Global Biodiversity Stories
December 19, 2017
Light emitted by a new species of lanternshark, Etmopterus lailae, is camouflage and helps them to hunt, communicate and find partners. But how does it work? READ MORE
December 14, 2017
Scientists have identified 2 million species of living things. No one knows how many more are out there, and tens of thousands may be vanishing before we have even had a chance to encounter them. By Jacob Mikanowski READ MORE
December 06, 2017
Blue Planet 2 producers say final episode lays bare shocking damage humanity is wreaking in the seas, from climate change to plastic pollution to noise READ MORE
December 02, 2017
Australia is home to one in 10 of the world’s unique bird species – and most of the world’s birds can trace their lineage to the continent READ MORE
November 26, 2017
Fishing, mining and new hotels will be prohibited in the ‘biologically spectacular’ Revillagigedo archipelago. READ MORE
November 26, 2017
After decades of recovery, right whales are now under threat from industrial fishing. READ MORE
October 26, 2017
Australian photographer Leila Jeffreys focuses on diversity within bird species, and these wildly colourful portraits belie the lowly reputation of the pigeon. READ MORE
October 21, 2017
Insects have triumphed for hundreds of millions of years in every habitat but the ocean. Their success is unparalleled, which makes their disappearance all the more alarming. READ MORE
August 31, 2017
Researchers have discovered 381 new species during a two-year study in the Amazon region. READ MORE
August 19, 2017
Researchers say they have solved one of the biggest questions in science — how did humans and animals appear on Earth? READ MORE
August 16, 2017
An unusual vegetarian dinosaur with the silhouette of a flesh-ripping velociraptor, whose fossilised remains were unearthed in southern Chile 13 years ago, is a missing link in dinosaur evolution, researchers have said. READ MORE
June 19, 2017
There’s no sunlight four kilometres below the waves but there is light. It comes from a sea cucumber that emits a faint glow from its sticky skin, attracting fish and crabs that try to take bites out of its side. READ MORE
May 18, 2017
More than 1,700 new plants have been discovered in the past year, including species that could help provide food in the future, a major report reveals. READ MORE
April 24, 2017
Wax moth larvae are usually bred as fish bait, but a chance discovery has revealed their taste for plastic – which could be used to beat polluting plastic READ MORE
March 29, 2017
The critically endangered Indochinese tiger has been found to be breeding in a Thai jungle, providing hope for a subspecies whose total population may number only a couple of hundred. READ MORE
March 03, 2017
Giant tortoises may not seem like high achievers, but their remarkable spread and diversification indicate otherwise. READ MORE
March 01, 2017
A dinosaur that lived 160 million years ago had drumstick-shaped legs much like living birds, according to palaeontologists. READ MORE
February 19, 2017
A research group has used a new technology that identifies multiple fish species populating local areas by analyzing DNA samples from seawater, and proved that this method is accurate and more effective than visual observation. READ MOREFebruary 18, 2017
The global supply of seafood is set to change substantially and many people will not be able to enjoy the same quantity and dishes in the future due to climate change and ocean acidification, according to scientists. READ MORE
February 17, 2017
The importance of seagrasses to the health of coastal ecosystems is underlined in new research conducted around Indonesian atolls. READ MORE
February 12, 2017
A newly discovered species of gecko has tearaway skin that leaves predators with nothing but a mouthful of scales when attacked. READ MORE
January 18, 2017
2016 was the hottest year on record, setting a new high for the third year in a row, with scientists firmly putting the blame on human activities that drive climate change. READ MORE
January 13, 2017
The menopause is a puzzle for biologists. Why would the female of a species cease to reproduce half way through her life, when natural selection favours characteristics that help an individual's genes survive? A study of killer whales - one of only two mammals apart from humans to undergo the menopause - is providing clues. READ MORE
December 19, 2016
Also known as chimaeras, the creatures have tooth plates instead of teeth and a retractable penis on their heads. READ MORE
November 22, 2016
Photographs taken by a Highlands-based marine biologist and diver appear in two new sets of stamps for the world's most remote inhabited island. READ MORE
November 19, 2016
Sydney's Taronga Zoo is celebrating its first baby echidnas, or puggles as they are better known, in almost 30 years. READ MORE
November 17, 2016
The gray jay has been named Canada's national bird after tens of thousands of votes were cast online, ruffling the feathers of some ornithologists. READ MORE
November 05, 2016
Researchers have discovered a genetic survival secret of Earth's "hardiest animal". READ MORE
October 27, 2016
Global wildlife populations have fallen by 58% since 1970, a report says. The Living Planet assessment, by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and WWF, suggests that if the trend continues that decline could reach two-thirds among vertebrates by 2020. READ MORE
October 26, 2016
With the humpback calving season drawing to a close, here’s a look at some of Rita Kluge’s distinctive marine photos from the south Pacific. The Sydney-based photographer tells the Guardian she fell in love with whales after witnessing southern rights from the New South Wales coastline as they travelled to and from their feeding grounds in the Antarctic. READ MORE
October 25, 2016
Jeffrey Karp is at the forefront of a new generation of scientists using nature’s blueprints to create breakthrough medical technologies. Can bioinspiration help to solve some of humanity’s most urgent problems? READ MORE
September 01, 2016
Expansion of Papahānaumokuākea marine national monument, which is now more than twice the size of Texas, is the president’s final push on conservation. READ MORE
