Biodiversity

Things related to the web of life; ecology; wildlife; endangered species

Locusts A Biblical Plague In 2020. Why? And ... What Are They Exactly?

"Titanic swarms of desert locusts resembling dark storm clouds are descending ravenously on the Horn of Africa. They're roving through croplands and flattening farms in a devastating salvo experts are calling an unprecedented threat to food security. On the ground, subsistence planters can do nothing but watch — staring up with horror and at their fields in dismay."

Source: NPR, 06/15/2020

"Migration Numbers Plunge for the Red Knot, a Threatened Shore Bird"

"A sudden drop in the number of red knots visiting the beaches of Delaware Bay during migration this spring has renewed concern among scientists about the survival of the threatened shore bird’s Atlantic Coast population." "Every May, these birds stop in the Delaware Bay on their way to Arctic Canada. But a shortage of food this season puts their flight at risk."

Source: NYTimes, 06/12/2020

"Familiar Culprit May Have Caused Mysterious Mass Extinction"

"It has long been our planet’s greatest and oldest murder mystery. Roughly 445 million years ago, around 85 percent of all marine species disappeared in a geologic flash known as the Late Ordovician mass extinction. But scientists have long debated this whodunit, in contrast to clearer explanations for Earth’s other mass extinctions."

Source: NYTimes, 06/11/2020

"White House Faces Suit On Order Lifting Endangered Species Protections"

"An environmental group on Tuesday said it will sue the White House if President Trump doesn’t walk back an executive order that waives endangered species protections along with a host of other environmental laws."

Source: The Hill, 06/11/2020

"Poisonous Toads Invade South Florida in Latest Sign of the Apocalypse"

"First, there were murder hornets. Now, invasive, poisonous toads are the latest bizarre creature to go wild in the U.S. As South Florida enters its wet season aka hurricane season, the cane toad—an ugly, warty, brown amphibian with poison can kill pet dogs—is thriving. That’s not only concerning for pet owners. These toads are highly destructive to the environment."

Source: Earther, 06/09/2020

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