As British Bird Count Records Low Numbers, Conservationists Urge Gardeners to Ditch Pesticides, Let Lawns Grow

As British Bird Count Records Low Numbers, Conservationists Urge Gardeners to Ditch Pesticides, Let Lawns Grow

During the last weekend of January, participants in Britain’s Big Garden Birdwatch are asked to keep track of the number of each avian species they see at their location over a one-hour period. The counting and recording is usually done in gardens, but parks and other green spaces work too. Participants in this year’s Birdwatch […]

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With the Great Mussel Die-Off, Scientists Scramble for Answers

With the Great Mussel Die-Off, Scientists Scramble for Answers

Throughout his professional life, U.S. Forest Service researcher Wendell Haag has studied freshwater mussels in their hotspot of biological diversity, which extends across a vast swath of the southeastern United States. His more than 30-year career has been overshadowed by a single question: Why are the bivalves in this region disappearing? Freshwater mussels are one […]

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Researchers Find Lead, Plastic Additives and Other Contaminants in Hedgehogs

Researchers Find Lead, Plastic Additives and Other Contaminants in Hedgehogs

In a new study, researchers have found a wide range of pollutants in Western European hedgehogs, including heavy metals, plastic additives and more. The researchers from Lund University in Sweden were exploring the levels of heavy metals found in hedgehogs in southern Sweden, following previous research that revealed heavy metal pollution in hedgehogs in urban […]

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Court orders Trump administration to address pesticide risks to endangered species

Court orders Trump administration to address pesticide risks to endangered species

A U.S. federal judge recently ordered the Trump administration‘s Fish and Wildlife Service to complete assessments on the impacts of six pesticides and the steps needed to protect endangered species from them. This isn’t the first time pesticide safety has come before the Trump administration. In 2017, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) conducted an […]

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Wild swimmers are safer in lakes and rivers where beavers live, thanks to their pollution blocking dams, study finds

Wild swimmers are safer in lakes and rivers where beavers live, thanks to their pollution blocking dams, study finds

Wild swimmers are safer in lakes, rivers, and ponds inhabited by beavers, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Stirling in Scotland have uncovered that beaver dams drastically improve the water quality of British eco-systems. Their work, detailed in the Science of the Total Environment journal, monitored how rodent populations affect pollution […]

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