https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Is that bird feeder in your backyard really helping nature? How about feeding the chipmunks that come to your patio? Or handouts to wildlife in their natural environment, far from human habitation? https://phys.org/news/2026-01-birds-wildlife-good-bad.html Plants & Animals Fri, 16 Jan 2026 11:10:01 EST news687783617 Scientists have discovered a new species of poisonous frog—brightly colored and measuring just a few millimeters—in the Amazon, according to a Peruvian government agency in charge of environmental conservation. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-species-poisonous-frog-peruvian-amazon.html Plants & Animals Tue, 07 Oct 2025 09:10:01 EDT news679046869 New research from the University of Georgia's Odum School of Ecology and Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant suggests there may be elevated levels of mercury in Georgia and South Carolina waters. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-alligators-lurking-georgia-swamps.html Plants & Animals Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:28:04 EDT news668856482 Ecuador battled a spreading oil slick Tuesday that has reached several rivers after a spill left thousands without drinking water and triggered the declaration of an environmental emergency. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-ecuador-oil-slick-residents.html Environment Tue, 18 Mar 2025 16:20:02 EDT news661532715 In flooded agricultural fields near the Tennessee River, tens of thousands of sandhill cranes stand tall among broken corn stalks and shallow water searching for corn, berries, seeds and insects. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-alabama-refuge-paradise-birders-thousands.html Ecology Sun, 19 Jan 2025 05:30:04 EST news656486825 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a plan that could lead to the expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-federal-okefenokee-wildlife-refuge-expansion.html Ecology Mon, 06 Jan 2025 11:20:01 EST news655382532 The Biden administration said Monday it will hold the second lease sale for potential oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Jan 9. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-biden-administration-jan-lease-sale.html Environment Tue, 10 Dec 2024 07:02:04 EST news653036515 For coral reefs, climate change is an existential threat. Australia's Great Barrier Reef has endured seven mass bleaching events over the past 25 years. Five have occurred in the past eight years. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-cool-deep-pockets-great-barrier.html Ecology Mon, 02 Dec 2024 10:50:01 EST news652357499 It's been 35 years since this "cerulean blue and cinnamon" colored bird has flown free in the wild. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-palm-sized-birds-extinct-wild.html Plants & Animals Wed, 25 Sep 2024 09:00:01 EDT news646472779 Australia is home to some of the most spectacular and enigmatic wildlife on Earth. Much of it, however, is being eaten by two incredibly damaging invasive predators: the feral cat and the red fox. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-native-animals-easy-prey-artificial.html Plants & Animals Mon, 26 Feb 2024 10:58:44 EST news628167520 A growing herd of 250 bison, re-introduced at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge to help restore toxic wasteland to the native short-grass prairie, often descends through a floodplain to reach First Creek and cross to the northern half of the refuge. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-bison-urban-growth-rocky-mountain.html Plants & Animals Fri, 29 Dec 2023 12:20:02 EST news623074290 What do fish do when the water gets too hot? https://phys.org/news/2023-11-thermal-refuges-trout-hot-weather.html Plants & Animals Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:22:38 EST news619798952 A new report from Trinity College evaluating a child-centered and trauma informed project to support children in refuge from domestic violence at Meath Women's Refuge and Support Services (MWRSS) was launched today to coincide with World Children's Day. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-voice-children-refuge-domestic-violence.html Social Sciences Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:05:59 EST news619797952 You've heard of the salmon run: upon reaching sexual maturity, wild Atlantic salmon, which are born in freshwater rivers but spend most of their adult life in the ocean, swim upstream all the way back to their birthplace to spawn. This remarkable migration—a journey thousands of miles long, against the current—is filled with obstacles, from dams to hop over to hungry bears to dodge. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-function-salmon-cooling-stations.html Plants & Animals Mon, 16 Oct 2023 16:08:03 EDT news616691281 At a time when marine life is disappearing from the world's oceans, researchers are celebrating the discovery of a new species of coral reef fish in the southern waters of the Great Barrier Reef. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-fish-species-great-barrier-reef.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Oct 2023 16:13:59 EDT news616086835 Knowing the potential dangers posed by storm surge and high winds before a storm hits can help coastal communities and emergency responders prepare. Visualizations showing projected storm impacts can make the complex science behind the projections easy to understand and immediately available to individuals in the storm's path, according to Peter Stempel, associate professor of landscape architecture. