Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity
- This week is National Pollinator Week (and National Insect Week in the UK) which is about more than honey bees. You can find resources for pollinator conservation from the USGS and read the White House's newly-released Pollinator Partnership Action Plan. The Xerces Society also has resources for pollinator conservation, including regional plant lists. In addition, New Jersey should follow the lead of other northeastern states and ban the sale of the worst invasive plants.
- US cities should make an effort to plant and promote native plants.
- Recent extinctions show that climate change is already contributing to the biodiversity crisis.
- Groundwater contributes more to western streamflow than expected, according to a recent study.
- If the UK follows through on the referendum results and leaves the EU, that could affect funding for scientific research.
- The skin of amphibians may hold the key to treating antibiotic-resistant illnesses, which is one more reason to protect as much biodiversity as possible.
- The extintions of prehistoric megafauna in South America were probably caused by a combination of climate change and human hunting pressure.
- An interview retells the story of the mountain lion that traveled from South Dakota to Connecticut.
- In California, suburban mountain lions prey on raccoons and outdoor cats rather than deer.
- There was a significant oil pipeline spill in Ventura County, California.
- The Sierra Nevada snowpack is not likely to recover from drought until 2019.
- In a Turkish population of brown bears, some migrate, but the rest spend the winter in a garbage dump.
- Two black bears were reported in Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the last week.