LATEST

New whale species found in museum
The stunning discovery follows an analysis of a few leviathan skeletons that have been gathering dust for 25 years in Japan
19 Nov 03

Red list of endangered species tops 12,000
Invasions by alien species and the destruction of habitats by people, particularly on islands, boost the number of species in danger
18 Nov 03

Cockerels dole out more sperm to new lovers
Male fowl show "unprecedented sophistication" in the way they spend their sperm, reveals a new study
5 Nov 03

Facial tumours kill off Tasmanian devils
A mysterious disease has wiped out 90 per cent of some groups of the animals in the past three years - a retrovirus is the prime suspect
25 Oct 03

MORE ON BIODIVERSITY

Controlled bushfires damage - not protect - wildlife
The planned burning of vast swathes of northern Australia every year is meant to safeguard animals - not so, say researchers
6 Oct 03

Wide-roaming carnivores suffer most in zoos
Researchers conclude animals such as polar bears should not be caged - zoos argue they simply present more of a welfare challenge
1 Oct 03

Gamma rays may have devastated life on Earth
One of the world's worst mass extinctions may have been caused by a burst of gamma rays from space, suggests fossil evidence
24 Sep 03

'Miscalculation' could mean the end of caviar
Experts are at odds on the number of beluga sturgeon left in the Caspian Sea - some warn that continued fishing will hasten their demise
17 Sep 03

Hopes for sustainable bush meat hunting
A new model could help develop ways to protect both endangered apes and the livelihoods of local people - but some experts are sceptical
9 Sep 03

Forensic tests track rhino poachers
The tests look for the genetic or chemical signatures of rhino horn in products such as powdered Asian medicines
6 Sep 03

Chinese tigers flown to Africa for hunting lessons
The two tiger cubs will learn to be wild, in a bid to prevent the demise of the South China tiger - but experts are unconvinced
5 Sep 03

Trawling seamounts threatens ocean's diversity
Hundreds of deep-sea species new to science are disappearing before they can even be identified, oceanographers warn
31 Aug 03

Poaching causes hippo population crash
The world's biggest population of hippos has crashed by 95 per cent - many have been killed for their meat and long ivory-like teeth
29 Aug 03

Suspected toothfish pirates finally caught
A dramatic, 20-day sea chase ends with Australian officials boarding a Uruguyan ship and finding records of 85 tonnes of the rare fish
28 Aug 03

Wildcats and dingoes 'not worth protecting'
Extensive interbreeding with cats and dogs means it no longer makes sense to preserve them as pure-bred animals, argue researchers
9 Aug 03

Biggest not always the daddy in mating game
Contrary to commonly accepted theory, the females of some species aew partial to weedier partners
2 Aug 03

Pirates put Antartic sea life in peril
Illegal fishing is devastating fish and seabird populations in the icy Southern Ocean, warn UK scientists, and worse may be to come
26 Jul 03

Gene study reveals 'missing' whales
Pre-hunting populations of North Atlantic whales were much larger than thought, questioning calls for renewed whaling
24 Jul 03

Biodiversity wipeout facing South East Asia
More than 40 per cent of species could go thi century, suggests a new study - the loss of vast swathes of forest is to blame
23 Jul 03

Polarised moonlight aids dung beetle escape
It is the first animal shown to navigate in this way, to dodge dung-stealers, but nocturnal bees could use the same trick
2 Jul 03

Spider sex causes spontaneous death
Sexual suicide, cannibalism, necrophilia and chastity belts all combine to add a macabre new twist to the mating behavior of spiders
26 Jun 03

Anti-whalers push for revolutionary change
A dramatic shift of focus onto conservation is top of the agenda at the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting
14 Jun 03

Dawn of human race uncovered
Three fossil skulls from Ethiopia are revealed as the oldest human remains yet discovered, and place Africa as our birth place
11 Jun 03

