“How can I make the biggest difference for conservation?” Over the past 5 years, I’ve asked a lot of people this question. I was sure someone would have a straightforward answer, even if I didn’t like it. “If it means saving rainforests,” I thought to my naive self, “I’ll spend the rest of my life locked in…
The beautiful plumage and mating dances of cranes have made these species popular with people across the world. Cranes feature in the mythology of various cultures, for example in Japan, cranes symbolise good fortune and longevity. Despite their popularity, many cranes face an uncertain future. Of the fifteen species of crane in the world, 11…
By Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley, National Geographic Explorer and Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder The American Cordillera is a jigsaw of mountain ranges that curls southward from the Alaskan coast through my home range, the Colorado Rocky Mountains, to its end in the Antarctic Peninsula. I’m making my first stop along its…
By Jessica Perelman, Guest Blogger When Assistant Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, Anela Choy first conducted doctoral research on the feeding habits of large midwater fish predators, it quickly became clear to her that prey items found in the stomachs of longnose lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox) were hardly digested and fairly easy to identify….
LBJ is a term used in many birding circles, to describe small, brown, passerine birds, like cisticolas and larks. These birds are often overlooked for their bigger, and more colourful counterparts. But when you take the time to watch and photograph these little brown birds, you can really appreciate their subtle beauty. This week we…
Each day consisted of driving, hiking, sampling, and camping in 95-degree heat and smoky air, but if it was supposed to be miserable, I didn’t notice. Any moment I get to spend living and learning in those mountains is a moment well spent. …
A Tasmanian company has invented acoustics technology that feeds farmed shrimp and fish through sound. Other Australian ventures are working on turning abalone waste into bioactive pharmaceuticals, developing low-cost processes that clean fish-farming waters while nourishing commercial algae production, and more original solutions to seafood challenges. When people talk about seafood industry powerhouses, no one…
Thalia, it’s called, this upscale neighborhood in Virginia Beach that’s lined with red brick ranches shaded by tall loblolly pines. The community is a few short miles from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Bounded on the west by Thalia Creek and on the north by the eastern branch of the…
Heading out into the Badlands to photograph butterflies, I have just three things on my mind: drought, weather, and excitement!…
An early snow had painted northwest Wyoming completely white, making it beautiful, but treacherous. Navigating the slippery roads of the backcountry, we paused to look at footprints of a mountain lion we call F61. She had crossed the road and climbed toward the ridgeline. Just up the road, we found a houndsman’s truck tucked up…
Grasslands are the world’s most altered ecosystem, frequently being converted for cropping, pastures or urbanisation. When grasslands are transformed by humans, this often pushes out sensitive grassland birds, for example the Great Indian Bustard, now listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Fortunately some grassland birds, like the Eastern Meadowlark, are adaptive and…
By Marlene Cimons An individual tree has roots and, of course, it doesn’t move. But trees, as a species, do move over time. They migrate in response to environmental challenges, especially climate change. Surprisingly, they don’t all go to the Poles, where it is cooler. As it turns out, more of them head west, where…
It’s a misty, bracing morning on the banks of the Koeye River. Before long, the summer sun will rise to burn off the fog and reveal a world dazzling in shades of greens, blues, and sandy beige, and buzzing with biodiversity. But in these soft, quiet morning hours, a different shade of gold slinks along…
This is the latest post in the Colombia Blog Series by Kike Calvo, which profiles interesting information, research and thoughts on Colombia related to journalism, ecotourism, visual anthropology, exploration and photography. This article belongs to the author’s lifelong series The Güepajé Project. For the past few weeks I embarked on a rather remarkable music exploration around Colombia with Colombia Photo Expeditions….
Sounds kinda weird.. but studying nearly identical coral reef systems off Australia, my collaborators and I discovered something unusual on the reefs subjected to nearly exclusive fishing of sharks—fish with significantly smaller eyes and tails. This provides evidence of body shape changes in fish due to human-driven shark declines from overfishing. In the study, our…
