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☆ Monarch Butterfly Numbers Are Down Sharply at Wintering Areas in Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | More About Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The number of monarch butterflies at their overwintering areas in Mexico dropped precipitously this year to the second-lowest level on record, according to an annual survey. The census, considered a benchmark of the species’s health, found that the butterflies occupied only about 2.2 acres of forest in central Mexico, down 59 percent from the prior year. Only the winter of 2013-14 had fewer butterflies. Scientists said the decline appeared to be driven by hot, dry conditions in the United States and Canada that reduced the quality of available milkweed, the only plants monarch caterpillars can eat, as well as the availability of nectar from many kinds of flowers, which they feed on as butterflies. “It’s telling us that we need to intensify conservation and restoration measures,” said Jorge Rickards, the general director of World Wildlife Fund in Mexico, which conducted the survey with the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas and other partners.

Persons: “, ”, Jorge Rickards Organizations: World Wildlife Fund, National Commission Locations: Mexico, United States, Canada

☆ How Much Can Trees Fight Climate Change? Massively, but Not Alone, Study Finds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | More About Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the climate crisis intensifies, that ability has made them controversial: How much can we rely on trees to get us out of this mess? Dr. Crowther was the senior author of a polarizing study on forest carbon in 2019 that drew scientific backlash but also inspired an effort by the World Economic Forum to grow and conserve one trillion trees. In 2019, he acknowledged, careless language led to trees being wrongly painted as a silver bullet for climate change. “We are all terrified that this potential of nature gets misused,” Dr. Crowther said. “Nature has such spectacular potential to help us tackle global threats, but it will be devastating if major organizations use nature as an excuse to do more harm to our planet.”

Persons: Thomas Crowther, Crowther, Dr Organizations: ETH Zurich, World Locations: Switzerland

Amid the chaos of climate change, humans tend to focus on humans. Now that wildlife is depleted and hemmed in, climate change has come crashing down. In 2016, scientists in Australia announced the loss of a rodent called the Bramble Caymelomys, one of the first known species driven to global extinction by climate change. Their work brings them face to face with realities that few of us see firsthand. These scientists are witnesses to an intricately connected world that we have pushed out of balance.

Locations: Australia

☆ When Is a Species Extinct? U.S. Is Close to Naming 21, but Not This Woodpecker
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | More About Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Government officials said Monday that they plan to remove 21 species from the Endangered Species Act for the saddest of reasons: because they are extinct. But remaining on the list, at least for a bit longer? The ivory-billed woodpecker, a majestic bird whose continued existence has been debated by scientists and birders for decades. Fish and Wildlife Service’s delisting proposal, put forward in 2021 for 23 species, included ivory bills. Now the agency said it will continue to analyze and review available information before making a decision.

Organizations: Fish Locations: U.S

Should Ecuador continue drilling in one of the most biodiverse corners of the Amazon or should it keep the oil underground? On Sunday, its people will decide in a binding referendum that landed on the ballot after a decade-long fight by young activists. As the world faces twin ecological crises of climate change and ecosystem collapse, the vote will determine what one country’s citizens are willing to give up to protect the planet. But oil is Ecuador’s most important export and the government is campaigning for drilling to continue. According to official estimates, the country stands to lose $1.2 billion in revenue a year if the oil is left underground.

Locations: Ecuador

☆ See How They Held Off Flames at a Haven for Hawaii’s Endangered Birds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | More About Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The sky was orange and there was smoke in the air, like out in the forest,” Ms. Pribble said. She went outside to see what was happening, and saw flames about 150 feet from the edge of the property. The center houses about 40 ‘akikiki, a native songbird, and about 40 ‘alalā, also known as the Hawaiian crow. The birds are divided between both places to insure against disasters such as this one. If it crossed, she thought, the grasses on the 46 acre property would provide ample fuel.

Persons: Ms, Pribble, Emily Senninger Organizations: Fire Department, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Locations: Hawaii, Maui County

When Bailey Thomasson first spotted the coral, she felt a jolt of relief. She was diving for samples off the Florida Keys, and the thicket of elkhorn coral below looked brown, not the stark white that would indicate bleaching from the record-breaking sea temperatures in the area. “The coral didn’t even have a chance to bleach, it just died,” said Ms. Thomasson, who works for the Coral Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit group based in the Keys. The brown color was not healthy coral but dead tissue sloughing off the skeleton, almost as if it had melted. Currently, about 44 percent of the global ocean is in a heat wave.

Persons: Bailey, she’d, ”, Thomasson, who’ve Organizations: Florida, Coral Restoration Foundation, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration Locations: elkhorn

Florida’s coral reefs are facing what could be an unprecedented threat from a marine heat wave that is warming the Gulf of Mexico, pushing water temperatures into the 90s Fahrenheit. The biggest concern for coral isn’t just the current sea surface temperatures in the Florida Keys, even though they are the hottest on record. The daily average surface temperature off the Keys on Monday was just over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, or 32.4 Celsius, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Corals typically experience the most heat stress in August and September. “We’re entering uncharted territories,” Derek Manzello, an ecologist and the coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program, said.

Persons: “, Derek Manzello Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Reef Watch Locations: of Mexico, Florida

The rustling in the brush was loud, so Brian Christman raised his muzzleloader for the deer he expected to emerge. It was the end of the season in central New York, and Mr. Christman was hoping to take home a buck. Suddenly, Mr. Christman felt like the prey. “I thought it was a huge coyote,” Mr. Christman recalled recently. And the shot would open a new, uncertain front in the wars over what might be America’s most beloved and reviled predator.

Persons: Brian Christman, Christman, Mr Locations: New York, Canada, Cooperstown

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