August 18, 2016
Cephalopods are a weird group of molluscs with an extensive fossil record - except when it comes to octopuses, which remain a bit of a mystery. READ MORE
August 18, 2016
The deep ocean makes up 95% of habitable Earth, yet only 0.0001% has been explored. The Guardian joined a mission off Bermuda that is looking to unlock the secrets of the deep. READ MORE
August 17, 2016
A small island, a short boat trip from Timor-Leste’s capital, Dili, appears to have the most biodiverse waters anywhere in the world. There is a push for the site to be protected with a view to developing an ecotourism industry for the country’s struggling economy. READ MORE
August 15, 2016
Scientists say the Greenland shark has the longest lifespan of any vertebrate on the planet. Julius Nielsen, who has been studying the sharks, says record goes to a female thought to be between 272 and 512 years old and is five metres in length READ MORE
July 31, 2016
The marine scientists on the Ocean Exploration Trust’s research vessel, E/V Nautilus, find what is likely to be a variant of sea slug 5,000ft below the sea off Santa Barbara, California/ READ MORE
July 31, 2016
In the six months after the levy was brought in last October, 640 million plastic bags were used in seven major supermarkets in England, it says. READ MORE
July 16, 2016
There's good news for one of the world's rarest birds, after a successful breeding season saw its numbers boom by 28%. READ MORE
July 15, 2016
Marine scientists have developed a microscope that for the first time provides a window into the small scale behaviour of marine life. READ MORE
July 14, 2016
Tree species in the Amazon rainforest are so many and varied that it would take three centuries to catalogue them, a major study has estimated. READ MORE
July 07, 2016
A new exhibition exploring the relationship between colour and vision in the natural world is opening at the Natural History Museum. READ MORE
July 05, 2016
Bioluminescence, the peculiar ability of some organisms to behave like living night-lights, could be the key to some remarkable advances. READ MORE
July 04, 2016
Male and female mountain chicken frogs that were sole survivors of deadly disease are hoped to begin breeding on Montserrat for the first time since 2009. READ MORE
June 28, 2016
Recent research, published in the journal Scientific Nature Data, transcribed and geocoded nearly 6,000 years (from 3700BC to AD2000) of human population data. The report provides a gargantuan resource for scholars hoping to better understand how and why cities rise and fall – and allowed blogger Max Galka to map the changes on a his site Metrocosm. READ MORE
June 24, 2016
Ottawa is adding 11 new names to Canada’s list of species at risk, marking its first moves to address a growing backlog of recommendations for listing that has ballooned to several dozen species over the past five years. READ MORE
June 23, 2016
If tests of the 100 metre-long barrier that collects rubbish on the sea’s surface are successful, it could be deployed at a larger scale in the ‘great Pacific garbage patch’. READ MORE
June 08, 2016
It’s World Oceans Day, a day that provides a unique opportunity to honor and help conserve the world’s oceans. READ MORE
May 12, 2016
The Liberal government is preparing to hire 135 new aquatic scientists, a major government hiring blitz that hasn’t been seen in the past decade. READ MORE
May 08, 2016
Tributes have been paid to renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough who has turned 90. READ MORE
May 04, 2016
Our 8th Annual BioBlitz is happening May 14th and 15th! We hope you will join us for this free event on South Thormanby Island. READ MORE
April 17, 2016
Three months ago during a routine cleaning at the aquarium in the town of Napier, New Zealand, Inky's tank was left slightly ajar, just enough room for the octopus to squeeze out, cross the floor and make his escape down a drain pipe that exits into the ocean. READ MORE
April 15, 2016
Scientists have built a model circuit that solves the mystery of one of nature's most famous journeys - the great migration of monarch butterflies from Canada to Mexico. READ MORE
April 05, 2016
Study finds protecting a single type of herbivorous fish could be crucial to the recovery of reefs from damage related to climate change. READ MOREApril 03, 2016
Protecting large stretches of the ocean from human influence may well be good for conservation. But a new study suggests that setting aside at least 30 percent of it would also benefit fishermen and other stakeholders. READ MORE
March 05, 2016
Small, ghostly-white octopus was found in the deep sea off Hawaii and has been likened to the beloved cartoon character. READ MORE
February 24, 2016
Scientists have drawn inspiration from the bumpy shells of Namib beetles to improve the collection and transport of water droplets. READ MORE
February 15, 2016
Tallest penguin species at risk from climate change melting ice, which could wipe out third of Antarctic population by 2100 READ MORE
February 13, 2016
Biologists say they have solved the riddle of how a tiny bacterium senses light and moves towards it: the entire organism acts like an eyeball. READ MORE
February 11, 2016
"Without this frog, I would be a nobody," says Sathyabhama Das Biju, sitting in his laboratory in Delhi University, on a cold overcast afternoon. READ MORE
February 10, 2016
The frog genus Frankixalus has been found in four northeast Indian states but could now be under threat due to human development READ MORE
February 09, 2016
Amid the slaughter of elephants in recent years, Botswana has shone as a rare bright spot. READ MOREFebruary 08, 2016
Why go on a safari when you can watch wildlife right from the comfort of your hotel? READ MORE
February 06, 2016
Newly grown rainforests can absorb 11 times as much carbon from the atmosphere as old-growth forests, a study has shown. READ MORE
February 05, 2016
A new species of black tarantula that lives near Folsom Prison, California, has been named after Johnny Cash. READ MORE
February 03, 2016
The mystery of a deep-sea creature that resembles a discarded purple sock has been solved, scientists report. READ MORE