Articles for tag: biodiversity

Leaping Orca.

Marine Sanctuaries: Protecting Ocean Biodiversity

Jan Otte

Marine sanctuaries are designated areas within oceans, seas, and even large lakes that receive special protection due to their conservation, ecological, and cultural importance. These protected areas serve as havens for marine life, allowing ecosystems to flourish and recover from human-induced threats. Marine sanctuaries play a pivotal role in conserving ocean biodiversity, offering insights into ...

Island Intelligence: What Lei Day Teaches Us About Biodiversity in the Pacific

Island Intelligence: What Lei Day Teaches Us About Biodiversity in the Pacific

Annette Uy

Imagine standing on a sun-drenched Hawaiian beach, surrounded by the scent of fresh flowers woven into vibrant leis, the ocean breeze carrying stories from distant shores. Lei Day, a celebration rich with tradition, is more than a festival of color and song—it is a living expression of the Pacific’s astonishing biodiversity. Each lei, crafted with ...

a large whale with its mouth open in the water

Shape Shifters of the Reef: The Surprising Evolution of Plankton Eaters

Suhail Ahmed

New research shatters the myth of the “perfect” plankton-feeding fish revealing an astonishing diversity of forms defying evolutionary expectations. The Myth of the Perfect Planktivore For decades, marine biologists believed plankton-eating reef fish all evolved toward the same ideal body shape: But a groundbreaking 2025 study analyzing 299 species across 12 fish families reveals a ...

Grey Heron in Busan City, South Korea

Synurbization: How Animals Adapt to Coexist with Humans

April Joy Jovita

As urbanization continues to reshape landscapes, wildlife is adapting to thrive in human-dominated environments. This phenomenon, known as synurbization, highlights the resilience of certain species and their ability to coexist with humans. From foxes in ancient cities to dolphins near coastal power stations, these adaptations reveal the dynamic interplay between nature and urbanization. What Is ...

The Web of Life Isn't a Metaphor: It's an Actual Map of Survival

The Web of Life Isn’t a Metaphor: It’s an Actual Map of Survival

Annette Uy

When you step into a forest, you’re not just walking among trees. You’re entering a living network more complex than the internet, more interconnected than any social media platform, and more vital than the power grid that lights your home. Beneath your feet, above your head, and in every breath of air around you, millions ...

10 Species Thought Extinct That Were Just Rediscovered

10 Species Thought Extinct That Were Just Rediscovered

Gargi Chakravorty

The natural world keeps surprising us with incredible comeback stories that challenge everything we thought we knew about extinction. While countless species disappear forever, some manage to slip through the cracks, hiding in remote corners of our planet for decades or even centuries. These miraculous rediscoveries remind us that nature is far more resilient than ...

9 American Islands Where Puffins, Petrels, or Terns Are Thriving

9 American Islands Where Puffins, Petrels, or Terns Are Thriving

Gargi Chakravorty

Picture yourself standing on a windswept island thirty miles from San Francisco, watching hundreds of puffins in their breeding plumage dive through the morning fog. Or imagine the cacophony of thousands of terns defending their chicks on a remote Maine outcrop. Across American coastal waters, these remarkable seabirds have found refuge on islands that serve ...

7 American Towns Built on Ancient Seafloors - Fossils Everywhere

7 American Towns Built on Ancient Seafloors – Fossils Everywhere

Gargi Chakravorty

Imagine strolling through your hometown, completely unaware that millions of years ago, ancient sea creatures swam directly over the spot where you now stand. Across America, countless communities rest atop the remnants of prehistoric oceans, their foundations literally built upon the fossilized remains of long-extinct marine life. These aren’t just random geological curiosities, but living ...

9 American Cliffs Where Condors and Vultures Catch Thermals

9 American Cliffs Where Condors and Vultures Catch Thermals

Gargi Chakravorty

Across America, spectacular cliff faces rise like ancient amphitheaters where nature’s most masterful aviators perform their aerial ballet. These towering rock walls don’t just serve as geological monuments – they’re essential highways for the nation’s largest flying scavengers. Picture hundreds of feet of sheer stone warmed by the sun, creating invisible columns of rising air ...

7 American Ghost Forests (And the Sea-Level Story They Tell)

7 American Ghost Forests (And the Sea-Level Story They Tell)

Linnea H, BSc Sociology

Standing in a coastal wetland today feels like witnessing time itself slow down. The skeletal remains of once-mighty forests pierce through salt marshes like ancient monuments, their bleached trunks telling a story more dramatic than any fiction. These eerie landscapes, known as ghost forests, represent one of the most visible signs of climate change across ...