Biodiversity

"The escalating armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had significant — and overlooked — environmental impacts. The rate of tree cover loss in Kahuzi-Biega and Virunga National Parks has sharply increased since the conflict reignited in late 2021."

"On Feb. 8, Colette Delawalla, a graduate student in psychology at Emory University, nervously announced to the online world that she was planning a national protest in defense of science. “I’ve never done this before, but we gotta be the change we want to see in the world,” she wrote in a post on Bluesky, a social media platform."

"The number of butterflies in the contiguous United States declined by 22 percent this century, a collapse with potentially dire implications."

"Butterflies are rapidly fluttering out of existence from coast to coast, according to a new assessment published Thursday, at a rate that scientists worry could upend ecosystems and undercut pollination that sustains America’s crops.

"Scores of employees working to ensure offshore wind has a low impact on whales, birds, and other wildlife were cut in a major round of layoffs at the agency."

"It is a ritual that takes place every winter — federal and state wildlife managers use remote cameras, scat collection, radio telemetry devices and helicopters to count Mexican gray wolves that are roaming mountain ranges in parts of New Mexico and Arizona." "This year’s count shows the recovery of Mexican wolves is inching forward."

"President Donald Trump’s plans to use the “God Squad” and emergency provisions of the Endangered Species Act to promote widespread logging on public lands are likely illegal and little more than rhetoric without the force of law, legal experts say."

"With egg prices spiking due to bird flu, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced steps last week to control the H5N1 virus, such as increasing financial relief for farmers with affected flocks and exploring vaccines and therapeutics for chickens. While these steps might help stabilize the egg supply in the short term, they’re insufficient for one simple reason: Chickens are not the only animals affected by this disease."

"In January, an endangered Florida panther known as UCFP479 became the first to die this year in a vehicle collision along a rural southwestern Florida road. The male panther, just under 2 years old, will not be the last."

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"Scientists are gaining new insights into how plankton supports life on Earth — just as climate change is changing everything."