The world's freshwater lakes are freezing over for shorter periods of time due to climate change. This shift has major implications for human safety, as well as water quality, biodiversity, and global nutrient cycles ..read more

Benthic diatoms are the most important and biodiverse primary producers in streams and comprise the basis for the food webs, fueling animals such as insects and stream fishes including trout ..read more

Using blushing coral star and genomic DNA analyses, researchers have uncovered vital links between coral populations at varying depths. They identified four distinct genetic lineages, finding strong connectivity between shallow and mesophotic populations. Shallow-specific lineages showed reduced genetic diversity and higher inbreeding compared to depth-generalist lineages. Importantly, mesophotic reefs emerged as crucial reproductive sources, particularly in the Lower and Upper Keys. Corals from these deeper zones hold significant potential to replenish and restore the declining shallow reefs ..read more

Records of koala admissions to veterinary hospitals in South East Queensland shows euthanasia was the most common outcome ..read more

The extinction of hundreds of bird species caused by humans over the last 130,000 years has led to substantial reductions in avian functional diversity -- a measure of the range of different roles and functions that birds undertake within the environment -- and resulted in the loss of approximately 3 billion years of unique evolutionary history, according to a new study ..read more

Conservation scientists have highlighted substantial gaps in the compensation for lost or downgraded protected areas. These gaps risk undermining global efforts for the protection of biodiversity and threaten the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets, which aim to conserve 30% of the planet by 2030 ..read more

A human rights-based approach to coral reef protection could ensure governments are held to account for safeguarding marine ecosystems ..read more

Asteraceae, a family of flowering plants which includes daisies, sunflowers and asters, are the most diverse group of flowering plants in the world. This plant family comprises around 34,000 species, some of which are well-known, such as artichokes, chamomile, dahlias and lettuce. An international research team has now compiled and analyzed a new global database on the distribution and evolutionary history of all Asteraceae species. The researchers found that an unexpectedly high number of evolutionary events -- known as 'speciation' where a new species of plants evolves from a common ancestor ..read more

Research shows a threatening development for two endangered primate species in Bangladesh: Phayre's langurs (Trachypithecus phayrei) and capped langurs (Trachypithecus pileatus). In mixed groups of these two species, hybrids have been found and genetically confirmed. If hybridization continues, it could mean the extinction of one or both species ..read more

A new international study has revealed the genetic impact of hunting in northern elephant seals. The research shows that this species narrowly escaped extinction by hunting, resulting in lasting genetic effects in the present population ..read more