Articles for tag: conservation, Ecosystem

Threats to Swamp Ecosystems

Alligators in the Mississippi Delta Are Thriving – Thanks to Wetland Restoration

Gargi Chakravorty

Picture this: prehistoric predators cruising through murky waterways like living fossils, their eyes glinting just above the surface. In the Mississippi Delta, these modern dinosaurs are quietly staging one of America’s most remarkable wildlife comebacks. Once on the brink of extinction, American alligators are now flourishing across Louisiana’s restored wetlands, turning what was once a ...

leopard laying on large rock

The Science Behind the Return of Jaguars to Arizona’s Wilderness

Suhail Ahmed

Trail cameras in Arizona’s Sky Islands have been quietly recording a comeback story that once felt impossible: a jaguar slipping through oak canyons and grasslands, eyes flaring in infrared, rosettes crisp as constellations. After sporadic detections in 2023 and 2024, University of Arizona researchers confirmed a flurry of sightings this summer of a single male ...

The Owls of the Pacific Northwest: What Scientists Are Learning About Their Disappearing Forests

The Owls of the Pacific Northwest: What Scientists Are Learning About Their Disappearing Forests

Gargi Chakravorty

Deep within the towering old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, something extraordinary is vanishing. These ancient woodlands, home to some of the world’s most remarkable wildlife, are facing an unprecedented crisis that’s teaching scientists about the delicate balance between species survival and ecosystem preservation. The northern spotted owl, once a symbol of forest protection efforts, ...

Engineers and technicians in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory display the thick-walled aluminum vault

The Microbial Vault: How Scientists Are Racing to Preserve Earth’s Invisible Biodiversity

April Joy Jovita

As Earth enters an age of rapid ecological change, a quiet revolution is taking place in freezers chilled to -80°C. Scientists around the world are building a “Microbial Noah’s Ark”—a global effort to preserve the planet’s microbial diversity before it’s lost to industrialization, climate shifts, and modern living. The Microbiota Vault Initiative, modeled in part ...