Biodiversity, Conservation & Ecosystems

With an unparalleled network of environmental monitoring stations, research field sites and cyber infrastructure, UArizona pioneers fundamental and use-inspired ecosystem science to help save species and conserve the lands, forests and wildlife of the western U.S. and beyond.

Our research

Food waste rises during the pandemic

The increase in food takeout due to the pandemic has also led to an increase in single-use plastic items.

UArizona Partners With French National Centre for Scientific Research to Establish France-Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges

The partnership establishes the France-Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges at the University of Arizona, which will address critical research areas through large-scale international collaboration, innovation and exchange of resources.

The Moms Who Are Battling Climate Change

A new initiative seeks to tap into mothers’ concern for the world their children are inheriting.

A Warmer Climate May Spell Doom For Western Butterflies

Wide open spaces, like much of Wyoming, are known to be strongholds for pollinators like butterflies. They often contain critical habitat and food resources, far away from the disturbance of human civilization. But it turns out even those areas are under threat.

Peyton Smith smiling on a Sedona mountain bike trail

Why Peyton Smith studies water in the desert

She lassoes lizards: Doctoral student uses social media to promote wildlife science

Fire as Medicine: Learning from Native American Fire Stewardship

For centuries, Indigenous peoples have worked to live in harmony with fire. Can integrating such cultural practices into contemporary wildfire management help prevent catastrophic wildfires?

Butterfly populations in western United States declining every year

A new report examining more than 400 species of butterflies throughout the western United States has found that butterfly populations are declining at an estimated rate of 1.6% per year, and these declines are particularly associated with warmer autumns. 

Why a new jaguar sighting near the Arizona-Mexico border gives experts hope

The exclusive finding suggests the jaguar's range may be expanding—and a new study verifies the U.S. has plentiful habitat to reclaim if the cats can reach it.