By J. Michael Fays
April-June 2008 / Vol. 9 No. 2
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Discussion Questions
What is the connection between war and biodiversity? Does this article show that the Darfur genocide was foreshadowed by the elephant massacres in the northern Central African Republic decades earlier? On a broader level, does how humans treat […] Read More »
By Douglas Fox
April-June 2008 / Vol. 9 No. 2
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Discussion Questions
The term “hybrid vigor” is often used in relation to domesticated plants and animals. What does this term mean? Does this phenomenon have a role to play in conservation as well?
How does the U.S. Endangered Species Act treat […] Read More »
By Fred Pearce
April-June 2008 / Vol. 9 No. 2
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Discussion Questions
What are the goals of “extractive reserves”? How do they differ from rainforest that is not protected from logging? What is the primary assumption behind the idea that extractive reserves are a good conservation solution? What evidence does the […] Read More »
By Catherine Brahic
April-June 2008 (Vol. 9, No. 2)
You may recall the “What’s the worst that could happen?” video that went around YouTube last year. U.S. high school teacher “Greg” explained in a series of videos, complete with simple matrices and quirky hats, that decisions to act on climate change could all be […] Read More »
April-June 2008 (Vol. 9, No. 2)
Let’s Not Starve Them
Thank you for your article bringing light to the crisis in our world oceans and our responsibility for the problem (10 Solutions to Save the Ocean, July-September 2007). The discussion in your series was interesting, but the solutions were somewhat lacking in alternatives. I would suggest […] Read More »
April-June 2008 (Vol. 9, No. 2)
REVIEWS
Bottom Feeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood by Taras Grescoe
Babylon’s Ark by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence
The Soul of the Rhino by Hemanta Mishra with Jim Ottaway Jr.
Darwin’s Fox and My Coyote by Holly Menino
The Last Flight of the […] Read More »
Photo: ©Daniel Horowitz/SIS/Getty Images
By Nick Atkinson
April (Vol. 9, No. 2)
The line marking the transition between Vermont’s northern hardwood and boreal trees has moved around 100 meters uphill in just 40 years, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2004, researchers at Yale University and […] Read More »
Reduced tariffs benefit wildlife
Photo: ©Andsem/iStock.com
By Nick Atkinson
April (Vol. 9, No. 2)
Longhorned beetles and other invasive species could soon feel the brunt of hard-nosed economics, if the authors of a paper published in Ecological Economics have got their sums right. Iowa State University professor of economics John Beghin and colleagues looked at […] Read More »
Photo: ©Ersler Dmitry/iStock.com
By Scott Norris
April (Vol. 9, No. 2)
Invasive species are a problem almost everywhere, but not all parts of the world suffer in equal measure. Are regional differences in numbers of invasives the result of different degrees of human impact, or are some native habitats simply more or less accommodating […] Read More »
Photo: ©Michael Willis/iStock.com
By Jeremy Hance
April (Vol. 9, No. 2)
In a bizarre biological twist, a new study in the journal Biological Conservation shows that the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) depends on its greatest predator for survival.
Living in Brazil’s Pantanal region, the endangered bird requires a very specific home: a pre-existing hole […] Read More »
Photo: ©Jim Jurica/iStock.com
By Scott Norris
April (Vol. 9, No. 2)
Climate change models predict more frequent and severe droughts in much of North America, and wetland habitats may be especially vulnerable. But a new study documents one simple and highly effective solution for helping these critical areas withstand dry spells. All it takes […] Read More »
Photo: ©David Lloyd | Dreamstime.com
By Sarah Simpson
April (Vol. 9, No. 2)
Scenes of noisy seabirds flocking behind fishing vessels are common the world over. The boats dump huge volumes of dead and unwanted fish overboard, and birds pluck easy snacks from the rejects. Many people have suggested that this cornucopia of convenience […] Read More »
Photo: ©Nathan Watkins/iStock.com
By John Weier
April (Vol. 9, No. 2)
Two years ago, when Oliver Pergams and Patricia Zaradic declared that people were forsaking U.S. national parks to play video games and surf the Net, their research sparked an intense and wide-ranging debate. Pergams and Zaradic had declared that declining per capita visits […] Read More »
April-June (Vol. 9, No. 2)
Close Encounters
HIV, Ebola, and the West Nile virus are all zoonoses—diseases that made the jump from animals to humans. Emerging zoonoses have tripled since 1940, in large part because human populations have expanded and come into closer contact with wildlife. Seventy percent of zoonoses originate in wildlife. The […] Read More »
By Eric Wagner
April-June 2008 (Vol. 9, No. 2)
When it comes to aerial prowess, the colugo—a.k.a. the “flying lemur”—could give Rocky the Flying Squirrel a run for his money. To get from tree to tree, the colugo uses the skin between its limbs like makeshift wings, gliding as far as 110 meters at […] Read More »
