An endemic species is a taxonomic unit whose natural distribution is restricted to a defined geographic area, such as a specific island, mountain range, ecoregion, or political region, and does not occur naturally elsewhere. In biogeography and conservation biology, endemism is used to quantify spatial patterns of biodiversity, identify centers of diversification, and prioritize regions for protection. Endemic species often exhibit high levels of local adaptation and evolutionary distinctiveness but are also disproportionately vulnerable to habitat alteration, invasive species, climate change, and other anthropogenic pressures due to their limited range and frequently small, fragmented populations.
Trauma from vehicle collisions caused the majority of documented deaths for the Pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl), according to a statewide study led by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The findings represent ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 29, 2026
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Researchers have conducted a conservation genomics study on two critically endangered island oaks—Quercus bawanglingensis and Quercus pseudosetulosa. They assembled high-quality chromosome-level genomes and revealed how natural ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 26, 2026
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The tropical rainforests of Central and South America are among the most biodiverse places on Earth. Costa Rica alone is home to half a million species, five times more than exist in the entire country of Canada, despite ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 25, 2026
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Scientists have detected the highly contagious H5 bird flu strain in a second Australian state, the nation's agriculture minister said Wednesday.
Veterinary medicine
Jun 24, 2026
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Tropical rainforest patches perched on isolated granite mountains in northern Mozambique have yielded four new species of sylvan chameleons, according to a new study by Prof. Krystal A. Tolley and Dr. Werner Conradie, recently ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 22, 2026
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On a remote beach near Esperance, Western Australia, two sick seabirds have brought the bird flu crisis to Australia.
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 22, 2026
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Scientists have detected the H5 strain of bird flu in Australia for the first time, the country's agriculture minister said Saturday, meaning the highly contagious variant has now spread to every continent.
Veterinary medicine
Jun 20, 2026
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26
Australian Antarctic Program scientists are contributing to global understanding of the spread of H5 avian influenza (bird flu) with the release of findings from recent voyages to the remote sub-Antarctic Heard Island and ...
Ecology
Jun 18, 2026
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We often hear about glacier melting and predictions of what climate change could do. But very little is mentioned about the effects on ecosystems or the animals that call them home. To redress some of this imbalance, an international ...
It was something infectious disease expert Heather Ferguson never expected to see in her lifetime: a mosquito-borne virus originally from Africa spreading in Scotland.
Ecology
Jun 16, 2026
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