Escaped farm salmon threaten native species
Young male salmon raised in fish farms mate more aggressively than their wild counterparts, researchers find
9 Jun 03

Weedkilling robots slash herbicide use
By harnessing software techniques from face-recognition research, the robot spots weeds - and then kills them
4 Jun 03

Bizarre new jellyfish discovered
The new species was discovered in deep waters off the Californian coast
7 May 03

Every species has a 'barcode'
Written in the DNA of every animal is a unique barcode that could make life easier for scientists trying to assess biodiversity
22 Mar 03

Nature's best buys
Money is short and time is running out, so how can we get the buggest bang for our eco-buck? James Randerson goes bargain humting
1 Mar 03

Electric fence to divide elephants and farmers
The 320-km fence will stop animals in a Kenyan national park being tempted by nearby crops and shot by farmers
19 Jan 03

Red alert over rare species
The well-known "Red List" of endangered species is inaccurate, say researchers - it ignores the full threat posed by people
16 Jan 03

The spice of life
Planet Earth is in the throes of one of the six great periods of mass extinction in its history. Can we get by with fewer species?
7 Dec 02

Sharks and mahogany gain 'historic' protection
New controls on the trading of endangered sharks and mahogany trees are hailed by environmental campaigners
15 Nov 02

Interview: Inside the hanging gardens of Arcata
Steve Sillett is a passionate biologist who studies giant redwoods in California. And the message he brings from the treetops is ominous. Leave the remaining old forests alone or lose the astounding biodiversity that only millennia of growth can bring
9 Nov 02

Seed banks receive vital cash boost
The world's seed banks are in a "perilous state" - but protecting crop biodiversity is critical, say scientists in Johannesburg
30 Aug 02

Governments agree to end overfishing
The World Summit commitment to restore and maintain ocean fish stocks by 2015 has far-reaching implications
27 Aug 02

World's largest tropical forest park created
Brazil's vast new national park covers a mountainous area of the Amazon double the size of Wales
22 Aug 02

Scottish salmon in "extinction vortex"
Plummeting numbers of wild salmon in Scotland's famous rivers are blamed on fish farming, but the industry rejects the charge
16 Jul 02

World Food Summit branded a waste of time
But the launch of a global fund to preserve the planet's crop biodiversity is a positive result of the meeting in Rome
13 Jun 02

Bio-prospecting guidelines finally agreed
The deal allows poor countries to charge companies for expoloiting indigenous plants - but it is condemned by environmentalists
18 Apr 02

Names blamed for biodiversity overestimates
Double naming of species complicates the tough task of calculating biodiversity - some estimates may be inflated by 44 per cent
11 Mar 02

Top ten coral reef hotspots identified
As much as two-thirds of all the world's marine species live in just 10 biodiversity hotspots
14 Feb 02

Law of the jungle
Forget all about ingenious adaptations and well-tailored lifestyles. What makes a successful species is good luck
9 Feb 02

It isn't yours
Campaigners call for a ban on all genetic patents
9 Feb 02

Antarctic animals hit by cooler summers
Antarctic summers are getting colder, not warmer, claim US researchers - the impact on biodiversity is severe
13 Jan 02

Predators key to forest survival
A unique study shows that when predators vanish, herbivore populations can explode and almost wipe out plant life
30 Nov 01

Eco-flop
Over a billion euros spent each year on environmentally friendly farming, designed to benefit wildlife, could be going to waste
20 Oct 01

Cloud forests threatened by lowland deforestation
Patterns of farming - not global warming - may be causing the loss of Cost Rica's celebrated cloud forests
19 Oct 01

Coral reef missing link found hidden in crevices
Endoscopes reveal concealed filter feeders accumulating nutrients - solving the paradox of how rich reef ecosystems can thrive in barren seas
17 Oct 01

Thanks for all the fish
It's the end of the line for coral reefs. But Scott Norris discovers this needn't be a death sentence for coral
29 Sep 01

