Morgan Erickson-Davis

About

Morgan has been writing for Mongabay since 2008 and came on full-time in 2014. Trained in biology, Morgan has taken any available opportunity to learn more about the world, from working as a fisheries biologist aboard longliners and freighters in the South Pacific to evaluating river health in western Montana. Morgan spent eight years editing technical papers before jumping into journalism, with more than 50 manuscripts under her belt. Currently, she manages Mongabay's forests and global palm oil reporting programs.

RSS
1046 stories
Mount Mulanje in southeastern Malawi. Known as the “Island in the Sky,” Mount Mulanje, with 13 peaks and high-altitude basins, is rich in biodiversity with over 70 endemic species and provides surrounding communities with freshwater, natural forest products and essential protection from storms. Image by David Davies, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr

‘A big no’: Opposition grows to proposed mine in Malawi’s newest UNESCO site

Ruth Kamnitzer 4 Nov 2025

Night dives reveal hidden alliances between young fish and larval anemones

Elizabeth Claire Alberts 31 Oct 2025
Birds flock in the foreground against wind turbines at the Spearville Wind Farm Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Spearville, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Radar study shows when offshore turbines pose greatest risks to migrating birds

Edward Carver 21 Oct 2025

Nations delay vote on shipping decarbonization rules after fierce US resistance

Edward Carver 17 Oct 2025

Indonesia falls short in bid to increase its share of southern bluefin tuna catch

Edward Carver 16 Oct 2025
In just a few months, Global Green have cleared vast swathes of forest in Prey Lang, opening the northern section of the wildlife sanctuary up to more potential deforestation. Image by Gerald Flynn / Mongabay.

Protected areas hit hard as Mekong countries’ forest cover shrank in 2024

Gerald Flynn 6 Oct 2025
After a chinchorro fishing haul, some fish considered worthless are left behind and end up rotting on the sand.

Illegal fishing threatens unique marine ecosystem in Peru

Ramiro Escobar 1 Oct 2025
The “pink panther,” operated by the company ECOsubsea, conducts a hull cleaning of vessel Frontier Kotobuki in Singapore.

With global rules pending, can the shipping industry get more carbon efficient?

Edward Carver 17 Sep 2025
A yellowfin tuna. Image © Jeff Rotman/naturepl.com, courtesy of WWF.

Countries shorten tuna fishing closure at Pacific summit with few conservation ‘wins’

Edward Carver 12 Sep 2025
In this Sep. 26, 2017 photo released by Ibama, the Brazilian Environmental and Renewable Natural Resources Institute, members a firefighter fighta a forest fire affecting Porquinhos Indigenous lands in Maranhao state in Brazil's Amazon basin. Image by Felipe Werneck/Ibama via AP.

More than half the world’s forests fragmented in 20 years — but protection works: Study

Ruth Kamnitzer 11 Sep 2025
Black grouper at Palancar Reef, Cozumel, Mexico.

Cruise industry expansion collides with Cozumel’s coral reef

Fritz Pinnow 30 Aug 2025
A school of barracuda in the Solomon Islands, a small island developing state in the Pacific Ocean.

Climate change is driving fish stocks from countries’ waters to the high seas: Study

Edward Carver 29 Aug 2025
A green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) swims along the Great Barrier Reef off Australia.

Scientists warn ocean-based climate fixes lack rules and oversight

Edward Carver 27 Aug 2025
Sea fans in a coral reef in San Pedro, Belize. Image by Fabrice Dudenhofer / Ocean Image Bank.

Belize project seeks out heat-resilient corals to protect its reefs

Marco Lopez 19 Aug 2025
A whale shark near Ningaloo Reef off western Australia.

Whale shark hotspot discovered along the Great Barrier Reef

Edward Carver 19 Aug 2025
View of central Kampala.

From counting trees to enhancing climate resiliency, Kampala focuses on its forests

Victoria Schneider 15 Aug 2025
A barberfish (Johnrandallia nigrirostris) swimming through Pocillopora corals in Panama's Coiba National Park.

Microbiomes may be corals’ secret weapon against climate change: Study

Marlowe Starling 14 Aug 2025
A fisher casts a small fishing net to catch fish for his family outside Phnom Penh, 2024.

Displaced and dispossessed, Cambodia’s ethnic Cham fishers struggle to survive

Daniel Zak, Vutha Srey 7 Aug 2025
An Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).

Evolution in overdrive as Baltic cod shrink due to fishing pressure, study shows

Edward Carver 18 Jul 2025
The truncate-toed chorus frog is a tree-dwelling species endemic to the Philippines with four recognized subspecies. They have expanded toe discs, called pads, on their toes.

Deforestation in the Philippines may have caused infertile hybrids of endemic frogs, study finds

Spoorthy Raman 16 Jul 2025
Paddle boarders over a coral reef in Indonesia.

Will temperate seas act as refuge for coral reefs? Not in time, study says

Edward Carver 8 Jul 2025
Squat lobsters and soft coral in the deep sea.

U.S. federal agency clears ways for deep-sea mining — and companies are lining up

Elizabeth Claire Alberts 8 Jul 2025
A brittle star (Gorgonocephalus sp.), recognizable by its numerous abundantly branched arms, attached to a white coral (Desmophyllum pertusum).

First-ever assessment highlights threats to Atlantic cold-water corals

Keith Anthony Fabro 30 Jun 2025
Fishermen releasing a sea turtle.

Peru’s new bycatch training aims to help save hooked sea turtles: Q&A with fisher Gustavo Rosales

Ana Cristina Alvarado 18 Jun 2025

In Peru, Yine women show how defending the Amazon supports local livelihoods

Geraldine Santos 18 Jun 2025

Microplastics and melting ice reveal deepening crisis in Antarctica

Soledad Domínguez 16 Jun 2025
A shortfin mako

Endangered shark trophies dominate the online wildlife trade, study finds

Spoorthy Raman 11 Jun 2025
A diver applies an amoxicillin paste to stony coral tissue loss disease-affected corals in Roatan, Honduras. The antibiotic paste can slow or halt lesion progression. Image by Antonio Busiello.

Researchers race to understand disease killing Caribbean corals at unprecedented rates

Ruth Kamnitzer 6 Jun 2025

Researchers identify 22 key areas for protecting struggling giant otters

Geraldine Santos 4 Jun 2025
Two lithodid crabs exhibiting mating behavior while perched on top of a basaltic rocky outcrop with an anemone (Liponema sp.) and a white sponge in the background.

Only a tiny % of the deep seafloor has ever been visually observed: Study

Edward Carver 30 May 2025
Residents of the village of Baraca gather at a mangrove restoration site.

Guinea-Bissau’s grassroots efforts offer a blueprint for global mangrove restoration (commentary)

Abdoulaye Ndiaye 29 May 2025

Scientists rediscover a Mexican rabbit they hadn’t seen in 120 years

Astrid Arellano 23 May 2025

News and Inspiration from Nature's Frontline.

Soldiers from the PROLANSATE Foundation on patrol
Videos
Articles
The last photo taken between Rhett Butler and Jane Goodall--who shared a friendship for nearly 15 years--at the Forbes Sustainability Leadership Summit. Photo by Sofia Negron.
Podcasts

you're currently offline