News and research about endangered species from around the world
A variety of rare and threatened species have been denied protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in recent weeks, including North America's smallest rabbit and a plant that may already be extinct in the wild.The U.S...
One of the world's most critically endangered birds, Kenya's taita apalis ( Apalis fuscigularis ), has suddenly and inexplicably become much, much rarer, according to BirdLife International.The organization, which has funded research into the species through its Preventing Extinctions Program, says that field work conducted in 2009 and 2010 found almost no taita apalis remaining in Kenya's forests...
Does the natural mushroom-like smell of the kiwi bird help to make it a tempting target for the predators that are eating it out of existence? One scientist thinks so, and he is proposing a deodorant of some kind to protect the birds from extinction.With all five kiwi species endangered, this is research that you shouldn't turn your nose up at...
Are fireflies disappearing? No one knows for sure, but based on anecdotal evidence firefly (aka lightning bug) populations appear to be fading, with fewer seen every summer.
Yams are an important food crop in Africa, where the tubers are eaten by 60 million people every day, as well as in other parts of the world. But despite the yam's importance as a food source, science doesn't really know that much about yams or exert much effort in conserving them...
Crested gibbons are the world's most endangered primates, and the world needs to take action immediately if we are to save these lesser apes from extinction, according to scientists who spoke last week at the International Primatological Society Congress in Kyoto, Japan.There are just seven species of crested gibbon, all of which are endangered...
Should the sale of frogs and other amphibians be restricted to prevent the further spread of the deadly chytrid fungus? That's the question the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is asking, and they want your input.The chytrid fungus ( Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd ) has spread around the globe since it was first observed in 1999, putting thousands of amphibian species at risk of extinction...
One of the world's rarest mammals, the antelope-like saola ( Pseudoryx nghetinhensis ), has been effectively invisible since 1999, the last time the elusive creature was observed by scientists...
Properly protecting the world's remaining 3,500 wild tigers from poachers, habitat fragmentation and other threats would cost just 42 percent more than is already spent on tiger conservation—an additional $35 million per year, or $10,000 per cat, according to a new study published September 14 in the journal PLoS Biology ...
Populations of a bumblebee species living on remote Scottish islands have a lack of genetic diversity because of many generations of inbreeding, a situation that could put the region's bumblebees at risk of extinction, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Stirling in Scotland.Penelope Whitehorn, a PhD student, presented the research at last week's annual meeting of the British Ecological Society.The study found that moss carder bumblebees ( Bombus muscorum ) living on nine Hebridean islands off the west coast of Scotland are more susceptible to diseases carried by parasites than healthier populations on the mainland...
STAFFBehind the scenes at Scientific American
Read
STAFF
Read
Exploring the human condition.
Read
Insights into intelligence, creativity, personality, and well-being
Read
Everything you always wanted to know about raising science-literate kids
Read
Critical views of science in the news
Read
STAFF
Read
Explore the science behind the dog in your bed
Read
News and research about endangered species from around the world
Read
The Science Behind Extreme Weather
Read
Science by and for kids ages 8-15
Read
Commentary invited by editors of Scientific American
Read
Climate science in a changing world
Read
Illusions, Delusions, and Everyday Deceptions
Read
Discussion and news about planets, exoplanets, and astrobiology
Read
Opinion, arguments & analyses from guest experts and from the editors of Scientific American
Read
Mathematics: learning it, doing it, celebrating it.
Read
Adventures in the good science of rock-breaking.
Read
STAFFIllustrating science since 1845
Read
STAFFA science blog, sans blague
Read
A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
Read
Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
Read