Biodiversity

"Florida’s coral reefs experienced the deadliest bleaching event in history last summer, a toll largely caused by record hot coastal waters. Now, water temperatures in the Florida Keys are already approaching the coral danger zone — earlier and hotter than last year."

"Another Michigan dairy worker has been infected with a highly virulent bird flu, marking the third human case since the disease was detected in dairy cattle this spring but the first to report symptoms of respiratory illness."

"Humanity is ramping up the risk of global health disasters by intruding deep into the world’s bat habitats, breeding grounds for deadly viruses. In this five-part series, Reuters pinpoints the places where the next outbreaks are likeliest."

"Agriculture is often seen as the enemy of biodiversity, but in an excerpt from her new book Sophie Yeo explains how techniques from the middle ages allow plants and animals to flourish".

"Agriculture drained this ecosystem. Now, under the specter of future drought, the same systems have started to bring back both water and wildlife."

"I saw a couple of crows dining on roadkill the other day as I was driving by and wondered, Does this count as bird-watching?"

"Public asked to weigh in on new rule to limit development on the bird's habitat across much of the West".

"On May 7, Patrick Robinson took a boat out to Año Nuevo Island to survey the sea lions that come to birth on this rocky outcropping north of Monterey Bay. The shore was littered with dead pups — babies that looked as though they’d been delivered too early and therefore were too weak and small to nurse, or had been dead at birth."

"Half of the world's mangrove ecosystems, with trees whose roots stretch down into brackish water, are at risk of collapse. That's according to the first assessment from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a leading scientific authority on the status of species and ecosystems. The new report finds that sea level rise fueled by climate change is the biggest risk."

"Half the world's natural pasture land has been degraded by overexploitation and the impact of climate change, putting food supplies and livelihoods in peril, the United Nations body in charge of fighting desertification said on Tuesday."