news round-up (conservation biology edition)

Time for another news round up!

I’ve been “accumulating” links from some interesting stories (and I haven’t even read every last word of them). I thought I would curate these into a single subject matter. This time I picked Conservation Biology, “the management of nature and of Earth’s biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions.”

Happy reading!

Biodiversity thrives in Ethiopia’s church forests: Ecologists are working with the nation’s Tewahedo churches to preserve these pockets of lush, wild habitat. (Nature)

Dramatic flow from Mexico: Monarchs poured into Texas in substantial numbers during the past week. The migration’s leading edge is now 950 miles from Mexico’s overwintering sites. Western Population: Where are they now? (Journey North, March 21, 2019)

The secret to turtle hibernation: Butt-breathing // To breathe or not to breathe, that is the question. What would happen if you were submerged in a pond where the water temperature hovered just above freezing and the surface was capped by a lid of ice for 100 days? Well, obviously you’d die. And that’s because you’re not as cool as a turtle. And by cool I don’t just mean amazing, I mean literally cool, as in cold. Plus, you can’t breathe through your butt. But turtles can, which is just one of the many reasons that turtles are truly awesome. (The Conversation)

In Defense of Biodiversity: Why Protecting Species from Extinction Matters: A number of biologists have recently made the argument that extinction is part of evolution and that saving species need not be a conservation priority. But this revisionist thinking shows a lack of understanding of evolution and an ignorance of the natural world.  (Yale E360)

Why we should save the last tiny scraps of nature: Ecologists long thought small or secluded fragments of habitat weren’t of much value for nature. Recent research says otherwise. (Ensia)

Like Pheasants? Thanks a Coyote. Coyotes are not major predators of pheasants or their nests or chicks (Pheasants Forever)

Why Natural Areas? (reflection from a top US ecologist in Missouri Natural Areas Journal)

Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’: Insects could vanish within a century at current rate of decline, says global review (Guardian, linking to scientific article in Biological Conservation)