An endangered species is a taxonomic group (typically at the species level) that faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future across all or a significant portion of its range, as determined by quantitative assessment criteria such as population size, rate of decline, geographic range, and degree of habitat fragmentation. In conservation biology and environmental policy, endangered status guides prioritization of management actions, legal protections, and resource allocation. Scientific evaluation commonly uses standardized frameworks (e.g., formal Red List–type criteria) based on demographic trends, reproductive rates, and known or projected threats, including habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, and climate change.
Most Americans tend to think about bats only around Halloween, but the U.S. economy benefits from these furry flying mammals every day.
Ecology
May 14, 2026
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8
Bottom trawlers extract one-quarter of the world's fisheries catches by weight and raise significant ecological, economic and social concerns. Given that, you'd think there would be an answer to basic questions in fisheries: ...
Ecology
May 13, 2026
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6
Alaska's Cook Inlet was home to nearly 1,300 beluga whales in the late 1970s, but today the population hovers around 300. Despite almost two decades of recovery work, the whales aren't bouncing back. The Cook Inlet belugas ...
Plants & Animals
May 13, 2026
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27
Last night, Labor unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform. It comes at a time when politics is consumed with the international shocks created by US President Donald ...
Environment
May 13, 2026
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7
Restoring dry forests in the Pacific Northwest, shaped by frequent low-intensity fire and widely spaced trees, often means thinning dense stands that accumulated after decades of fire suppression. This can make forests healthier ...
Ecology
May 12, 2026
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Greater protections for endangered emperor penguins and how to manage growing tourism will top the agenda at talks on Antarctica opening in Japan on Tuesday.
Ecology
May 12, 2026
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9
Birds of prey and vultures (raptors) play a vital role in ecosystems, both as top predators and key scavengers. However, compared to many other bird species, raptor populations are declining faster. This is because they need ...
Ecology
May 11, 2026
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22
Brush-tailed rock-wallaby populations have dwindled for more than a century due to historical hunting for the European fur trade and competition and predation from introduced species. New research shows terrain complexity ...
Plants & Animals
May 11, 2026
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13
The mountain bongo has become the "ghost of the forest," hard to spot amid the dense shrubs due to its ability to camouflage.
Ecology
May 9, 2026
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19
For more than a decade, conservation biologist Steve Boyes searched for "ghost elephants"—nocturnal giants rumored to roam a remote, high-altitude wetland in eastern Angola. When a motion-sensor camera finally captured their ...
Plants & Animals
May 9, 2026
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