Biodiversity, Conservation & Ecosystems

The Cultural Walk reminds us that we are newcomers, just the latest arrivals in a long line of people who have found refuge and made a home in the Sonoran Desert. The informational plaques explain that the Hohokam arrived in the 1100s. Yet even they were far from the first to make this valley their home. People have been residing here for almost 4,000 years.

How evidence of the presence of the fishing cat in mangroves of the Godavari delta is fuelling conservation efforts.

It’s pretty, sports feathery leaves resembling a carrot plant and bright yellow globes. It has an aroma that has been described as pungent, medicinal or astringent, and not even goats will consume it. It grows like a weed and, left unchecked, it could destroy much of the desert landscape it blankets.

A new study reveals that plants and animals are remarkably similar in their responses to changing environmental conditions across the globe, which may help explain how they are distributed today and how they will respond to climate change in the future.

A growing number of studies show that warming temperatures are increasing mortality in creatures ranging from birds in the Mojave Desert, to mammals in Australia, to bumblebees in North America. Researchers warn that heat stress could become a major factor in future extinctions.

A symbol of life, an ancient sundial or just firewood? Tree-ring scientists trace the origin of a tree log unearthed almost a century ago.

Trees have stories to tell. We all learn when we’re kids that reading tree rings shows us how old a tree is. But expert Valerie Trouet says they can tell us so much more than that.

Dragonflies, toads, roadrunners, snakes and kingfishers all found a home at the Santa Cruz River downtown while Tucson Water was releasing large amounts of water into that stretch.