Deforestation Ecology Global Health

Destruction of habitat and loss of biodiversity are creating the perfect conditions for diseases like COVID-19 to emerge

As habitat and biodiversity loss increase globally, the novel coronavirus outbreak may be just the beginning of mass pandemics Author: John Vidal Top photo: Illicit Endangered Wildlife Trade in Möng La, Shan, Myanmar, courtesy of Dan Bennett from Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0). This article originally appeared at Ensia.com and is reproduced here under Creative Commons […]

Ecology Economy Environment

What price tag would you put on a walk in the woods?

Ecosystem services such as pollination and carbon storage are increasingly factored into land management decisions. But what about less tangible benefits? Author: Olivia McRae Top Photo: Ben Lybarger This article originally appeared at Ensia.com and is reproduced here under Creative Commons licensing (CC BY-ND 3.0) Ecosystem services such as pollination and carbon storage are increasingly […]

Biodiversity Ecology

In praise of parasites

They worm into snails and infect the brains of fish. They’ve also found their way into Kevin Lafferty’s heart. He sees them as beautiful examples of sophisticated evolution, and as keys to ecosystem balance. By Kenneth R. Weiss This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews, and is republished here under […]