- There are many important conservation and environmental stories Mongabay isn’t able to cover.
- Here’s a digest of some of the significant developments from the week.
- If you think we’ve missed something, feel free to add it in the comments.
Tropical forests
Scientists call for interbreeding between subspecies to save the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) (Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/EurekAlert).
Is “utility” the best way to value biodiversity? (Newcastle University/EurekAlert).
The Amazon’s river dolphins are losing about 50 percent of their numbers each decade, according to recent research (PLOS ONE/EurekAlert).
Construction magnate says he did not poach wildlife in a Thai reserve (Reuters).
Corruption in the forest service drives deforestation in Kenya, an investigation finds (Reuters).
Poorer areas in the tropics are likely to bear the brunt of climate change, a new model shows (Phys.Org).
Oxfam reports that climate-change mitigation funds aren’t ending up in the hands of the world’s poor as promised after the Paris agreement (The Guardian).
Gorilla poop offers a window into human health and evolution (Phys.Org).
Successful forest restoration hinges on local acceptance and support (CIFOR Forests News).
U.S. officials applaud steps toward forest protection in Liberia (Daily Observer).
Kenya still plans to increase its forest cover to 10 percent by 2030, despite a spate of illegal logging (The Star).
India’s forest policies could sideline local communities and open the door to surging deforestation (Al Jazeera).
A new climate model leads scientists to predict weather changes leading to wetter forests in Africa and Indonesia and a drier Amazon Basin (I4U News, UCI News).
Indigenous octagenarian healer shot to death in Peruvian Amazon (El Pais).
Indian government agency threatens to pull funding for tiger conservation in a national park unless authorities step up enforcement (The Wire).
Other news
How the Soviet nuclear program triggered the United States’ interest in climate science (Undark).
Some coral species shift their internal chemistry to survive increasingly acidic seas (ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies/EurekAlert).
Pikas in the U.S. are tougher in the face of climate change than we thought (Taylor & Francis Group/EurekAlert).
Flooding will be less of a problem if we keep the global climate temperature rise at or below 1.5 degrees Celsius, scientists predict (Goethe University Frankfurt/EurekAlert).
As sea ice melts, the world’s heaviest penguins appear to be getting slimmer (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/EurekAlert).
Wildlife numbers are dwindling in the Sahara and the Sahel as conflicts there escalate (University of Granada/EurekAlert).
A benefit of farming fish? Less land needed for producing food, scientists say (University of California – Santa Barbara/EurekAlert).
As microplastics accumulate on sea turtle nesting beaches, they could change incubation temperatures with potentially disastrous effects (Florida State University/EurekAlert).
Shark researchers pioneer a new method to keep tabs on previously hidden species (AAAS/EurekAlert).
Higher carbon dioxide levels favor weed growth over kelp, a new study finds (niversity of Adelaide/EurekAlert).
Climate change is driving down the number of species living in the Persian Gulf, scientists report in a new study (PLOS ONE/EurekAlert).
Ethics investigation into U.S. EPA leads to the resignation of two top aides (Reuters).
Chad has black rhinos again after being extirpated five decades ago (Reuters).
Poachers kill three rhinos in Kenya’s Meru National Park (Reuters).
Reef fish that can cope with higher temperatures pass that tolerance on to their offspring (Phys.Org).
The Revelator’s rundown of environmental books coming out in May (The Revelator).
Antarctic humpbacks on track for a baby boom this year (The New York Times).
Poor communities in the U.S. could shoulder the worst effects of climate change, Al Gore says (The Guardian).
Food giant Tyson is set to work with an Israeli startup to make meat in the laboratory (Reuters).
Mounting evidence suggests that whale- and dolphin-centered tourism could cause problems for the animals (Phys.Org).
A lifeless “dead zone” has been found in the Gulf of Oman, and it’s growing (Phys.Org, Haaretz).
As the world’s largest coral reef has suffered recent die-offs, it’s also grown quieter (BBC News).
Wacky weather patterns wreak havoc on bat lifecycles (BBC News).
Sources of freshwater on low-lying islands are in danger of contamination with rising sea levels (Pacific Standard).
Nigerian environmentalist calls for tax on plastic bags in his country (All Africa/The Guardian (Lagos)).
Dissecting China’s investments in agriculture — totaling tens of billions of dollars a year — around the world (Devex).
Stopping the trade in body parts for traditional medicine that’s threatening sun bears (Nikkei Asian Review).
Forests are important for Nepal’s prosperity, argues official (Kathmandu Post).
Researchers undertake a voyage to the Pacific’s white shark “cafe” to mingle with the predators (News Deeply).
NOAA still doesn’t have a leader confirmed by the Senate (The Washington Post).
Long distance swimmer aims to cross the Pacific and raise awareness for science (News Deeply).
Banner image of Sumatran rhinos by International Rhino Foundation (Ratu and Andatu Day 4Uploaded by FunkMonk) via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
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