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-qa-coastal-storm-impacts-advance.html Earth Sciences Sat, 30 Sep 2023 04:08:53 EDT news615265726 The US government on Thursday announced plans to phase out single-use plastics on public lands, including the country's famous national parks, by 2032. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-phase-single-use-plastics-national.html Environment Fri, 29 Sep 2023 03:59:20 EDT news615178755 Alligators radically change the ecosystem around them to make the best of seasonal changes in water levels—and that's a good thing for wetlands. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-alligators-wetlands.html Plants & Animals Wed, 31 May 2023 12:39:04 EDT news604755542 Antarctica is an icy place today, but the ice extended even further during past ice ages. The question of how and where life survived on land in the icy continent, through the ages, has long puzzled biologists. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-antarctic-ice-age-survival-story.html Plants & Animals Sat, 25 Mar 2023 11:50:01 EDT news598794263 Flocking flamingos in groups of 50 or more may be one key to encouraging successful reproduction, according to a study published this month in Zoo Biology. Researchers used global data shared by zoos and aquariums to study reproductive success and factors such as climate, flock numbers, and an equal sex ratio in four species of flamingo in 540 ex situ populations worldwide. The zoos and aquariums curate data on groups of flamingos using the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) provided by the nonprofit Species360. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-flock-size-reproductive-success-flamingos.html Plants & Animals Thu, 26 Jan 2023 09:37:03 EST news593948221 The United States will phase out single-use plastics in national parks and other public lands over the next decade, President Joe Biden's administration announced Wednesday as part of actions on World Oceans Day. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-single-use-plastics.html Environment Wed, 08 Jun 2022 16:14:12 EDT news573923649 One suggested way to save humankind in the event of a deadly pandemic or other extreme global catastrophe is establishing a safe refuge—on an island or in such far-out places as the moon or under water—where a portion of the human population can stay alive. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-humans-survive-global-catastrophe.html Other Thu, 02 Jun 2022 05:58:51 EDT news573368326 As lakes across the upper Midwest grow warmer year after year, cool-water species of fish are finding it harder to thrive. In Wisconsin, that trend is especially noticeable in struggling populations of walleye—important to many indigenous communities, a top target in the state's sport fishery, and a popular item on many restaurant menus. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-scales-walleye-fish.html Plants & Animals Tue, 10 May 2022 16:51:49 EDT news571420306 The California Coastal Commission has approved a plan to poison invasive mice threatening rare seabirds on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-california-commission-oks-poisoning-wildlife.html Ecology Sat, 18 Dec 2021 05:25:16 EST news559027514 Wildlife worldwide is facing a housing crisis. When land is cleared for agriculture, mining, and urbanization, habitats and natural refuges go with it, such as tree hollows, rock piles and large logs. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-artificial-refuges-wildlife-popular-stopgap.html Plants & Animals Wed, 28 Jul 2021 07:57:05 EDT news546677821 Ben DuVal knelt in a barren field near the California-Oregon state line and scooped up a handful of parched soil as dust devils whirled around him and birds flitted between empty irrigation pipes. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-drought-upends-life-west-basin.html Environment Fri, 02 Jul 2021 04:08:05 EDT news544417678 The world's first dedicated platypus refuge will be established to rescue the unique Australian animals from climate change-fuelled crises, as bushfires and drought increasingly threaten their habitat. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-climate-disasters-prompt-australia-platypus.html Ecology Thu, 04 Mar 2021 04:23:23 EST news534054200 The US Department of the Interior approved oil and gas drilling on Monday in Alaska's pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). https://phys.org/news/2020-08-interior-dept-oil-drilling-arctic.html Environment Mon, 17 Aug 2020 14:11:57 EDT news516892313 New evidence identifies 64 pesticide residues in milkweed, the main food for monarch butterflies in the west. Milkweed samples from all of the locations studied in California's Central Valley were contaminated with pesticides, sometimes at levels harmful to monarchs and other insects. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-milkweed-food-source-monarch-caterpillars.html Ecology Mon, 08 Jun 2020 16:26:45 EDT news510852396 Five of nine tigers that narrowly survived a gruelling journey across Europe will be moved to a new home at an animal refuge in Spain after spending weeks recovering at zoos in Poland. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-tigers-spanish-safe-haven.html Ecology Fri, 29 Nov 2019 02:58:36 EST news494218712