Tangled up too often in fishing nets, manta rays have been plunging toward extinction as fishing pressure and other stressors take a toll on their populations. But the species has found a safe haven in Komodo National Park, a swath of water around Indo…
200 mysterious sea turtle deaths: Q&A with Kenyan fisherman and turtle rescuer Daniel Katana
MARERENI, Kenya — One day in April, at a few minutes past six in the morning, the sun’s golden rays lit up the sea on Kenya’s coast. A few early-rising fishermen stood shoulder-deep in the sea, working their nets in pairs. On the beach, a few meters fr…
Oil exploration in DR Congo peatland would put forests, global climate and local communities at risk
Last month, the Democratic Republic of Congo approved the auctioning off of 16 oil blocks, at least nine of which are in the fragile peatland ecosystem of the Cuvette Centrale. The auction aims to increase government revenue and boost domestic producti…
Pasture replaces large tract of intact primary forest in Brazilian protected area
Satellites have detected forest clearing within Triunfo do Xingu this year, an area that’s supposed to be a legally protected swath of Amazon rainforest in Brazil’s northern state of Pará. Home to jaguars, howler monkeys, rare margays, and a wellspring…
Release the cats: Training native species to fear invasive predators
In the cool of the desert night, the small gray-furred creature emerges from the safety of its burrow in search of food. The bilby (Macrotis lagotis) has a surprising combination of features: its ears are large and rabbit-like, but hairless, its snout …
The case for geoengineering Earth’s climate future: Q&A with Wake Smith
On June 15, 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines, sending around 5 cubic kilometers (1 cubic mile) of mountaintop into the atmosphere. Some of that material, mostly sulfuric acid and ash, rose 20 kilometers (12 miles) into the stratosphere a…
Missing the emissions for the trees: Biomass burning booms in East Asia
This is part 1 of a 2 part series. The second story will be published May, 18, 2022. The European Union and the United Kingdom are ramping up controversial wood burning to generate energy and heat as they follow legal mandates to phase out coal. But th…
Indonesia’s revocation of palm oil, mining permits marred by ‘maladministration’
JAKARTA — The office of the Indonesian ombudsman says it has found indications of maladministration in the government’s decision to revoke hundreds of logging, plantation and mining permits across the country. President Joko Widodo announced the mass r…
What’s popping? Humpbacks off South Africa, new acoustic study finds
In 2019, researchers sailed to a sprawling seamount off the coast of South Africa, and lowered hydrophones to the seafloor. They picked up all kinds of noises: waves, the crackling of the reef, dolphin clicks and whistles, and an assortment of humpback…
To gauge impact of nitrogen pollution, Sri Lanka project looks to lichens
COLOMBO — When a study published in January flagged the risks to Himalayan forests from excessive atmospheric nitrogen pollution, it relied on an often-overlooked member of the ecosystem to assess the level of the threat: lichens. A composite organism …