The weakest link
Kill off one species and the whole ecosystem could collapse. To stop it happening you'll need to work out who eats who - and that's the hard part, says Arran Frood
18 Aug 01

Stolen treasure
The Philippines has accused the US of being the world's worst perpetrator of "biopiracy"
30 Jun 01

The amazing weather machine
[Book review] Something odd about America gave rise to its unique fauna and flora, says Aubrey Manning
16 Jun 01

Healthy planet?
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
9 Jun 01

Exploding the myth
Shortcomings in a database created false booms in species diversity
19 May 01

The people versus nature
There must be a way to save biodiversity without starving the poor
12 May 01

Not so diverse
Estimates of biodiversity in rainforests should be slashed by two-thirds, according to Frode degaard of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in Trondheim
14 Apr 01

Safety in numbers
Biodiversity is not just good for the soul - it could help save the planet from global warming too
11 Apr 01

This means war
Alien invaders are decimating native wildlife all round the world
24 Mar 01

A is for aardvark
The first Who's who of the natural world has been launched
10 Mar 01

You need a lot of vents to get a lot of species
The more seismic activity there is on the sea floor, the more species cluster around the hydrothermal vents that the activity produces
24 Feb 01

Safety in numbers
Animals can die out even when there's plenty of food and space. Adrian Barnett finds out why conserving species involves more than counting two by two
3 Feb 01

Tread softly
Road networks play havoc with nature. But a new kind of route map will make it easier to treat the land more gently, says Christie Aschwanden
3 Feb 01

Sick to death
Biologists usually blame pollution and predation for species extinctions. But the real culprit may be humans spreading disease. Debora MacKenzie reports
5 Aug 00

Strictly for the birds
As people get richer only one kind of wildlife is better off
17 Jun 00

Family misfortunes
Lose one species and their relatives tend to follow suit
22 Apr 00

Spread the wealth
When ecofunds are scarce, just what should we conserve?
26 Feb 00

Life on the edge
If a new niche is all it takes for a new species to develop, then the place to find them is where the dense rainforest meets open savanna. Kathryn Brown joins the hunt
20 Nov 99

Chainsaw massacre
The US and Canada have seriously overestimated how much timber they can harvest without harming their forests, claims a leading international science agency
6 Feb 99

Hot spots left to cool
Havens of biodiversity are not being adequately protected
19 Sep 98

A life or death decision
When extinction threatens, conservationists must get the most for their money
1 Aug 98

Day of the sparrow
It's as big a threat to the planet as global warming or desertification - and it's irreversible. They call it the McDonaldisation of the natural world, says Bob Holmes
27 Jun 98

The species enigma
Everyone has heard of endangered species - there are more each year. But what are species and how do we tell them apart? And is simply counting them the best way to work out which habitats are worth conserving?
13 Jun 98

Destruction follows in trawlers' wake
Some forms of fishing are the marine equivalent of forest clear-felling, devastating natural habitats on the seabed, say marine ecologist
14 Jun 97

Rare beetles follow the plough
Farms can provide better habitats for rare ground beetles than nature reserves, a new study suggests
2 Nov 96

Crops and cockatoos upset a delicate balance
Land clearing, cropping, grazing and other agricultural activities are altering Australia's environment to such an extent that native species are moving well beyond their usual ranges and turning into pests
29 Jun 96

Rockall mud richer than rainforest
The Rockall Trough off western Scotland, where Shell wanted to dump the Brent Spar, is "among the richest environments in the whole world", says John Lambshead of the Natural History Museum in London
16 Sep 95

Diversity is a double-edged sword
Ecologists may have missed out on a whole level of biological diversity in the Amazon rainforest, warn researchers in Finland and Peru. This can only complicate the task of conserving tropical biodiversity.
15 Jul 95

Cry shame on all humanity
Since biogeography holds the key to the survival of life, it deserves more attention
19 Nov 94