultural practices can influence evolution in wildlife. ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 6, 2025
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Light pollution, or artificial light at night (ALAN), is a widespread phenomenon in areas with dense human populations. Normally, animals use natural external cues, like sunlight and temperature, to synchronize their biological ...
In their paper published in Science of the Total Environment, researchers from IIASA and Lviv Polytechnic National University in Ukraine presented a novel approach to measure and understand human pressure on planet Earth. ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 1, 2025
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Humans have been reshaping the environment for at least 10,000 years. But the Anthropocene is the name given to the specific period of Earth history during which humans have had a global effect on the planet's climate and ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 19, 2025
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Designating areas as protected spaces for wildlife is a common strategy for preserving biodiversity, but heavy human development around those areas may largely counteract the benefit of those protections.
Plants & Animals
Jun 19, 2025
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