Wild Bird Trust presents this week’s Top 25, “Arid Birds”. These birds face stressors such as aridity and heat but thrive nonetheless. Some birds made use of microclimates to escape the heat, using shade to keep cool. Others will dissipate the heat form their bodies by dilating blood vessels in their legs or by holding…
When the United States Embassy in New Zealand asks if you’ll do an Earth Day post about impacts of mismanaged waste on the global environment—with a focus on seabirds—what do you do? Quick, call Lilly Sedaghat and Steph Borrelle! Sedaghat is one of my four fellow Fellows (2017-2018 Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellows, that is), currently studying waste…
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a nine-state carbon cap-and-trade program, continues to help lower emissionsof carbon dioxide and benefit local economies, according to a new study by the Analysis Group. The study estimates that RGGI states gained $1.4 billion in net economic value from program during 2015–2017. “I think this provides evidence of the fact that you can…
By Erica Cirino Florida is struggling with a fast-increasing population of invasive green iguanas that began as a small group of released and escaped pets. Thriving in the warm sunshine and humid climate, experts believe hundreds of thousands of nonnative iguanas now call the Sunshine State “home.” There, state conservation officials claim they threaten the…
By Lindsay Renick Mayer, GWC associate director of communications Somewhere between the legend of King Le Loi, Asia’s counterpart of King Arthur, and the tale of the Loch Ness Monster exists the world’s rarest turtle, the Yangtze Giant Asian Softshell (Rafetus swinhoei), a species that can grow up to 330 pounds and lives an enigmatic…
By Dr. Karen Murchie, Research Biologist, Shedd Aquarium Mighty fish migrations are among the greatest marvels of nature. On April 21, 2018, people around the globe will celebrate World Fish Migration Day, building awareness of just how critical moving between habitats is for many species. Why spend the energy to migrate? These fish are on…
Patrick Garvey’s attorney advised him not to buy a dilapidated, overgrown fruit grove in the Florida Keys. Garvey drained his life savings, bought it anyway and went to work restoring Grimal Grove and making it into a community garden for low-income families on Big Pine Key, about 30 miles northeast of Key West. By the…
By Anand Kumar, D.V.M., Ph.D. A new gut bacteria cocktail could transform our approach to chronic disease If all disease begins in the gut, as Hippocrates declared more than 2,000 years ago, then surely the cures for those diseases must be tied to the gut, as well. The gut – a.k.a. the gastrointestinal tract that…
National Geographic Explorer Dr. Christopher Golden and his team of Harvard Planetary Health Scholars spent six weeks in Madagascar to better understand the human health impacts of environmental change. This series of stories will document this journey across Madagascar through their personal experiences. Steve Andriamasy is a renowned spoken word performer in Madagascar. In 2017,…
By Catherine Haase This year, Punxsutawney Phil, our favorite groundhog meteorologist, saw his shadow and gave us another six weeks of winter. Though relying on a rodent to determine how long winter will be is a silly concept, it is a good reflection of how variable winter length can be from year to year and…
In the far north of New Zealand lie the rugged Poor Knights Islands, off-limits to terrestrial tourism, but surrounded by a stunning marine reserve containing one of Jacques Cousteau’s top ten dive sites. Why are these prismatic waters so rich with life? One likely factor is the abundance of seabirds that breed here, bringing nutrients they’ve…
By: Nejma Belarbi, based on an article published on Voices for Biodiversity My Life for the Land, written by Nanai photographer and writer Kiliii Yuyan, illuminates the importance of viewing conservation through the Indigenous lens. The scientific community has begun to recognize Indigenous knowledge as pivotal to conservation efforts. One commonly overlooked reality is the…
Coffee is a powerful force in human history – it unites people, transcends cultures, and kindles the imagination. A cup of coffee is a cup of inspiration. For centuries, coffee has been used as a tool to invigorate the mind and inflame creativity. As a result, coffee and art are closely linked. Although they seem…
Asha Stuart is a Young Explorer grantee, and is also part of the Young Explorer Leadership and Development Program. A National Geographic Society grant funded her work so that she could go and document the Siddi tribal people, an African diasporic community that was forcibly taken to India between the 15th and 19th century. Exploring…
This week we honour the Migratory Bird Treaty Act on 1918, an act which has protected countless birds from being hunted and exploited for the last 100 years. The strength of this act is now being threatened by legislation changes which no longer make companies accountable for bird deaths. Here the birding community can have…
