Translating Science

Invasive species pose a major threat to Earth’s biodiversity, often disrupting natural ecosystems and outcompeting native species. Therefore, to mitigate the effects of these foreign visitors, it is important to know where they are most likely to appear and what management tactics are best suited to deal with them. The scientists in this study produced a model of vulnerability for environments, useful in identifying where more local efforts would be best used and where larger-scale change, like new policies or laws, are needed to prevent ecosystem destruction.

Supporting countless species, regulating regional weather patterns, and absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, the vast Amazon Rainforest sprawls across nine countries in South America. Unfortunately, for several decades now it has been subject to a combination of threats, with rampant deforestation driving habitat loss and climate change altering rainfall in the region. This 2024 study brought together 24 scientists from around the world with the aim of quantifying change in the Amazon, identifying the most vulnerable areas of rainforest, and investigating how any changes may trigger potential ‘tipping points’ across the ecosystem.  

Protected areas are crucial to offer animals a safe haven from threats like overfishing or hunting, but they only work if the target animals are there in the first place. This can be surprisingly difficult to determine, especially if a species is rare or if we don’t know where it lives. However, a recent study has built a reliable tool to map their whereabouts. The team of scientists who created it tested the model on 11 fish species and found that most marine protected areas are not where these animals are actually found.

With climate change arguably the biggest threat to the survival of humanity, everyone across the planet needs to combat it. To ensure a sustainable future, this requires us to make conscious decisions and lifestyle changes and to pressure national governments. However, human behaviour is an important factor in how both the individual and wider society contribute to the common good, and a new study has set out to show how we could all do with being more optimistic in how we perceive the efforts of others. 

Urban development is one of the major threats to biodiversity across the globe, yet some animals appear to thrive in our cities. To find out more about the ups and downs of city life, a team of scientists joined forces with 50 Barbados bullfinches for a series of experiments. What they found suggests that city birds are bolder, smarter, and apparently healthier. But does city life contain hidden costs?

When following the news, it is easy to associate the planet’s declining health with terms like ‘environmental crisis’ or ‘climate change,’ but these simply describe the symptoms of a bigger problem. To improve understanding of the difference between source and symptom, the study pushes for the term ‘human behavioural crisis’ to be used instead of ‘climate crisis’, as it points where the intervention needs to take place if we are to prevent further environmental decline.

With so much of our land taken up for farming and producing food for our growing population, wildlife has suffered as a result. Interventions to balance the needs of humanity and nature are often implemented on farmland, and a new study aims to show which measures could be more favourable to wildlife while also being better for your bank account. 

Climate change is drastically altering the ocean, with major consequences both for its ecosystems and for the services they provide us – from food and medicine to employment. A new study has predicted just how climate change will affect important fish populations, whilst identifying essential actions we can take to address the problem.

Last year, nearly a hundred thousand flocked to the Conference of Parties, while every year the UN Convention on Biodiversity receives only a tiny fraction of the attention, funding, and media coverage. The biodiversity crisis lacks the kind of coherent public discourse that has developed for the climate crisis, and as a result, our society has failed to galvanise a strong moral response to it or any clear messaging surrounding it.