By Jon Christensen
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Discussion Questions
What is the central difference of opinion on nature reserve design that this article highlights?
What does the author mean by “fortress conservation”? Do you think this is a fair portrayal? What information do you feel you need to formulate your own opinion?
The author uses […] Read More »
By Marguerite Holloway
April-June 2006 (Vol. 7, No. 2)
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Discussion Questions
There are several different applications of DNA barcoding. In “Democratizing Taxonomy,” biologists Dan Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs describe the use of DNA barcoding as a tool to promote “bioliteracy” in the general public and elevate concern for the biodiversity […] Read More »
By Katherine Ellison
April-June 2006 (Vol. 7, No. 2)
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Discussion Questions
What arguments are there for enacting a policy that achieves less than we think we need to achieve to avert a crisis? What arguments are there against enacting such policies?
What kinds of things can be meant by the […] Read More »
By Alan Burdick
April-June 2006 (Vol. 7, No. 2)
Note: see print edition for article
Discussion Questions
This is an essay. Essays are intended to stimulate thought and discussion. What exactly is the author’s opinion? What examples does the author provide to support his essay? Do you believe him?
What does the concept of […] Read More »
By Robin Meadows
Underwater noise pollution is on the rise worldwide, and new research shows that it stresses freshwater fish. Recordings of ship noise doubled secretions of the stress hormone cortisol in three species of fish that live in European lakes and rivers.
“Ships in freshwater should be required to reduce their noise levels,” say […] Read More »
By Jon Christensen
Fortress conservation is making a come-back. Don’t be fooled by all the happy talk about putting people and communities back at the center of conservation and linking conservation to poverty alleviation—talk you might have read here, among other places.
While talking a friendly line, conservationists have been busy behind the scenes, reinforcing […] Read More »
Where the Wild Things Are
I am in favor of re-wilding North American grasslands with megafauna adapted for our temperate climate. (“Where the Wild Things Were,” Conservation In Practice, Jan-Mar 2006). But I noticed an omission from the discussion in Mr. Stolzenburg’s article: the difference in latitude—and therefore climate—between the land area with-in the lower […] Read More »
Condor: To the Brink and Back—The Life and Times of One Giant Bird
By John Nielsen
Harper Collins, 2006
Reviewed by Scott Weidensaul
John Nielsen grew up in the shadow of the California condor, psychically if not physically. In the 1960s, he was a kid roaming the foothills of the rugged mountains near the Sespe […] Read More »
By Robin Meadows
Planting trees is no panacea for global warming. Although touted as a guilt-free way to offset carbon emissions, plantations have hidden environmental costs. New research shows that stands of fast-growing trees can drink streams completely dry and leave soil salty or acidic.
“The trade-offs of plantations should ideally be taken into account […] Read More »
by Robin Meadows
Eradicating invasive species can sometimes do more harm than good. New research shows that the relative abundance of native species actually drops when one of the U.K.’s worst invasive plants is removed from riparian plots.
“The species that respond most dramatically are other nonnative plants,” say Philip Hulme and Eleanor Bremner of […] Read More »
By Robin Meadows
New research shows that cane toads have become less toxic since invading Australia. Besides being good news for the many native species that die after eating the poisonous toads, this diminishing toxicity could be part of a wider phenomenon that applies to other invasive species.
“Changes that affect invaders’ impact could be […] Read More »
By Robin Meadows
Malaria has recently made a comeback in the Peruvian Amazon, and deforestation may be the underlying cause. New research shows that the risk of being bitten by the primary malaria-carrying mosquito is nearly 300 times higher in cleared areas than in those that are largely undisturbed—adding to the growing evidence that conservation […] Read More »
By Robin Meadows
New research shows that ecotourism could be doing a lot more for conservation. In a tropical forest reserve in Uganda, the diversity of birds is such a huge draw that plenty of tourists would still visit, even if entrance fees were nearly 10 times higher. Better yet, this revenue increase would be […] Read More »
By Robin Meadows
New research blames global warming for the mass extinction of harlequin frogs from Costa Rica to Peru, where two-thirds of the 110 species mysteriously vanished in the late twentieth century, despite habitat protections. The study shows that most of these frogs disappeared after warmer years and that rising temperatures in the […] Read More »
In early 2006, David Reiner from the University of Cambridge and colleagues completed surveys of citizens in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, and Japan about their attitudes on global warming. They found that despite sharp differences in government policy, the views of the American public are remarkably similar to those in the other three […] Read More »
