Fragmentation News

Fragmentation in Rondonia, Brazil. Courtesy of Google Earth Climate change may be taking a hidden toll on intact rainforests in the heart of the Amazon, finds a new study based…

With food and water scarce in many parts of Africa, many species migrate long-distances in order to survive. A new study published in the journal, Oryx has found a new…

The Theory of Island Biogeography, coined by Robert MacArthur and E.O. Wilson, helps describe why species are distributed as they are. The larger and closer an island is to another…

Although the Republic of the Congo has opened up nearly 90 percent of its lowland forests to logging, the majority of the logging occurring in the country is still illegal,…

Innovation in Tropical Forest Conservation: Q&A with Dr. Phillip Fearnside Pasture meets gallery forest in the Brazilian Amazon. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. How much is a forest really worth?…

The turkey-sized, noisy, fruit-feasting guans are arguably one of the strangest wildlife sightings in the tropical forests of Central and South America. Ancient animals, these birds are members of the…

Scientists have identified a new species of day gecko that is the largest in its genus (Cnemaspis) to be found in Sri Lanka. To date, it has been observed only…

Innovation in Tropical Forest Conservation: Q&A with Stuart Pimm Aerial view of forest fragment in Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Dr. Stuart Pimm is an expert in extinctions:…

An interview with Nurzahafarina Othman, a part of our on-going Interviews with Young Scientists series. Bornean elephants tussling on the Kinabatangan River. Photo courtesy of: Nurzahafarina Othman. In the Malaysian…

As tropical forests worldwide are increasingly cut into smaller and smaller fragments, mammal extinctions may not be far behind, according to a new study in Science. Tracking native smalls mammals…

In a world first, scientists have captured images and video of a boa constrictor attacking and devouring whole a femle howler monkey, one of the largest new world primates weighing…

The world's species are in worse trouble than widely-assumed, according to a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which reevaluates how scientists estimate extinction…

The extinction of large, fruit-eating birds in fragments of Brazil's Atlantic rainforest has caused palm trees to produce smaller seeds over the past century, impacting forest ecology, finds a study…

As primary forests become increasingly rare and expensive to protect, many ecologists are looking to better management of Human Modified Landscapes (HMLs) to shepherd and shield biodiversity in the tropics.…

Adult Peruvian night monkey. Photo by: Jean Paul Perret/NPC. The Peruvian night monkey (Aotus miconax) is one of the world's least known primates, having never been studied in the wild--until…

Helen's tree frog. Photo courtesy of Jodi Rowley. Jodi Rowley is no stranger to discovering new amphibians—she's helped describe over 10 in her short career thus far—but she was shocked…

Industrial area in Kalimantan. Photo courtesy of Stanislav Lhota. The proposed extension of an industrial area in East Kalimantan, Indonesia will likely mean the end of a population of rehabilitated…

New research shows that the lowland tapir is nearly extinct in the Atlantic Forest. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. When the Portuguese first arrived on the shores of what is now…

Surface coal mining in Bihar, India. Around 70-80 percent of India's power is currently provided by coal. Burning coal fuels climate change, causes acid rain, and spreads toxic pollutants into…

Logging in Gabon, Central Africa. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Industrial logging in primary tropical forests that is both sustainable and profitable is impossible, argues a new study in Bioscience,…

Ratu (above) and the baby male are doing well. Photo by: International Rhino Foundation. After two miscarriages and a pregnancy that lasted 15 months, Ratu, a female Sumatra rhino, has…

Sawmill in Indonesia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Last year researchers took the first ever publicly-released video of an African golden cat (Profelis aurata) in a Gabon rainforest. This beautiful,…

Forest fragments along riversides in Uganda may make good habitats for chimpanzees but remain unprotected, according to a new study in mongabay.com's open access journal Tropical Conservation Society (TCS). Researchers…

Putut (center) and her family, after being collared in October 2011. Photo courtesy of Benoit Goossens. Forest fragmentation and destruction is imperiling the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), according to…

Illegally logged tree in Indonesia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Australia should join the widening effort to stamp out illegal logging, according to testimony given this week by tropical ecologist…

Gibbon released into new home. Photo by: Dipankar Bhagawati. Two Hoolock gibbons have been successfully translocated from a fragmented forest to Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary in the beginning of a desperate…

Kivu giant pouched rat caught on camera trap eating a seed of Carapa grandiflora. Photo by: Aisha Nyiramana. Rats are rarely thought of as heroes. In fact, in many parts…

The Atlantic Forest in Brazil is one of the most fragmented and damaged forests in the world. Currently around 12 percent of the forest survives, with much of it in…

Lowland tapir in Yasuni National Park in Ecuador. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. Patricia Medici will be speaking at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo in San Francisco on October 1st, 2011.…

Central Suriname Nature Reserve, Suriname. A jaguar (Panthera Onca), a Near Threatened species. Of the sites researched, Suriname's site presented the highest number of species diversity. Photo courtesy of Conservation…