The Issues of Using Militarization to Mitigate Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade
Original Paper: Duffy, R., Massé, F., Smidt, E., Marijnen, E., Büscher, B., Verweijen, J., Ramutsindela, M., Simlai, T., Joanny, L.
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When lightning strikes, it’s best not to be a giraffe
Standing at over five metres tall, giraffe exploit a feeding niche unavailable to most hooved animals. However, standing out from the crowd can also result in unexpected dangers. When violent storms clash in the skies above, giraffe become vulnerable to death by lightning strikes.
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Cat-agorizing Cat Owners to Reduce Environmental Harm caused by Domestic House Cats
According to conservationists, domestic cats belong indoors for their safety and the safety of other animals. But, some cat owners disagree, causing rifts between pro-outdoor and pro-indoor cat parents. In a new study, researchers interviewed cat owners across the United Kingdom and cat-agorized cat owners into six distinct groups. Depending on the cat owner’s views , conservationists may have a larger impact if they target their message towards the emotional connection owners have with their feline friends.
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Stop Copying Me! – Spiders that buzz like wasps
Buzzzzzz. It’s a wasp. It’s a bee. No, it’s a spider! Did you know that some spiders can make a sound? Palpimanus spiders can produce a wasp-like buzz by rubbing their front appendages against their mouthparts. Many animals have learned not to eat anything that buzzes for fear of being stung. To avoid being eaten, Palpimanus spiders have copied this sound even though they are entirely harmless. Stop by to find out what all of the spider buzz is about!
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What is to blame for harmful algal blooms?
The world’s largest dam provides a massive amount of energy, but has unintended consequences as well.
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Blue and green make grey work better: how blue and green infrastructure can improve equity of ecosystem services in urban areas
Andersson, E. J. Langemeyer, S. Borgström, T. McPhearson, D. Haase, J. Kronenberg, D.N. Barton, M. Davis, S. Naumann, L. Röschel,
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Where Categorizing Hurricanes Falls Short
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating hurricanes in history, leading to over 1800 fatalities and tying Hurricane Harvey as the costliest hurricane on record. But at the time Katrina made landfall, it was “only” ranked as Category 3 by the Saffir-Simpson scale, which goes up to Category 5. So why did Katrina, at only Category 3, cause so much more destruction than most Category 5 storms? And what does that tell us about what the Saffir-Simpson scale is missing?
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Lending a helping hand (or fin)
In the wild we often think organisms compete with each other in the struggle for survival, but many species, including the unassuming oyster, actually help each other out. Helping organisms from the same and different species can lead to healthier ecosystems where more than just one group benefits.
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What All the Buzz is About: Comparing Citizen Scientist and Professional Data Quality in Mosquito Monitoring
Executive summary: Citizen science efforts are on the rise for monitoring mosquitoes, but are these methods as good as professional data collection by scientists? Nadja Pernat and her colleagues evaluate data collected by scientists and citizens in Germany and find that both types of data collection have their strengths and weaknesses, but they complement each other well. Together, data collected by scientists and citizens create a strong mosquito monitoring program.
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Will climate change bring cultural change?
Sometimes science isn’t enough to protect a species. Sometimes, culture is necessary. People are likely to care most about protecting species they find culturally important. But are these culturally important species the most threatened due to climate change? A case study from Costa Rica offers some insights into this question.
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