Anthropocene Nature

A mule deer crosses a road near Aspen, Colorado.

How Roads Have Transformed the Natural World

A brief history of road ecology, the scientific discipline that is helping us understand our impact on the environment and how to diminish it

A magpie nest in Antwerp, Belgium, made with anti-bird spikes

Crows and Magpies Snatch Anti-Bird Spikes to Build Their Nests

Birds in Europe are prying up the metal barbs, meant to repel them from roosting on buildings, and using the devices as nesting material

The fuzz of the fingernail-sized rosy maple moth may remind you of a teddy bear.

These Moths Are So Gorgeous They 'Put Butterflies to Shame'

To celebrate National Moth Week, bask in the beautiful variety of these oft-overlooked insects

The Chilean crocus, "Tecophilaea cyanocrocus," was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 2001. It's been considered "critically endangered" under ICUN guidelines ever since.

Plant Species Have Been Disappearing 500 Times Faster Than Normal, Thanks to Humans

Researchers call the results "frightening" because it's likely "gross underestimate” and the problem is probably much worse

Recent research found that fully one third of humanity can't see the Milky Way because of light pollution

Is Light Pollution Really Pollution?

As countries grow richer, light pollution gets worse–but some are fighting to change that

Torrance Coste of the Wilderness Committee illustrates the immensity of the missing Carmanah cedar in 2012.

How Thousand-Year-Old Trees Became the New Ivory

Ancient trees are disappearing from protected national forests around the world. A look inside $100 billion market for stolen wood

Study Shows 84% of Wildfires Caused by Humans

Over the last 21 years, debris burning, arson and campfires have combined with climate change to make the fire season much longer

Alaska's yellow-cedar forests are slowly dying as climate change takes root.

This Music Was Composed by Climate Change

Dying forests make magnificently melancholy listening

Stephen Durham (left) and his father, Michael Durham, gather shells from Fence Creek in Madison, Connecticut.

Ancient Oyster Shells Are Windows to the Past

Like thousands of soap-dish-sized Rosetta stones, the shells can reveal clues about the past—if you know what you’re looking for

Many boundaries between geologic eras are marked by physical golden spikes. This one, in South Australia, marks the end of the Ediacaran period, 635 million years ago.

Where in the World Is the Anthropocene?

Some geologists believe we’ve entered a new era. Now they have to search for the rocks that prove it

Mesmerizing Animation Shows Potential Animal Escape Routes in a Warming World

"Migrations in Motion" models the journeys over 2,900 species may take to find new habitats

Small fixes can keep birds from being snagged by fishing lines, which also helps fishing vessels not lose bait to the flying foragers.

These Simple Fixes Could Save Thousands of Birds a Year From Fishing Boats

Changes as basic as adding a colorful streamer to commercial longline fishing boats could save thousands of seabirds a year

We're gonna need a bigger tank.

Ginormous Goldfish Are Invading Australian Rivers

Abandoned by their owners, the fish run rampant and impact the environment

A male zebra finch.

Birds Sing to Their Eggs, and This Song Might Help Their Babies Survive Climate Change

Embryonic learning—things birds pick up from their parents while still in the egg—may play a bigger role than imagined.

A condor, tagged with a transmitter for tracking, perches on California's coast.

Mercury-Laden Sea Lion Carcasses Threaten California's Coastal Condors

The new findings put a wrench in conservation of one of the world's rarest birds

After the Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in 2010, rescuers rushed to save birds, like this pelican. In the end, it didn’t really matter, most birds died.

Why We Pretend to Clean Up Oil Spills

Six years after Deepwater Horizon spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico, we still have no idea what we're doing

Expanding human populations in India have pushed tigers into small, isolated habitats—and resulted in some unusual behaviors.

Sorry, Tiger Dudes: Your Ladies Are Faking It

India’s tigresses may be feigning interest in sex as the result of shrinking habitat and overlapping territories

A captive Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) in Denmark.

Mama Bears Use Humans To Keep Their Cubs Safe

During mating season, humans might stress female bears out, but male bears stress them out more

Podcast: How Humans Caused Mass Extinctions Thousands of Years Ago

Humans have been the dominant species for longer than thought

Banaue rice terraces (N. Luzon, Philippines) taken from observation point at beginning of road to Bontoc

Since the Late Pleistocene Humans Were Already Radically Transforming the Earth

A new study suggests that trying to return habitats to a non human-impacted environment might not be realistic

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