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.
A global study of mangroves has found that a modest boost in conserved areas could significantly increase their ability to adapt to the changing climate, including rising sea levels. University of Queensland Ph.D. candidate ...
Environment
Mar 4, 2026
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22
Funding sustained, effective management of marine protected areas is one of ocean conservation's most stubborn problems. Now, a new study from researchers at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography links fish recovery ...
Ecology
Mar 4, 2026
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10
A recent study published in PLOS ONE has shed light on public perceptions of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in wildlife conservation across Czechia, Germany, and Italy. The research, conducted as part of the BioRescue ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
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16
Floodplains face increasing pressure: currently protected areas will not be sufficient to preserve the species living in them in the future, a review study conducted under the direction of the Swiss Federal Institute for ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
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13
A new article introduces a science-based operational framework developed by researchers from several universities and the Danish Biodiversity Council. The framework can help countries assess their genuine national contributions ...
Environment
Mar 2, 2026
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10
New Zealand's earlier efforts to safeguard marine or coastal environments, particularly as marine reserves and marine protected areas, typically focused on shallow ecosystems, largely because that is where most data exists.
Ecology
Feb 27, 2026
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18
Even the most remote regions of the globe are not free from plastic pollution. In a study published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, researchers from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil have detected plastic rocks on ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 26, 2026
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324
When Paul Reillo learned the endangered mountain bongo antelopes that he had cared for since birth were stranded in a cargo plane on an airport tarmac ahead of their journey to a new home in Kenya, he took matters into his ...
Ecology
Feb 20, 2026
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1117
Hundreds of thousands of marine animals are killed every year after becoming accidentally caught in commercial fishing nets. Sharks, skates and rays are at particular risk, alongside turtles, seals, whales and dolphins, many ...
Ecology
Feb 20, 2026
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25
As the effects of climate change intensify, it has become standard practice for major corporations to pledge their support for environmental sustainability. This is as it should be, because genuine corporate engagement is ...
Ecology
Feb 18, 2026
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19
