Protected areas, as a research topic, encompass geographically defined spaces that are formally designated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives, typically the long-term maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and associated ecosystem services. Scientific inquiry focuses on their design (e.g., size, shape, connectivity), governance regimes, management effectiveness, and socio-ecological outcomes, including impacts on species persistence, genetic diversity, habitat integrity, and local communities. Research also examines zoning, threat mitigation, monitoring frameworks, and the integration of protected areas into broader landscape and seascape planning, as well as their role in meeting international conservation targets and informing evidence-based environmental policy.
Tropical rainforests are known for their unique biodiversity, with species found nowhere else on Earth. But nearly 30% of tropical rainforest has been destroyed or has become seriously degraded since 1990. Many of these forests ...
Plants & Animals
20 hours ago
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6
Climate change is making Canada's seasons more erratic, its weather more extreme and its ecosystems less predictable—and UBC Okanagan scientists have now produced the first national map of exactly where that unpredictability ...
Environment
Apr 22, 2026
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Prescribed burning, when combined with tree retention, can effectively support natural regeneration in managed boreal forests, new research shows. The study demonstrates that post-fire seedling establishment remains strong ...
Ecology
Apr 15, 2026
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26
Halting and reversing the global decline in biodiversity is now urgent to avoid destabilizing Earth's vital systems that support human well-being. That's the stark message of a new paper published today in Frontiers in Science. ...
Environment
Apr 9, 2026
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There is an explosion of color beneath the surface in Raja Ampat, a remote archipelago in eastern Indonesia where sharks, mantas and sea turtles glide alongside vast schools of fish through sea fan coral formations, some ...
Ecology
Apr 9, 2026
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27
More than 3,000 fish species have been caught in bottom trawls, with estimates suggesting the true number could be nearly double, according to the world's first global inventory.
Ecology
Apr 8, 2026
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Tropical rainforests are home to almost two-thirds of all vertebrate species and three-quarters of all tree species: they are the most species-rich terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. However, over half of these diverse rainforests ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 8, 2026
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276
Reef sharks are observed less frequently on Caribbean reefs that have high levels of diving activity and greater coastal development, according to new research published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. Even recreational ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 6, 2026
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Fences are among conservation's most controversial interventions. To some, they are essential for conserving wildlife, minimizing encroachment, and preventing the type of conflict that happens when humans come into contact ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 6, 2026
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9
Natura 2000 is regarded as a milestone in nature conservation: this network of around 27,000 protected areas across the EU is designed to preserve wild plant and animal species and their habitats. It is the world's largest ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 1, 2026
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