Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies travel south to Mexico and take refuge in twelve mountain sanctuaries of oyamel fir forests. Now, declining numbers of the overwintering butterflies expose the…
Scientists only have so many hands and eyes. That’s why ecologists enlisted hundreds of Makushi and Wapishana villagers to record the sights and signs of animals across 48,000 square kilometers…
Sleek, powerful tunas and billfishes that ply the open ocean garner some of the highest prices of any fish. In January, a single bluefin tuna fetched a record $396,000 at…
Fleshy whorls of thick brown algae blanket the once-vibrant corals in Glover’s Reef, Belize. According to a controversial study published August 14 in the journal Coral Reefs, a decade of…
Tree shrews and nocturnal rats in the forests of Borneo have a unique relationship with carnivorous pitcher plants. The mammals defecate, and the pitchers are happy to receive. A study…
Mingling with wild grazers, such as zebra, is better for cattle than dining alone—during the wet season, at least—according to researchers in Kenya. Their new study crumbles the longstanding assumption…
Dead men tell no tales, but dead frogs can speak volumes. Scientists have shown that frogs and salamanders preserved in museums tell the history of a deadly fungus and its…
BP’s disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico this year killed countless marine animals, but it was a boon for oil-eating bacteria. The organisms, usually quiescent deep in the…
Early pregnancies prepare a cheetah for a life of productive motherhood, new research shows. A study published on 20 September in Conservation Letters advises captive breeding programs to focus on…
Ecotourism is one of the most profitable uses of tropical forest in the Tambopata area of the Peruvian Amazon, according to a study released on 29 September in the journal…
New research within the native Wapishana and Makushi communities of Guyana suggests that indigenous cultural beliefs such as shamanism help preserve tropical forests and wildlife. The analysis, published in the…
As the world’s population increases, a surge in the number of older adults and the movement of people from the countryside to crowded cities will significantly affect levels of carbon…
Getting to know the heaviest bony fish in the world is surprisingly hard. At 3 m (10 ft) long and 2,200 kg (4,850 lb), the Mola mola, or ocean sunfish,…
Most people wish each day had more than 24 hours. But as the planet heats up, that limited number of hours might push endangered African apes even closer to extinction…
From the terrifying Komodo dragon to the diminutive hobbit Homo floresiensis, islands are home to some remarkable curiosities of size. Despite the fame of giant lizards and pygmy humans, a…
Gulls in northern Alaska are making a killing on the garbage they scavenge from landfills, new research shows. Glaucous gulls that consume a lot of trash raise more chicks than…
Strawberry plants grown on commercial organic farms yield higher-quality fruit and have healthier soil than those grown conventionally, according to a study published on 1 September in the journal PLoS…
A Fate More Honorable Than Sushi
AN INTERVIEW WITH VAN JONES AN INTERVIEW WITH VAN JONES "The green movement has to become a rainbow-colored movement in order to be successful" Maria José Viñas, special to Mongabay.com…
The Colorado River vanishes before it reaches the Sea of Cortez in all but the wettest years. Companies in California and the southwestern U.S. have diverted its once-vibrant flow to…
Big Farms Can Make the Leap to Organic Farming, Study Suggests Big Farms Can Make the Leap to Organic Farming, Study Suggests Erin Digitale, special to mongabay.com June 4, 2008…
Scientists aim to catalogue tropical island from mountaintops to seafloor Scientists aim to catalogue tropical island from mountaintops to seafloor Roberta Kwok, special to mongabay.com June 4, 2008 Scientists are…
Diversity in streams may brace Chinook salmon for climate change Diversity in streams may brace Chinook salmon for climate change Hayley Rutger, special to mongabay.com June 3, 2008 Chinook salmon…
Food miles are less important to environment than food choices, study concludes Food miles are less important to environment than food choices, study concludes Jane Liaw, special to mongabay.com June…
Cellulosic biofuels may be viable alternative to gas within 5 years High fuel prices to make cellulosic biofuels increasingly competitive with gas Madolyn Rogers, special to mongabay.com June 2, 2008…
High-tech collars to reveal the secretive behaviors of mountain lions High-tech collars to reveal the secretive behaviors of mountain lions María José Viñas, special to mongabay.com May 28, 2008 A…
50 years after the blast: Recovery in Bikini Atoll's coral reef 50 years after the blast: Recovery in Bikini Atoll's coral reef Amber Dance, special to mongabay.com May 27, 2008…
From "kampung boy" conservation force in the rainforest of Borneo From "kampung boy" to conservation force in the Malaysian rainforest Alissa Poh, special to mongabay.com May 27, 2008 Waidi Sinun…
Do pollutants from Asia affect California's climate? Why is there soot on the snowpack? New air sampling stations in Sierra Nevada will search for pollution sources Massie Santos Ballon, special…