Latest Biodiversity Stories

New study shows that plant species living in urban backyards are closer related to each other and live shorter than plant species in the countryside Minneapolis/ Halle/Saale. Cities in both, the US and Europe harbor more plant species than rural areas. However, plant species of urban areas are closer related to each other and often share similar functions. Consequently, urban ecosystems should be more sensitive towards environmental impacts than rural ecosystems. This is concluded by...

In the ecosystems of islands with high mountains, endemic animal and vegetation species are twice as isolated, making them even more exclusive. A European study with Spanish involvement confirms this, which adds the factor of altitude to wider biodiversity. Oceanic islands are born, they grow, they are eroded and they disappear beneath the sea. Throughout this process, which takes millions of years, the islands change form and therefore change their 'tenants'. The species adapt to the new...

Over the last 50 years, the world’s middle and upper classes have more than doubled their consumption levels, and an additional 1 to 2 billion people globally aspire to join the consumer class. The planet cannot maintain such increases in resource demand without serious consequences for both people and ecosystems, concludes the Worldwatch Institute in State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity. The book, the 29th in a series that Worldwatch began in 1984, stresses that we...

New research from the University of Adelaide could help protect one of the world's most globally threatened tree species - the big leaf mahogany - from extinction. Big leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) is the most prized mahogany timber around the world. It is at risk of extinction in its native habitats because of the timber trade, particularly in Central and South America. To better understand how such a threatened species can be brought back from the brink of extinction,...

Scientists say worldwide collections, existing experts and technology make charting 10 million species in less than 50 years achievable; a necessary step to sustain planet's biodiversity An ambitious goal to describe 10 million species in less than 50 years is achievable and necessary to sustain Earth's biodiversity, according to an international group of 39 scientists, scholars and engineers who provided a detailed plan, including measures to build public support, in the March 30 issue of...

Despite the predicted environmental benefits of biofuels, converting land to grow bioenergy crops may harm native wildlife. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig have developed a way to study the effects of increased energy crop cultivation on farmland bird populations. "The Skylark is an indicator species for agricultural areas because it occupies many habitats of the wider countryside around the globe, breeds on the ground within fields and feeds...

Picky females play a critical role in the survival and diversity of species, according to a Nature study by researchers from the University of British Columbia and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria. To date, biodiversity theories have focused on the role played by adaptations to the environment: the species best equipped to cope with a habitat would win out, while others would gradually go extinct. The new study presents the first theoretical model...

NEW YORK, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, 2012 and beyond, consumers nationwide can help restore the critically endangered Atlantic Forest in Brazil by purchasing a limited edition Phytopolleine. Beginning April 1, 2012, this 100% essential oil scalp treatment will be launched by renowned botanical hair care brand PHYTO and will support The Nature Conservancy's "Plant a Billion Trees" campaign. (Photo:...

New guidelines on how to save some of Europe’s most threatened butterfly species have been published by a team of scientists co-ordinated by Butterfly Conservation Europe. The report covers 29 threatened species listed on the EU Habitats Directive. Each Member State has a responsibility to conserve these species. The new report will provide crucial information on how to achieve this goal and meet their international biodiversity targets. The report entitled “Dos and don’ts for...

The report entitled "Dos and don'ts for butterflies of the Habitats Directive of the European Union" was published in the form of an "Applied Conservation" paper in the newly launched open-access journal Nature Conservation (press release on the journal launch). It includes detailed accounts of each species, their habitat requirements and food-plants, as well as a list of dos and don'ts in the management of their habitats. European butterflies are under huge threat and almost 10% are now...